Meanwhile, far away in the Prucell Province of the Phoenix Empire, where the air was warmer, there stood a vast estate that spread across the countryside like a small kingdom unto itself.
The main mansion rose in the center with broad stone walls and sloping crimson roofs, while around it stretched rows of carefully maintained stables that housed all manner of beasts, from ordinary warhorses with glossy coats and powerful legs to rare spirit creatures whose very presence made the air feel heavier.
In one of the larger enclosures rested a giant fire-breathing salamander, a beast king of the seven-star rank, its scales glowing faintly like embers buried beneath black ash, its slow breathing sending out waves of heat that made the nearby air shimmer.
Behind the mansion lay a wide training ground paved with worn stone and packed earth, a place where countless generations had tested their blades and settled matters of pride.
