Nathan stood at the head of the table of the briefing room, his party gathered around him. Valerie sat near the back, her expression unreadable. Helena stood by a large map of the known Tower Worlds, her Thunderbird crackling faintly on her shoulder. Smithy was there too, his Void Eel coiled at his feet. And the three summons—Mirko, Kuro, and Shiro—were in their small forms, perched on the table and watching everything.
"The Shattered Throne," Helena began, activating a holographic display. The image of a broken world appeared—floating islands connected by crumbling bridges, ancient castles built on fragments of a shattered empire. "A Master Class Tower World. It was once a single, unified realm, ruled by a line of kings. But the Shepherd broke it. Shattered the world into fragments. Now it's a warzone."
