By the middle of the morning, it is obvious that they are approaching the great city. The first hints of the outskirts of the city start to appear along the western shore of the bay while they are still a couple of miles out from the harbour. As they glide along on minimal sail, the city slowly appears before them.

At first glance, apart from the obvious size of the urban area, there’s little to distinguish it from any other busy port. As they approach the mouth of the harbour, however, the scale and splendour of some of the buildings begins to become more apparent.

First, there’s the harbour. Like most major cities, Mekalla is situated at the mouth of a river. This is a great river, draining a large expanse of the interior of the continent. The mouth of this great waterway is broad and deep, but it has been hemmed-in and controlled by two enormous breakwaters to provide a vast sheltered harbour that’s as much as a mile wide.

Despite the vast size of the enclosed waters, it seems crowded with vessels of all sizes. From huge ocean-going traders as large as Wave-Piercer herself through smaller coastal vessels and a host of sailing barges that seem suited to the river, the ships are everywhere.

Still, organisation is evident from the start. There is a place cleared at one of the docks, ready for their arrival. Dock workers are in place as they drift to a stop, ready to grab lines and make fast at a long quayside that is built to precise and exacting standards. Across the busy quay, long rows of stone-built warehouses reach a full four stories into the sky.

Just to the east, the harbour turns into the mouth of the river and the quayside follows. The river is perhaps 600 yards wide at this point, but just a short distance from its mouth there is the first of several huge stone bridges that connect the two sides of the river. Eighteen broad stone arches span the river in elegant sweeps that, near the middle of the channel, grow tall enough to allow the biggest of the river barges to pass beneath with their sails up. Dozens of carriages, carts, horses and hundreds of pedestrians can be clearly seen on the bridge.

Barely visible beyond the wharf-side rows of warehouses are tantalising glimpses of even taller buildings and, across the river on the eastern bank, an immense tower of stone that must be more than 180 feet tall.

Alex, Jamie and the rest of the group are on the main deck, keeping out of the way as the crew finalise their arrival and a gangplank is arranged. No sooner is it in place than a small group of uniformed men appear, marching through the crowd and straight up onto the deck of the ship. The captain greets them and bows formally.

Alex can’t make out much of the groups rapid chatter, but it is clear from what little he does understand that they are being welcomed back into port. There really doesn’t seem to be much for them to do, other than to give their names to the uniformed official in charge.

“Welcome to Mekalla,” he tells them all with the minimum of an accent. “If you would all please wait aboard, transport is being provided to take you all to the palace.”

Within minutes, he is proved correct, as six four-horse carriages appear from the direction of the river and bridge. Each is driven by a uniformed driver. The carriages themselves are of the finest build, with narrow wheels, lacquered wooden construction and matched horses. It’s only at this point that Shara, having spent the morning in his favourite spot at the bow, bounds across the deck to join Jamie and Alex.

Everything seems to be organised with the minimum of fuss and the whole group are quickly on their way, rapidly progressing along the quayside and over the huge bridge. The eastern side of the river seems much more formally designed than the west, at least at a first glance. Once over the river, the streets are broader, tree-lined and elegant. The buildings are, at least in this central area, large and imposing in their heights and layouts.

“This is the administrative centre of the empire,” Chao tells Tarmon in their shared carriage. “Most of these large buildings are offices for the various branches of the Emperor’s court.”

“I didn’t know that people built such tall buildings, apart from the occasional temple, I suppose.”

“It’s a relatively new development,” Chao says. “The city has always had far too many people for the space available. Now, people live in apartments – a home might be a half or a quarter of a single floor in one of those larger structures. Everybody wants to live close to work and most of the people work here in the centre of the city.”

“Is it always this busy?” Tarmon asks.

“Actually, this is a quiet part of the day,” Chao tells him. “When the working day comes to an end, the streets will become packed with all those workers heading for home.”

“How far is it to the palace?”

“About another fifteen minutes. Originally, the old palace was built right on the harbourside, but my grandfather decided that it was too small and too close to the middle of the city. The old palace was demolished and offices constructed in its place. The new palace is on the far eastern edge of the city.”

“Is the great tower also new?” Tarmon asks as he glances back at the imposing structure that is now behind them.

“Oh, no. That is quite ancient. In fact, nobody really seems to know why it was built. If we have time, I will show you the view. It gives an excellent insight into the working of the city when it is laid out like a map below you.”

“So, one can go to the top of it?”

“Yes. It has always been open to the public. As you might expect, it is mostly visitors to the city who take advantage of it.”

