The winter storms sweeping down from the jagged peaks of the Kurogane Mountain Range buried Azure Fall City beneath a thick, suffocating blanket of snow. Beyond the newly reinforced iron-stone walls, the world was a freezing, howling wasteland. Inside the city's wealthy upper district, hidden behind the high stone walls of a requisitioned merchant estate, the private sanctuary of Alaric Steele remained an oasis of sweltering heat and heavy, intoxicating indulgence.
Within the primary bedchamber of the estate, massive bronze braziers burned day and night, filling the air with the thick, sweet aroma of aged spirit-sandalwood. The heavy velvet curtains were drawn tight across the reinforced windows, sealing the room off from the freezing winds and the political machinations of First Prince Huang Wei occurring just a few streets away.
