War doesn't just leave chaos and rubble in its wake; paradoxically, it can also fertilize the soil for a strange, frantic kind of prosperity.
Gossamer Reach was proof of this. Just one night after the violent takeover by the Dark Butterfly race, the city was already bustling with a deceptive, glittering energy.
"Don't let the shine fool you," Sophia warned, her voice low. She stood on the ramparts with Kaelen, looking down at the cityscape. "The citizens, the slaves... they're smiling because they have to. But they're all watching the horizon, praying for reinforcements to liberate them."
To Sophia, this scene was familiar. She knew the rhythm of occupation.
To Kaelen, however, this was a new world. He had spent his life isolated in the Phoenix Butterfly Ridge. His only exposure to cities had been quick, shadowy reconnaissance missions—get in, get the intel, get out.
