Around Julian, the more powerful members of the Astran household began to tense as they sensed the same thing. Some exchanged brief, uneasy glances. Others remained silent, their faces betraying what their words could not.
Even the lesser officers seemed shaken.
For some of them, it was as if everything they understood about power had suddenly been torn apart.
**
Astran sat near the peak of the kingdom's ducal powers.
In open ranking, only few houses stood above it, and the only authority it formally answered to was the crown itself. Even so, the duchy could only produce four or five arch mages under ordinary conditions, counting the Duke, Commander Aldric, and even Kraven.
That in itself was formidable. It was also one of the reasons that rival territories spoke carefully around Astran's borders.
However.
The royal family showcased FIFTEEN arch mages in front of them before the King even stepped down from his carriage.
So one could only guess how much were they hiding.
