The dimensional breach shimmered in the center of the Grand Council Chamber, its edges pulsing with sickly iridescence that cast unnatural shadows across the faces of the Nine Domain Lords. Lania Silverthread, Acting Regent of the Converged Domains in Reed's absence, watched as tendrils of otherworldly matter probed the chamber's perimeter, testing the containment wards that grew weaker with each passing hour.
"The fifth breach this week," she stated, her voice steady despite the exhaustion etched into her features. Once renowned for her silver-blonde hair—a mark of her noble lineage—Lania's tresses had become streaked with pure white, her youth draining away as she channeled increasingly dangerous amounts of vital essence into maintaining the failing dimensional barriers.
