The first earthquake struck two weeks after Meridian's departure.
I was in a council meeting—discussing agricultural reforms with representatives from the southern provinces—when the palace began to shake. Not violently, but enough that wine glasses rattled and paintings swung on their walls.
"Everyone out!" Ethan shouted, already moving to secure evacuation routes. "Orderly, no panic, follow protocols!"
The council members fled with varying degrees of dignity. I grabbed Elian, who'd been sitting quietly in the corner working on his studies, and we joined the stream of people evacuating to the open courtyards.
The shaking lasted perhaps twenty seconds. Long enough to be terrifying, short enough that no buildings collapsed. When it stopped, we stood in shocked silence, waiting to see if it would resume.
"Magnitude four, maybe five," Aldric reported, consulting with palace engineers. "Minor damage to older structures. No casualties reported yet, but—"
