"Clear the perimeter! Do not touch anything!" the Captain of the Imperial Guard roared, his armor clanking loudly as he directed a squad of silver-clad knights to surround the refreshment tables.
Two court mages stepped forward, the hems of their embroidered robes brushing against the floor. Raising their glowing staves, they sent waves of blue detection magic sweeping over the spilled wine, the shattered crystal glass, and the untouched food nearby.
The remaining members of the Solaric delegation were in absolute, buzzing chaos. They clustered together near the pillars, their hands gripping the hilts of their ceremonial blades, their voices raised in a frantic blend of panic and foreign accents. To them, a royal princess of Solaric had just been violently struck down in the heart of the Auzelian capital. To them, it might as well have been a declaration of war.
