The trumpet blast faded, but the Golden King didn't stop shining.
Aurelius floated three inches off the ground, ensuring his boots never touched the same floor as the "rabble."
Red scanned the room. The High Balcony (Ranks 11-20) was desolate. There were fifty seats up there, but forty-nine of them were empty. The High Rankers hadn't bothered to show up. To them, a meeting with single-digit ranks was beneath their dignity.
There was only one figure on the balcony. Sylara, The Mycelium Queen (Rank 17).
She looked out of place. A humanoid figure made of bioluminescent fungal fibers, wearing a dress woven from silk-moths. She sat in the corner, looking down at the noisy hall with large, completely black eyes. She seemed shy, or perhaps just socially anxious, shrinking away from the empty seats around her.
"Pathetic," the Rotting Druid muttered near Red, looking up at her with jealousy. "She has the rank, but she has no spine."
