Duke Balogar stood on the high platform of the Dragon Blood Hall, somberly observing the twenty-two dragon heads arranged on both sides of the hall—those heads composed almost entirely of mechanical structures seemed not yet finished with their previous thought process. They bowed their heads in silence, with only faint and flickering lights moving in the depths of their pipes. The "hissing" sound from the operation of circulation pumps and gas pipes occasionally came from somewhere, one of the few sounds in the hall.
Finally, the lights behind one of the dragon heads brightened, and that head slightly lifted. Under the guidance of mechanical arms, it turned in Duke Balogar's direction, and a synthesized voice lacking emotional fluctuation came through the speaker: "Balogar, Administrator of the sanctuary, welcome to the Dragon Blood Council."
