Five hundred miles southwest of Whispering-Iron Gorge, inside the towering, candle-lit expanse of the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Imperial Capital, a late-night privy council was in session.
High atop the nine obsidian steps sat Emperor Huang Long upon his bone-carved throne, his golden nine-clawed dragon robes gleaming in the firelight of the bronze braziers.
At the foot of the obsidian dais knelt two men: the white-haired leader of the traditionalist court faction, High Minister Chen Bo, and the Emperor's personal shadow, Chief Eunuch Gao.
