The doors closed behind the eight heads and cut the noise of the outer hall away almost entirely. What remained was familiar to most of them: the circular chamber of dark polished stone, the broad obsidian table at its center and eight seats set at equal distance around it. Before each one waited the narrow slot cut for a single metal token, and none of them required a Sage present to know which place was theirs.
Valttair reached his seat first and slid the Morgain token home. Roderic followed across from him, then Malakar, Lysaria, Grumhald and Elenara. Darian placed the Thal'zar token without hesitation, since he had already sat in Kaedor's chair before, and whatever uncertainty had accompanied his first Council had long since stopped showing in the way he moved.
