The news hit the capital like a thunderclap from a clear sky.
Porter boys ran through the streets, their young voices hoarse with urgency, waving papers and shouting the headlines that would reshape everything. "Lion King confesses! Eastiel Edengold admits to attacking Lord Delanivis! War declared!"
The words bounced off stone walls and wooden stalls, echoing through markets and alleyways, reaching ears that could scarcely believe what they were hearing.
In the central market, merchants froze mid-transaction. A fishmonger's hand hovered over a customer's coin, forgotten. A baker pulling bread from his oven let the loaf drop, unnoticed, as his head turned toward the commotion. Housewives carrying baskets stopped in their tracks, their mouths falling open.
"War?" someone whispered. Then louder, "Did he say war?"
