The hall was packed to the vaulted rafters of the Great Hall. So dense was the crush of silk, velvet, and glistening grease that one might have mistaken the chamber for the Small Hall, were it not for the conspicuous lack of a certain throne and long line of petitioners awaiting for the queen's pleasure.
Every lord of the realm had received a royal summon, and most had possessed the wit to attend. The sole notable absence was the Lord of Aragustaven, the new one, naturally, considering the old lord was currently indisposed on account of him being a dear and entertaining the worms. Lord Damio was a squealing babe of three, leaving the regency in the hands of his mother, Lady Barb.
