Chapter 33 — The Meeting
Blade of Dawn · Page 1 of 4
After a great deal of effort, Gao Yang finally entered Silverhold in the most conspicuous manner imaginable, under the gaze of the multitudes.
The poor had no time to spare for this place; the common folk had no interest in it; the petty merchants and townsfolk would only speak of it over tea or after supper. But among the nobles—nearly every noble who learned of the news—all had been watching the matter unfold from the very beginning.
Yet the towering walls of the castle, sheathed in silver foil, stood tall and cut off the vast majority of prying eyes. The lower and middle ranks of nobility had received no permission to enter Silverhold, and their channels of information from the higher circles had been cut off by royal decree since the small hours. They could only watch helplessly as the grand procession entered the castle, and afterward discuss those tidings already made public—tidings that were hardly secrets at all.
Victoria Wilde, Grand Duchess of the North, had arrived at Silverhold three days prior.
Grand Duke Bai Yu Franklin of the West and Grand Duke Silas Loren of the East had arrived together an hour ago.
Several advisors and the King's First Minister had also entered the castle.
The gates were now tightly shut, and no one knew what was happening inside.
A banquet? A secret council? A quarrel? Or even a murder?
Countless pairs of eyes fixed upon the castle shifted and turned; the noses beneath those eyes twitched nervously, sniffing for the scent of conspiracy or opportunity, while the mouths beneath those noses opened and shut, producing all manner of novel opinions and rumors. And the listeners were wise enough never to take what they heard as truth, for until the castle gates opened once more, no one knew what a man revived from seven hundred years past might discuss with the king of the present age.
Francis II held no tiresome banquet, nor did he meet Gao Yang in the throne hall by way of a formal "summons." He chose instead to hold this meeting in the "Oak Hall" adjoining the council chamber—and this too was at Gao Yang's request.
The Oak Hall was an ancient place; its existence could be traced back seven hundred years, to when Silverhold had first been laid down. In those days, the castle had not yet worn its present silver-foiled aspect—the name "Silverhold" came about merely because Charles I could think of nothing finer to call it.
As the most venerable chamber in a castle that had been renovated and rebuilt countless times, the Oak Hall had been enchanted some four hundred years ago by a powerful court druid, so that its principal timbers might preserve their living vitality forever (in truth, the enchantment required recharging once every century).
Though the Oak Hall was only a third the size of the main council chamber, small and old as it was, it remained the most extraordinary place in the castle. Only nobles of count's rank or above might ever appear in this hall, and only matters capable of shaping the kingdom's fate were ever discussed here in secret.
A round oak table was set at the center of the hall. The King sat at the position representing the "Crown" upon the star chart; at his right hand sat his First Minister, Aidan, a middle-aged man with thinning hair and deep-set eyes; at his left sat the present Duke of the North, Victoria Wilde; and extending further to either side were Grand Duke Bai Yu Franklin of the West and Grand Duke Silas Loren of the East. A few other noble representatives whose names Gao Yang could not be bothered to remember sat around the table, while the royal advisors occupied another row of chairs behind the King.
At Gao Yang's side stood only Rebecca.