The rain fell gently over the imperial gardens. It wasn't a storm, but an ancient blessing according to the monks of the Temple of Seasons:
Ø "When the sky weeps with sweetness, it is because the balances are about to shift."
And that day, something indeed would change.
The elders of the Imperial Council, dressed in robes the color of their houses, waited seated in a semicircle. Before them, the great jade table with five sections, one for each founding lineage of the empire, appeared empty at one of its ends. The carved reliefs on the table reflected the light from the golden candelabras, and a soft aroma of incense mixed with rain penetrated the hall. Each advisor maintained a straight back and serene countenance, but with attentive eyes that betrayed the tension accumulated through years of silences and conflicts.
House Jinhai remained without a voice.
Until today.
