Location:Zhū'kethara — Kael'thoren Fortress
Date/Time:Late Cinderfall, 9939 AZI
Realm:Demon Realm
The basins were placed before dawn.
Gharet handled the logistics personally — the elder warrior's organisational fury channelled into something that looked, from the outside, like routine maintenance. New washing stations in the training yard. Fresh basins in the mess hall. Upgraded facilities in the barracks washrooms, the armoury antechambers, and the corridor stations where warriors cleaned their hands before entering the communal areas. Kael'thoren had always had basins. Every demon fortress did — the daily ablutions were as ancient as the race, the rituals of cleanliness woven so deeply into demon culture that no warrior questioned water any more than he questioned air.
The water in every basin contained one drop of Vaelith's reagent per gallon. Indistinguishable from water. No scent. No taste. No visible difference.
