The throne room of the Nolian royal palace was a far cry from the grand hall at Hartla. Nolia was more modest. Its throne room was a smaller, auditorium-style venue. Two hundred people would have been hard-pressed to fit inside. The walls were white. The floors were polished granite. A blood-red carpet ran from the doorway to the throne: a chair upon a raised platform. The platform was a black hunk of basalt from the Orlia Flats.

Seated on the throne, Leah looked around and lamented ...