Timeline: TC1853.07.02 (Early Afternoon)
Location: Seven Peaks – Raven's Private Quarters → Sect Grounds
The moment of raw emotion passed, leaving something changed in its wake. The air in the room felt different—lighter somehow, as if the weight of long-held secrets had been partially released.
Raven poured fresh tea for everyone, the ritual familiar and grounding. When she spoke again, her voice carried careful weight.
"There's something else you should know. Something beyond the Sanctum, beyond cultivation politics."
Kaelith accepted his cup with hands that had steadied. "We've already learned the world isn't what we thought. What else could possibly—"
"The Great Shift isn't just spiritual energy returning to Doha." Raven met their eyes directly. "It's the beginning of something larger. Something that will require all of humanity—not just the Empire, but the entire world—to work together or be destroyed."
Both patriarchs went very still.
