The five Princes stood at their respective paths around the enormous intersection, their expressions growing increasingly unpleasant as the minutes passed.
Each occupied a separate elevated walkway leading towards the central structure, but none could ascend until the final participant arrived. The restriction had been established to ensure that every Prince entered the council chamber together.
Under ordinary circumstances, the arrangement would have been a minor inconvenience. Today, however, the delay was beginning to test their patience.
Their gazes shifted towards the last empty path as the sound of approaching footsteps reached them. A golden palanquin emerged from the distance, carried by several attendants dressed in the colours of Lust. Its polished frame gleamed beneath the strange lights illuminating the Imperial Capital, and the curtains hanging from its sides fluttered gently as it approached the intersection.
The palanquin stopped.
