Lord Caelion departed the Imperial hall in silence.
The great doors of the Auroral Citadel closed behind him with a deep, echoing sound, and the chill of the fractured heavens greeted him at once.
The palace corridor stretched endlessly beneath vaulted arches of white stone and gold. Foxfire lanterns floated high overhead, casting pale light across polished floors, whilst servants and officials moved quickly through the halls, each lowering their head the instant they beheld him.
Among the fox clans, noble society was divided into several ranks.
At its Pinnacle stood the Imperial Family.
Beneath them were the Nine Great Noble Houses, followed by the military clans, the scholars, the seers, the lesser fox families, and at the very bottom, the servants and sworn vassals.
Each of the Nine Great Houses governed a different pillar of the realm.
House Aurelian ruled beside the Imperial bloodline and oversaw the affairs of the throne.
