While Damien waited for the council of Cloud Giants to come to a decision, the world didn't stay in stasis with him.
Events in the outside world progressed at their usual pace without a single ounce of consideration for Damien's circumstances.
The first thing that happened, on the same day Damien first entered the Cloud Giants' Sanctuary, was the release of a bounty that subtly affected the tides of fate.
It was a bounty on a mysterious man and his golden palace. Anyone who was able to bring this man in would receive a hefty reward of resources and money, enough to set them straight for several years on end.
The strangeness of the bounty didn't come from the bounty itself, rather, it was the requesters.
There were two.
Lucas Streem of Asuran Gate and Sir Theon of the Nox Army.
Both sides offered copious rewards for that man's capture, forming the first instance where Nox and universe denizens unintentionally cooperated.