Ravens of Eternity

301 The High Palace

Two Weeks Later

The Ravens, guided by Max, walked up the Grand Staircase up to the de Jardin High Palace. There were exactly 100 steps all the way to the top, with every step etched with the names of prominent de Jardins throughout history.

The Staircase itself was almost as wide as it was tall, which allowed for clusters of people to go up and down comfortably. That was even despite the small crowds gathered here and there. Most were chatting or gossiping or compromising or arguing amongst themselves.

Sometimes random passers-by ended up drawn into the various conversations. This was, after all, the absolute center of de Jardin politics, where chatter and gossip and compromises and arguments were ubiquitous.

There were others who were more the tourist-type and simply looked around and gawked with awe at the majesty of the Palatial Grounds. It wasn’t just the High Palace here – the entire district was filled with some of the House’s most critical governmental buildings.

It was so critical to the prosperity of the House that it was protected by burgundy-colored photonic energy walls. The semi translucent walls shimmered hazily, and not only could they be seen through, but they could easily be passed through as well.

Sort of.

Anything nonorganic, such as a rock or clothes or even bullets could pass through easily. Anything organic, such as people, would be atomized if they tried to pass through.

The only way into the district, and past the many other protective energy walls inside, were through manned security stations. There, the de Jardin Royal Guard stoically vetted every single person that passed through their gates.

.....

The Guards themselves were welcoming in some ways, yet imposing in others.

They were kind and cordial and incredibly outward and welcoming. Yet they wore robust burgundy-colored armor, and wielded powerful weaponry. And beyond those at the security stations, there were many squads and drones that patrolled the streets.

That wasn’t all – there was also a hangar nearby that could deploy fighters and mecha at any time. And though they were out of sight from everyone planetside, the 3rd Royal Navy patiently stood watch from orbit.

To call it merely ‘secure’ seemed an understatement.

As they walked up the steps, the Ravens wowed at the architecture of the city. They had spent their time the past couple of weeks inside of a special diplomatic zone, and never got the chance to do much sightseeing.

Now they found themselves up close to the most prominent building in the entire House, and couldn’t help but feel the same awe as many of the other tourists around them.

Though every building in the district had similar geometric and aesthetic designs as the rest of the city, for some reason the curves they used imparted a grander sense of majesty.

The High Palace, especially. It tapered upwards and back gracefully, as though it was being swept back by the wind. Unlike the hangar towers, the palace was much wider than it was tall, which caused the top to taper off into a relatively wide plateau.

Up there sat a number of royal air and spacecraft, should the ruling de Jardins ever need them. To head to an emergency, for example. Or perhaps, far more rarely, escape from one.

Max showed his credentials to the Royal Guards at the security station at the top of the steps. They chatted briefly, reviewed the Ravens’ diplomatic status, then allowed the whole group through, just as the half dozen security checkpoints they had gone through previously.

Max assured them that there were more ahead of them, which elicited a few light-hearted groans. But they were inside the High Palace. Finally.

And perhaps that was a huge win, in and of itself. To simply stand in such a highly venerated building filled each of the Ravens with a sense of awe, as though they were all slightly lighter than before.

In front of them was the Grand Hall, an incredibly spacious room with vaulted ceilings. There were a hundred intricately carved pillars that stretched up from floor to ceiling. Carved into each one were moments within the de Jardin’s long and storied history. They captured many moments onto them, from the House’s initial founding, to a massive political reformation, to a defining class revolt, and more.

It was all there for anyone and everyone to see. Well, anyone who was allowed that far in, anyway. This usually meant dignitaries and diplomats from other worlds and nations. Most of the public weren’t allowed in due to reasons of political safety, and never got to experience the grandeur.

At least, not in person. There were certainly plenty of DI experiences available to the public.

Eva peered at a few of them and wondered how much of what was etched on them was actually true. She was certain that many things were highly embellished at the very least. To her, that was the case everywhere, in every universe.

Governments tended to embellish their own history, and romanticize them.

People loved the stories given to them by those in power, even in ancient times. Back then, people believed that their kings were also gods, and that their prosperity as a whole depended on their god-king’s personal prosperity as well.

In some ways, she still saw that as true. The Drogar and their Reborn was more than enough proof of it for her. She shivered when she realized that the Reborn would one day rule over the Empire. It might take centuries, but she felt it was practically guaranteed.

