A Light in the Darkness Book: The Moonlight Murderer

Chapter Two: The Empress

While Drake was stuck out in the street, there was someone else trapped. Not in a physical prison exactly, but a prison, nonetheless. The vast incline of the Imperial Causeway lay at Market street's western edge. It rose along a great edifice which separated the city's main districts, into many lavish businesses and manors of the Heights. Higher still at the western precipice of the city, behind a modes wall and brick gatehouse lay the Imperial Palace, itself. It was an imposing grey stone fortress composed of a main hall which extended back into a stone keep. The spiraling Sentinel's tower rose over the main structure with a flaming beacon visible to all below. It housed the palace's advisory Flame Weaver. The north wing of the palace searched as a headquarters of the City Watch and barracks for both watchmen and the emperor's elite force, the Phoenix Guard alike. The southern wing housed the Empire's administrative center and many of the palace's servants.

The main hall was made of white stone with light fixtures attached to marble pillars, lining either end. A dim light faded in through high stained windows as various nobles entered through the side doors. Many were already seated or standing in the hall, quietly discussing the day's business. At the hall's end there was a raised dais with two golden thrones lined in purple. One sat empty, in the other sat, the empress Silvia Cevarius, held evening court, with a frown on her face.

She was a middle-aged, women, with light blue eyes, and faded blond hair, wearing an ornate red dress with green trimmings, a silver diadem perched on her head. Her face once vibrant and youthful was now lined from stressful years and ruling the empire. It had been a long week for her and the current issues in the city had only made it worse. The nobles were demanding more action about the murders and tensions with the Order of Flame Weavers had been at a fever pitch. The situation in the capital hadn't been this bad since the war.

Silvia had been struggling the past three years since her husband, the emperor began to spiral into despair. While listening to the various nobles prattle on about politics and recent events; she grew distracted. Her mind drifted back to how her husband had begun to fall apart.

Emperor Sigmund Cevarius III was a tall man with the build of a warrior. His face was hardened from years of trial which had endured throughout his reign. He had been through war, assassination attempts, and lost family members. But still, for years, he managed to keep things together. Until recently that is. Silvia had been living the capital nearly twenty-six years, but never quite got used to it. She missed the sea and the crashing of waves while sitting by her family's home out in Sky Harbor. As the oldest daughter of the Navalia family lords of the East, it had always been her obligation to rule and now she stood over the entire Cevarian Empire.

What had started off as partnership had seen more duties falling on her every day. There few people around she could trust. One of those had been her son while he'd been around.

Prince Owin had gone on a military expedition to secure the border and to investigate strange rumors from in the Western Forests. He had been gone for about a year now and it was around the time that her husband completely withdrew from presiding over court. He spent his days either trying to rest or pouring through ancient tomes on lunar lore and flame manipulation. His moments of lucidity were fleeting, and their conversations were few. When they did speak, he always had a hushed tone and a far off look in his eyes. This was not the strong and charismatic man she had married all those years ago.

To make matters worse, it had been weeks since word had come from the prince. It was possible he was merely preoccupied with his mission, but Silvia had a mother's worry and the pressures she faced at court only made her wish more for her son's swift return. Like his father once was, Owin was a forceful personality who could rally people to his cause. His presence was greatly missed, and she believed that if he were still in the city, the current problems would not have gotten so unmanageable. She missed her other two children as well, but she at least had the fortune of knowing where they were. However, she had not the time to engage in these thoughts further, as a voice broke her from her contemplation.