Chapter 73: The God In The Hall
They had no answer but Lan continued.
The air made tense from the sharp debates that had been slicing the court apart like razors.
Voices rose and fell in a clamor of noble tongues, accusations thrown like stones in a river trying to shape its course. But whenever he spoke again, the court shifted—like an animal catching scent of something unnatural.
Lan continued without hesitation.
He exposed secrets as if peeling away paper—quietly, cleanly, and without emotion.
His words slashed through titles and histories with merciless precision. He named House Erendor’s covert dealings with foreign merchant guilds—deals made in quiet to smuggle arms during peacetime.
He mentioned Lord Verrin’s secret second wife hidden in the Eastern Isles—a woman with ties to Xavier’s court that no one dared speak of.
He called out the falsified temple donations of High Priest Norell, who had boldly proclaimed spiritual loyalty to Maximus just moments ago.
Murmurs swelled. Some of the accused turned pale. One or two fidgeted in their seats. A few wore the expressions of predators suddenly realizing they’d stepped into a trap baited by someone they’d never thought worth fearing.
But then the First Priest raised his hand, and the room obeyed like a beast to its master.
"You," the First Priest said, his voice ringing across the marbled hall, "may not cover your face if you seek to speak on the Assembly floor. Reveal your name. State your allegiance and the support you bring to your contender."
The assembly held its breath. All eyes turned to the masked figure in the center of the grand hall.