First Assessment

Stiffness yielded to motion. My knees flexed, shifting my weight across the cold glass tabletop. I surveyed the perimeter: stationary figures locked in suspended conflict across the grid of the wooden chessboard. Silence held the room. I reached down, tested the solid edge of the raised board beneath my gauntlet, and observed the layout. A wide territory. Unmoving allies and adversaries. For now, I hold my ground and watch.