To the south, in Veyrith, the Aurum Convergence was just reaching its heights.
Gasps rose as Archmage Orivar - the Eight-Star Mage of Ruthenia - entered the hall for the first time in over twenty years. He was draped in deep emerald robes embroidered with runes that constantly shifted shapes. The long silver hair he wore fell across his shoulders like woven silk. On the end of his staff, a floating crystal hummed with a quiet inner power that made lesser mages look away, even trapped novitiates were inclined to look down.
The murmurs of noblemen, scholars, and a few commanders turned to mutters as Orivar entered. Even the hardened warlords of the western front listened intently, leaning forward in their thrones.
The strongest mage of the kingdom had returned.
Orivar didn't make a speech. He simply traveled across the chamber, his keen eyes examined every corner, even the Duke Siegfried for a heartbeat until he scanned away. The briefest flicker of knowing passed between them before Orivar turned and sombrely turned away.
His eyes fell on the empty Sureva Seat; a seat of great honour in this very chamber. His jaw tightened, and for a brief moment, pain marred his handsome face.
Then, silently, he took his designated place among the Archmage Circle.
But the assembly had no time to settle.
Another wave of shock rippled through the chamber as two figures entered together—towering men clad in silver and crimson armor, their matching greatswords resting across their backs.
The Twin Grand Knights—Remus and Ram.
The mightiest knight-brothers in the kingdom. They were defenders of the northern border that protected all of the kingdom from the Forbidden Lands.
The presence of the twin knights immediately sent the nobles into hushed worries.
If the twin knights had been called up, it meant only one thing - the convergence has become so overwhelming that not even the mightiest brothers of their order can ignore it. The absence of the northern wall's guardians left the kingdom exposed.
But here they were.
Liles Siegfried watched them enter with his eyes merely slanted.
Ah, so the King is going to place all the pieces on the chess board, he thought to himself.
Still, the crystal orb floating at his side was still a dark glass.
Nag has not sent word.
And Siegfried's patience was reaching it's end.
__
At the far end of the assembly, Duke Verasus of Emberhall, wide and thick-shouldered and with a stony appearance like an angry statue, tore out of his seat with his rage apparent. His voice rolled through the assembly like thunder.
"You snake, Siegfried!" Verasus bellowed" "You consider yourself above the blood of dukes?! You killed Arhenius before he could be put to trial!"
Verasus slammed a gauntleted fist onto his table and stood, taking a step forward toward the section of duke Siegfried.
The Duke Liles Siegfried reclined back in his own chair like a man who imagine that the game was long won. He smiled coolly, not standing, this time waving over another attendant who advanced with sealed case of translucent crystal.
With exaggerated fervor, Liles tossed the case to the Duke Verasus, who caught it with a frown.
"Why don't you see the truth for yourself, Duke of Emberhall?" Siegfried crooned. "A forensic investigation of the burnt remains...Evidence found in the ashes. And all in the Duke's own writing."
Verasus's personal guardian knight Ryder, instinctively reached for his sword in contempt, but before he could act, Archmage Orivar stood from his chair.
Without any spoken words, the Archmage silently raised a single hand.
A shimmering wave of mana pressed across the room like a heavy breath. Conversations halted. Movements stilled. The oppressive weight of an Eight-Star Mage's aura silenced every corner of the Convergence.
Ryder slowly lowered his hand, jaw clenched.
Verasus ripped the seal from the case and began scanning the parchments, his scowl deepening as his eyes darted over the records—documents of black-market dealings, missing commoners, forbidden experiments.
The chamber stirred as Marquis Mellon, once one of Sureva's closest vassals, stood on shaky legs, trying to peer at the evidence over Verasus's shoulder.
"This can't be true," Mellon muttered. "Arhenius would never…"
Murmurs rose across the room as more nobles craned their necks to glimpse the case's contents.
And then, a loud trumpet blast echoed through the golden chamber.
The Royal Guard began filing in through the great doors, their armor gleaming silver and blue, parting the nobles like waves.
A voice rang out in perfect, commanding cadence:
"His Majesty, King Henry VI of Gran Turin, approaches!"
The entire assembly rose to their feet.