Amber light spilled from the carved metal lanterns overhead, scattering warm shadows across the walls, their intricate latticework throwing patterns that moved with every breath of air. The geometric tiles gleamed beneath the table, polished to perfection, their cobalt and sand-colored motifs echoing the old desert houses of Saha's first dynasty.
But beneath the antique charm, there was silence of another kind, mechanical and subtle. The hum of the temperature regulators built into the walls. The near-invisible glow of the glass interface that controlled the lighting. Even the air carried the faint, crisp undertone of ion filtration. Tradition on the surface, technology beneath, Dax's entire empire summarized in one room.
And at the center of it, the king himself.
