The morning air was cool and crisp as our convoy left behind the gleaming lights of Velmara. I sat in the back of the sleek, black car, watching the landscape change as we drove away from the bustling capital of Avaloria. My thoughts swirled in a mixture of anticipation and trepidation. Today marked the beginning of a new leg of our royal tour—one that would take us to Halcyon Reach, a city famed for its sky-high cliffs and its community of elite scholars and philosophers.