⟢───── Ashes × Aether ─────⟣
NATION OF NARDOX — THE CHAMBER OF SUNS
The Chamber of Suns was already alive when Kariah entered.
Heat rolled through the hall, drawn up from the solar grid beneath the stone.
Gold lines threaded the floor, converging beneath the central dais where Nardox’s banners hung still and heavy.
Voices overlapped in disciplined layers.
Coordination.
Kariah stepped inside behind Imani.
The doors sealed behind her, guarded by Omikami Onna-Kensei Summoners.
Imani guided Kariah forward, stopping just short of the inner circle. Soros stood beside them, posture straight, eyes alive with focus. Rob was just beside Imani, his usual calm had become something else.
A rail delegate from Vharon stepped forward first.
The High Noon insignia at his collar caught the light, its geometry precise and industrial.
He placed a prism of data into the floor. It unfolded instantly, projecting a rail map in amber lines that stretched across the chamber’s stone.
“The expedition transport has cleared Depth 1 and entered stabilized rail,” he said. “High Noon rail control confirms arrival at Sylvanna’s border station in forty-one hours.”
A woman from an allied nation in flowing bronze silks inclined her head.
“Zeraphen will dispatch medical personnel. And any additionals, just say the word.”
Kofi nodded once.
The rail delegate continued, voice steady. “Vharon will ensure full rail security. High Noon will get them home.”
Again, Kofi nodded.
Kariah shifted her weight, heart beating faster now. “Dad—” she started.
Kofi turned.
“Not yet,” he said, gentle and final all at once.
She swallowed and nodded, hands curling at her sides.
Rob stepped forward next, unable to hide the irritation in his voice. “X’Omnera attempted to detain Kyro. This is their second time mind you.”
Council members reacted in stunned silence.
They moved without sanction,” Rob continued. “On foreign soil. Against one of our own. Quite frankly myself and the general won’t tolerate this.”
Rob looked to Kofi.
Kofi looked up at the Twin Suns through the glass dome at the center of the chamber.
“Mobilize.”
No justification. No appeal.
Signals carried outward through the forges, into barracks, into vaults of armor and weaponry that had not cooled in generations.
Omikami Summoners moved before the echo of the word faded.
Outside the capital, thousands of OmiKami lined the terrace courtyards as steel woke up.
Back in the chamber Kariah looked at her father, already issuing quiet directives to officers who had materialized at his side.
If she couldn’t be there when Kit arrived in Sylvanna, she decided she was going to make it everyone else’s mission to make sure Kit was ok and made it back home.
She stepped half a pace forward. Just close enough to be heard by the right ears.
“We should send family or friends. I think it’ll be more comforting to see familiar faces.” Kariah chimed in.
An OmiKami officer frowned.
Kariah looked at the woman from Zeraphen who was dressed in the bronze silks.
”And maybe some of your people can accompany them.. I think it’ll be important if the team is welcomed home with patience..”
The OmiKami officer started to speak up before Imani shifted her weight behind Kariah.
She reached out and straightened the braid at Kariah’s shoulder, a grounding gesture disguised as habit.
The officer swallowed whatever it was she had to say, bowed once and then turned away already relying the order.
Kariah stepped in closer finally. To the personal aide of one of the council members. She stopped before him, no taller than his chest.
She looked up and met his eyes and handed him a small box, wrapped in linen.
It was still warm with a lemon and vanilla scent.
”Please make sure my brother gets this, he could eat a dozen of these things but I burned a few.”
Kariah passed the box off grinning half embarrassed to admit.
The aide hesitated. Looked to Imani.
Imani nodded.
“Go.”
The aide left at a run.
The chamber began to thin. Delegates peeled away. Officers dispersed. The solar hum settled into its steady rhythm.
Names moved. Assignments shifted.
Somewhere far from the solar grid, a train carried survivors back home
And in Nardox, Kariah had made sure that when her brother arrived.
Someone would be ready to see him.
⟢───── Ashes × Aether ─────⟣