In a distant land, an emergency meeting between the rulers of the various great powers was taking place inside a vast conference chamber, where several seats had been arranged neatly in the shape of an arc so that every person present could see the others without having to turn away from the center of the room.
The atmosphere inside the chamber was unusually heavy, and even those who were normally accustomed to maintaining their composure were sitting with serious expressions on their faces, because the appearance of those unsettling shadow creatures had shaken everyone far more deeply than they were willing to admit. The incident had happened too suddenly for anyone to properly understand what had occurred, and although some time had already passed since the attack, the shock had not disappeared, nor had the uneasiness surrounding the mysterious creatures become any easier to ignore.
