The imperial palace rose from the capital's heart like a monument to absolute power. Guards in pristine uniforms lined the approaches.
Marble columns, giant archways, and the nost elaborate gardens one could fins in the empire. All of it designed to remind visitors exactly who held the reins in the Celestis Empire.
Grim walked through corridors he'd navigated countless times before, but something felt different now.
The ornate decorations seemed excessive. The bowing servants appeared almost comical. After weeks of mud and blood and genuine life-or-death stakes, palace politics felt like children playing dress-up.
The throne room doors opened onto familiar grandeur. Empress Alexia sat upon the throne with the posture of someone born to command. Her dress, deep purple silk with gold threading, cost more than most families saw in a year.
But her eyes held the sharp intelligence that had kept her in power through years of court intrigue and foreign wars.
