The ornate study within Duke Ephesians Lorvantis's private quarters bore all the trappings of imperial authority, gilded furniture arranged with mathematical precision, military regalia displayed against walls of polished mahogany, and maps of the empire marked with colored pins denoting troop movements and strategic resources.
Yet for all its grandeur, something felt subtly wrong in the space, as if shadows lingered where they shouldn't and reflections in the polished surfaces didn't quite match their sources.
Duke Ephesians sat hunched over his massive oak desk, the weight of command evident in the stoop of his shoulders and the deep lines etched around his eyes.
