We didn't slow as the capital came into view, the scale of it rising ahead of us through the thinning clouds while the vultures cut forward in steady motion, their wings beating against the wind as the city revealed itself layer by layer, not just larger than the cities we had taken so far but different in presence, as if it had been prepared long before we ever set foot in this province.
The red dome surrounding it became visible as we descended, a smooth, translucent barrier that curved over the entire city, faintly pulsing with a low glow that made the space inside feel sealed off rather than simply protected.
We brought the vultures down just outside its boundary, landing in a wide clearing where the ground had been flattened unnaturally, and the moment my feet touched the surface I felt the difference, not resistance exactly but a pressure that hinted at something watching from within.
