The chamber where the Ancient Council convened existed outside of time and space, a pocket dimension of swirling nebulae and floating monoliths engraved with laws predating humanity. The air hummed with power so profound it could snuff out stars. Around a massive, circular table of living crystal sat twelve beings whose origins were myths to mortal races.
The emergency session had been called the moment Luna's power split had sent psychic shockwaves through the fabric of reality. Holographic projections above the table showed the chaotic scenes from Earth: the Awakened weeping, the Hungry raging, the Torn fleeing, and the human military's violent, clumsy intervention.
A low rumble, like continents grinding together, initiated the debate. Pyraxes, the Great Dragon whose scales were plates of obsidian and whose breath could forge new elements, shifted his mountainous form. Smoke curled from his nostrils.
