Supreme Magus novel Chapter 98

When someone heard referring to the King’s Council Chamber, usually his mind would think of the throne room.

More than twenty meters (66,6 feet) long and over ten meters (33,3 feet) large, a single red silk carpet with gold embroidered edges going from the three meters (10 feet) wide double doors up to the two steps that distanced the floor where nobles stood and the raised one for the royal family.

That way, even sitting on their gold thrones, carved to resemble a rampant griffon, they would be able to look down on everyone present, reaffirming they status and authority.

The whole room was lit by crystal chandeliers, fueled by magic, leaving no space for shadows or need for maintenance.

On the walls, magically enchanted tapestries would recount over and over the great feats that the current King had accomplished to be deemed worthy of his power. Both the floor and the pillars of the room were realized from gold veined marble, the most precious and robust material available in the Griffon Kingdom.

And that someone would be dead wrong. The throne room was perfect for holding social events or awarding a particular general or noble. But when it came down to state secrets, it was a security nightmare.

Between the main entrance, the servants’ passages, the secret passages and the balconies for the spectators, circling around the room, a small army of spies could easily go unnoticed, even after searching the whole place with a tooth comb.

The real Council Chamber was located in the King’s private apartments, inside of a heavily guarded tower. The room was about 6 meters (20 feet) long and 4 meters (13 feet) large with only a round table and wooden chairs as furniture.

The round table didn’t mean that every opinion held the same importance, it was simply the only way to be heard from every side of the room without the need of shouting non-stop.

Aside from the furniture, the room was bare, with no windows and only one entrance. Both the floor and the walls were of a pale grey, there was no colour outside that of the magical stones the room was made of.

Most of the assemblies would last hours, and given the sensitive nature of the subjects that required the King’s direct approval, discretion was of vital importance.

The whole place was enchanted to prevent eavesdropping, either by conventional or magical means, not to mention all the protections necessary to avoid the whole high command getting killed in one fell swoop.

In that particular day, the Council Chamber wasn’t occupied by ministers or generals, but by the upper echelons of the Mage Association. In such occasions, it was the Queen’s duty chairing the debate.

For the Crown to have absolute control over both political and magical matters, responsibilities were shared as such. The one of the royal couple most versed in the magical arts would become the head of the Mage Association.

The other, would be in charge of all the military power and oversee the ministers’ activities. Together, they would hold all the keys to the Kingdom.

Queen Sylpha wore a simple blue satin morning dress, with long sleeves covering her arms. Despite being over fifty years old, it was hard thinking her a day past thirty.

With her square chin and sharp features, she couldn’t be considered beautiful, but the aura of confidence and power she exuded coupled with her perfect manners, still made her quite charming.

"Your Majesty, we still cannot find Linnea." Said a bald middle-aged man with a grey goatee. "We are certain she hasn’t crossed the borders yet. She would never leave her children behind."

The Queen dilated her nostrils in annoyance. Recently she would only receive bad news.

"And? I want results, not hypothesis! If you can’t find her, she could have defected to the Blood Sand tribes or even hiding up my powdered a*s for all I care. What about the Gorgon Empire? Is it true that they are developing clairvoyance magic?"

The idea of their worst enemy being able to spy on them from a safe distance, caused the Queen to lose sleep over it.

"Yes and no." Sniggered an old woman with long white hair, held up in a pony tail. "Yes, they spent thousands of gold coins to indulge the Emperor obsession with prophets, seers and all that cr*p about predicting the future. _{freёwebnovel.com}

No, because up to date all those so called ’mediums’ were only frauds. Some of them were actually our agents, that managed to drain considerable sums before disappearing."

"Finally, something goes right!" She slammed the table with her fist hard enough to make several goblets fall off.

"What about the great academies?" An awkward silence fell into the room, instantly ruining her good mood.

"Your Majesty, maybe you should reconsider your line of action." Said a tall middle-aged woman with short red hair.

"So many changes at once are hard to accept. It would be better to implement them one by one over time."

"One by one over time." The Queen echoed, drumming with her slender fingers on the armrest.

"Tell me, dear Bolna, how long has the Mage Association tried to change the rules nice and easy, to avoid unrest?" Her tone was calm and amiable, causing those present to shudder.