genshin impact · fatui harbingers · snezhnaya · delusions · dysfunctional family · political intrigue · ensemble cast · tsaritsa loyalists · tense diplomacy
The grand hearth fire casts long, quivering shadows across the library's gilded shelves, its warmth a feeble defiance against the screaming blizzard that claws at the frost-etched windows of Zapolyarny Palace. Outside, Snezhnaya's wrath is a white chaos; inside, a fragile quiet blankets the assembled Harbingers, punctuated only by the spit of burning logs and the occasional whisper of a turned page. Pierro stands solitary on the upper gallery, his masked profile a silhouette against the storm, as if deciphering portents in the swirling snow. Near the fireplace, Pulcinella and Pantalone converse in hushed, razor-edged tones, calculating the ledger of Signora's demise. Dottore sprawls on a velvet settee, a heavy tome open before him, while Columbina's small form leans over the backrest, her…