Names were mentioned and quickly dismissed. Plans were proposed and dismantled just as fast. Every agreement came with an unspoken contingency, every nod hid a private escape route. Yet despite the tension, they remained. That was the most telling thing of all. Outside, the wind howled against the walls, as if trying to warn the world of what was being decided within. By dawn, alliances would shift.
By dusk, someone would fall. History would later simplify it all into a single sentence—the night everything changed—never bothering to name the people who had paid the price. When they finally rose to leave, they did not shake hands. They did not look back. Each departed alone, cloaked once more in secrecy, carrying plans that would reshape lives far beyond this room. The hall returned to silence, but it was no longer empty.
