The northern shamans arrived beneath falling snow, and that fact alone irritated Halrem.Silverhall had spent generations refining elegant ceremonial traditions founded upon silver banners, polished marble, disciplined processions, and restrained grandeur. The Black Dominion, meanwhile, seemed convinced that diplomacy improved dramatically when accompanied by wolf pelts, bone charms, and mystics who looked capable of accidentally cursing an entire harvest.The palace servants feared them the moment they arrived. Halrem considered that an entirely reasonable instinct.She first encountered the shamans during the final fitting consultation for the imperial wedding garments, where suffocating layers of silk, jewels, and political expectation had transformed the western fitting chamber into controlled chaos. Attendants hurried between racks of ceremonial robes carrying fabrics gathered from six kingdoms, while northern advisors argued relentlessly with Silverhall designers over precisel
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