Unknown’s POV

Somewhere Beyond Veridian's Borders

The cave was cold, but the men who gathered within it had long since stopped feeling the chill.

They sat in a loose circle around a table carved from the mountain's own stone, their faces illuminated by a single candle that guttered in the center. The flame was small, almost insignificant, but it was enough. Enough to see the maps spread across the stone. Enough to watch the shadows shift across faces that had learned to hide ...