Chapter 1: The Last Contract

Kael Voss sat in the corner of the Broken Horn tavern, watching raindrops trace trails through the grime on the window. A rolled parchment lay on the table before him, sealed with black wax and the sigil of the Iron Covenant—a crown cracked down the middle. He hadn’t touched it in two hours. Outside, the city of Durnvale groaned under another winter, its chimneys coughing smoke into a grey sky. The empire’s banners hung from every tower, crimson and gold, mocking the dead gods whose temples now stood empty. Kael had spent ten years running from those banners. The parchment was an invitation to stop running.