He was silent for a moment, then held the letter to the candlelight.
The parchment slowly curled up, and the burnt smell made the room even more suffocating.
After the flames went out, he spread out a new piece of paper again.
The first line written with the pen tip: "Well done, keep fighting, but don't forget your roots are in the Southeast."
This was a request for peace, a probe, and a belated gesture of goodwill.
......
Outside the window, the rain whipped like a lash, beating against the tower's glass with a crackling sound.
In the side tower of Grey Rock Castle, Kael Remont clad in black half-armor, was processing the accounts of supplies sent to the Imperial Capital by the flickering candlelight.
He was always calm and steady, the main commander left behind in the territory by the Remont Clan, placed with high hopes by his father.
He had just written a line: "The third batch of grain carts departs tomorrow..."
"Boom."
