"To be clear," Rattan continued, his voice softening slightly, though his resolve remained iron-clad, "this is not an act of blind defiance. This is a strategic necessity. The empire has proven, time and again, their unwillingness to protect their own, to truly equip those on the front lines. They sacrifice the ratmen, and in doing so, they endanger us all. The Abyss cares nothing for their petty politics or their hierarchical arrogance. It simply consumes."
He stepped closer, his voice dropping to a near whisper, yet carrying immense weight. "When the citizens of the empire witness the true scale of the demonic threat, not through sanitized reports, but through the raw, unfiltered images of battle, and see it being fought by those they've been taught to scorn, their perception will shift. And when they see the Abyss pushed back, not by the empire's might, but by the very mages they've suppressed… that, my friends, is when true change begins."
