The Inner Palace had been built atop the ruins of Kathmandu, a vast complex at the heart of the Imperial Palace, with its security handled entirely by the Adeptus Custodes.
The Gate of Ascension separated the Inner Palace from the Outer Palace districts.
Within the Inner Palace stood many important structures: the sanctum where the Emperor resided, the Adeptus Mechanicus embassy, the Sigillite's retreat, the Overlord Palace where the Council of Terra—the highest authority of the Imperium—held its sessions, the Way of Ten Thousand Victories, a miraculous place shaped by the Emperor's psychic influence, the Tower of Heroes where the great Lost-Soul Bell tolled for the Ancestral Spirits, and the Imperial Chief Academy.
The Imperial Chief Academy was the largest academy and library in the Imperium.
The auditorium of the Imperial Chief Academy was paved with clear, bright marble and filled with rows of maple chairs delivered from the territory of Capinus House in Cairo.
Lauren Visscher, the Star-Father's envoy of the Navigator houses, entered right on time together with Nemo Zhi-Ming, the abbot of the Astra Telepathica, then took a seat in the front row of the hall.
She had just taken a sip of Cradle of the Sea black tea steeped with Mandrake when her brows suddenly drew together.
She looked back toward the corner, where Gianluigi, a Navigator of Belisarius House, had walked in.
Petronella Viva, who had been about to step onto the stage, signaled to her father, and the patriarch of Capinus House walked over.
"Mr. Capinus, surely you won't refuse an uninvited guest like me." When Belisarius opened his mouth, his polished sharp teeth were as keen as wolf fangs.
"Of course not," Capinus responded swiftly, saying it with a smile.
He had already prepared spare chairs behind the last row and arranged them