The session was called for the third hour of morning, which was Threx's preferred timing and therefore not a good sign.
Vaelor had known Threx would try to control the agenda by controlling the schedule. The third hour of morning was when people were least alert and most likely to defer to whoever appeared most certain of what was happening. It was a bureaucratic power move dressed in procedural clothing, which was Threx's entire operating method in miniature.
Vaelor was in his seat when the chamber doors opened. He had been there for forty minutes. Maren was at the lateral table where the documentation team sat. Aldric was two seats down from Vaelor's right with the look of a man who has slept well because he prepared the night before and is not anxious about what is coming.
