A corner of the platter's lid lifted, releasing the tempting, roasted aroma of steaming snowfield veal.
Old Hein carried the silver platter, pushing open the kitchen's oak door with his back.
As the door swung shut, the smoky bustle behind him fell away. The space ahead opened up, but its brilliance was all the more blinding.
This was the Leda Swan Palace, in the western outskirts of Saint Ludwig.
The palace was breathtakingly beautiful-literally suffocating. Silk wall coverings from the East lined the walls, golden threads hidden in every fold. The carpet beneath his feet was red as blood and soft as flesh. Every step set his heart pounding, for fear that a misstep would feed the delicacies on his platter to it.
Overhead, the light of thousands of whale oil candles refracted through Magic Crystals, illuminating every inch of the space in exquisite detail.
Old Hein kept his neck tucked in as he hurried down the corridor, inadvertently catching sight of a terrace to one side.
Outside the terrace, the Empire's Royal Guard stood in a row.
Gleaming plate armor, fluttering red plumes, and openly watchful eyes. A guard captain stood right by the glass, staring unblinkingly at everything happening inside.
Old Hein hurried away.
Around the corner stood another squad of guards.
The Grey Sea Alliance's knights stood in silence. Unlike the gleaming tin cans outside, these knights were encased in dark red armor that looked almost, but not quite, like flesh.
With each breath, the muscle fibers on the armor's surface wriggled faintly. Now and then, something resembling a blood vessel could be seen pulsing.
Swish.
Head lowered, Old Hein passed between them after being inspected. Only once he entered the doorway did that oppressive feeling fade.
At last, he reached the long table and set down