There was still at least an hour before the banquet at dusk, but the entrance to the Celestial Maiden Palace was already crowded with various carriages and riding horses.
Unlike the soothing music of traditional Empire banquets, Black Snake Bay had a bit of a country feast feel.
Drumbeats, bagpipes, and tremolo-sounding citterns were somewhat harsh; vivid flowers and green ponds surrounded the cleared dance floor.
Young male and female wizards donned newly bought fitted jackets and off-shoulder dresses from the Thousand River Valley, linking arms in laughter, dancing taps around the accompanying musicians.
Unlike the Imperial Nobility, the witches of Black Snake Bay did not like to apply too much white powder to cover their wheat-colored skin; they preferred to accentuate it with bright red rouge lipstick.
Beneath the fence and grape arbor by the garden, stone tables and stone stools were set up, where higher-ranking middle-aged wizards were seated.
