Chapter 154 - Shadows over Gold

The palace that loomed before them emerged from the perpetual haze of the Kingdom of Smoke like a monument to forgotten grandeur. Its architecture defied any earthly classification, incorporating elements that seemed to have been borrowed from dozens of different civilizations and time periods. Byzantine domes crowned Gothic spires, while Egyptian columns supported Roman arches that opened onto courtyards designed in styles that predated recorded history. The entire structure drifted through the ash-laden air with the same graceful, swimming motion as the other floating ruins, but there was something different about this particular edifice—a weight of accumulated sorrow that pressed against their consciousness even from a distance.