The hall filled gradually, the way important spaces fill before significant events — not all at once, not with any visible rush, but with a steady accumulation of presence that transformed the space from an empty room into something charged with collective attention.
Nobles arrived in their formal dress and took positions that reflected the complex invisible architecture of imperial court hierarchy.
Ministers gathered in their designated area with the practiced arrangement of people who had done this many times.
Guards stood at measured intervals along the walls with the absolute stillness that distinguished imperial palace guards from every lesser variety.