Eva checked back into reality as they passed through the Grand Hall to the other end, where they presented themselves to yet another set of Royal Guards. This check took significantly longer, as the Guards triple-checked their status.

Then, once they were approved, were given four Guards to escort them through the rest of the palace. Two led the Ravens from the front with Max alongside them, while the other two trailed behind them and guarded the rear.

The Ravens were led through a series of wide, stately hallways, where they observed many House councilors gathered in groups around each other. Here, the gossiping and chatting faded away altogether, and only the compromising and arguments remained. Except there was much more heat and spice in their words.

Some even got heated to the point of near physical altercation, but the Guards posted there made sure nothing actually happened. Their presence alone helped smooth over frictions between the councilors, though they hardly helped cool things down in the long run.

And although Eva couldn’t really understand the intricacies of what they were arguing for or against, she felt the power in many of their voices. Some fought for their people, others for their wealth. Others still fought to continue their colonial war. Or against.

Their words were like conviction wrapped in honey, but wielded like rapiers.

She saw as their raw passions were honed into pure oratoric willpower, and Eva couldn’t help but mull over it as they walked.

The group was ushered into a large gravity lift, which took them up multiple floors all the way to the top. The Ravens noticed that every floor they passed was pretty much like the first. They were filled with House Councilors hard at work arguing or agreeing.

When they arrived at the top, the Ravens were completely surprised to see yet one more security station. Though once they realized they were right outside of the Matriarch’s Throne, they understood why.

They once again went through the requisite triplicate-check. As they did so, their guard escort stepped back and were replaced with a guard escort from this security station. The transition was so smooth that the Ravens almost didn’t catch it.

And in addition, Max’s personal guards were kept at the station itself – they didn’t have the clearance to enter the Throne Room. Rightfully so.

Luci realized that certain sections within the entire district likely had specialist Royal Guards who only watched out for their exact charge, such as the Matriarch having her own. It made sense in terms of security, but showed a level of paranoia, even within the center of the House’s power.

Ze wondered if there was a kind of internal power struggle – there almost always were in the highest places of power – but ze shelved the theory for now.

They were all being led through a set of elegant double doors made of a beautiful marbled white ashwood. Each of the doors were a half dozen meters wide and a half meter thick, but swung open rather easily.

Not that they opened them up wide – the Door Guards simply pushed one of the two doors slightly ajar, and allowed the Ravens through.

The de Jardin Throne Room was a stately and voluminous circular office. It was simple, clean, and welcoming. The floors were an elegant dark gray wood, while the walls were a robust burgundy stone.

Along the left side of the room’s walls were a number of screens, which displayed the most critical reports to the House, and to the Hegemony. On the other side were a series of holocomm pads next to shelves filled with datapads and infospheres.

Off to the side was a large, stately desk with a terminal on it, right next to a rather well-stocked wet bar. Behind that desk was a tall and proud elderly woman. Her silver hair was tied up into a perfectly-kept bun, but framed her angular face very well. The dignity she held with her pose was nothing short of awe-inspiring.

Her fingers deftly tapped on her terminal’s screen as she issued her final few commands. Then she stood up and greeted her guests with a smile.

“Maximilian!” she exclaimed. “So good to see you. Please, have a seat, all of you.”

She then extended a hand to the center of the room, where two semicircular couches faced each other. The Ravens quickly went towards them, and made themselves comfortable.

Eva was a little awestruck by her. She wasn’t like any monarch she had ever seen. She was expecting a tiny, frail old woman long past her prime, but the Matriarch de Jardin was stunning. Especially for someone who was 140.

There was also a single seat that was set in between the couches’ northern ends. It was spaced far enough to distinguish its position, but also close enough to be intimately within the conversation.

The elderly woman waited until the Ravens were seated before she sat down.

It struck Luci that she was on the actual throne. And it hardly looked regal in any way, unlike the thrones ze was used to seeing. In fact, it seemed rather plain – as plainly designed as the couch ze sat on.

Hir fingers traced the couches’ lines gently and felt the fabric on hir skin.

Simply designed, ze thought. but very finely made.

“So you must all be the Conspiracy of Ravens, yes?” asked the Matriarch de Jardin. “Maximilian here speaks quite a great deal about you. Some might say, perhaps too much.”