The Chamber of Judgment was already in session.
Inside, the Council of Elders sat in a wide semicircle carved into elevated stone seating that rose in measured tiers. Each Elder occupied a designated seat marked by their sigil, the symbols etched directly into the stone beneath them. Their robes varied in color and design, each reflecting the office they held, but all carried the same weight of authority. This was not a place for noise or disorder. Even the air itself felt restrained, as though the Chamber demanded silence by its very design.
At the center of the room stood the Judge's dais. It was raised only slightly above the floor, a deliberate choice meant to signal balance rather than dominance. Elian's position there was not one of power over the Council, but of responsibility to both the law and the people. Behind the dais, ancient carvings detailed the founding of Novaterra's legal system—symbols of justice, restraint, and unity that had endured for centuries.