“What is your father like?”

“Your mind bounces like a child’s ball,” Chao suggests with a smile. “Every question is about something different. Your curiosity must be boundless.”

“Well, it’s probably because everything is new to me. I’ve never travelled and all my studies have been magic-based. Now, this whole world is here for me to explore. It’s quite liberating.”

“I suppose. I’ve been lucky enough to travel quite a lot,” Chao adds. “That might explain a lot about what my father’s like, actually.”

“Really?”

“Yes. He’s very outward thinking, if that’s even a thing. Our system of inheritance doesn’t favour the male line. The first-born child is the new Emperor or Empress, based on age alone. So, I’m not destined to rule, but father sees the running of the Empire as a bit of a family business. My education has always assumed that I’d be working in some way to help my elder sister rule.”

“Do you have other family?”

“Yes. I have a younger sister as well. She was married just a few months ago and has moved to the east. The city of Verivor is an important ally of Mekalla.”

“Was it an arranged marriage?”

“Not exactly. Father doesn’t believe in the need for them, although political alliances through marriage are always a welcome thing. A number of our allies – and a couple of potential enemies – regularly send their eligible children to study at our university. More to show you, we have the largest library in the known world.”

“We don’t have half enough time to do all that you wish for us.”

“No, you’re probably right. It would take a lifetime.” Chao falls silent for a moment, as if realizing what he just said. “Anyway, my sister met her husband there and everything seems to have worked out well. It’s a good political alliance and he’s a very good and kind man who loves my sister as much as she loves him.”

“And your older sister?”

“Well, Mia will be the empress when her time comes. She is five years older than I am and we have never been exactly close. Oh, we get on well enough, we just don’t have much in common.”

“And she is married?”

“No, not yet. There is much comment about the fact, both from the people and, to a lesser extent, from the court. I just think she hasn’t met the right person just yet. She has always had very exacting standards and expectations. I sometimes wonder if she sets her sights too high.”

“Most people are expected to have a family at some point,” Tarmon says. “I’ve never really thought of it as being something that becomes a duty, though.”

“Well, she is still young enough for the complaints and concerns to be mostly theoretical. In another few years, however, that might change. It’s not as if she doesn’t want to get married and have a family. She’s just too picky about a possible husband right now.”

“It’ll all work out, I’m sure.”

“As most things do. Ah, we are arriving at the gate.”

The Imperial Palace at Mekalla is, for wont of a better description, vast and more than a little ostentatious. Chao’s grandfather obviously had endless power and the finances to back it up, but he seemed to lack a degree of good taste that would have made a gaudy building a grand one.

At least the architects have had the sense to build it to a symmetrical design that tries to minimise the over-the-top nature of much of the decoration and embellishment. It just doesn’t quite work on any level. The façade is too wide, the towers a little too tall, the roof-lines too disjointed and the formal gardens too large.

It is pretty obvious that it was built to project the might and power of the Mekallan empire and it probably manages this well enough. Alex and Jamie may have seen more than their fair share of palaces and castles in their travels on the southern continent, so it is they who find the first sight of the palace the most jarring. Still, despite Alex’s constant protestations otherwise, they are diplomats and know when to remain quiet.

The whole group are led into the west wing of the vast interior, taken up to the second storey and shown to a series of rooms that have been placed at their disposal. All the staff are wearing a brightly-coloured uniform of the finest cloths and it would appear that they all only speak the local language. Much of their chatter seems to be about Shara who is walking along with Alex as they move through the palace.

There are more than enough rooms in the suite to allow them to share or not as they desire, leaving Alex and Jamie as the only couple in a shared room. The bathrooms are almost the equal of Jamie and Alex’s own in Fundis, with both hot and cold water on tap.

Chao accompanies them into their quarters, explaining how to call for the staff if they require anything. The bedrooms surround a large and comfortable common space with well-padded sofas and a separate dining space with a table big enough for the sixteen people that this space could accommodate. The furniture is, like the rest of the palace, a little bit too ornamental, but everything is comfortable and of the highest quality.

“Lee Shan has gone off to make his report to my father,” Chao tells them after they have all chosen rooms and their luggage has been delivered. “I must go and do the same. If it is okay with you, I shall join you all for supper in a few hours. Please relax and make yourselves comfortable, as we shall be here for a few days at least.”

“Of course, you must make your report,” Alex tells him. “We’re quite capable of sitting around here for a few hours without supervision.”

“Well, I suspect our formal audience will be tomorrow afternoon. If you wish to see the facilities of the palace, we might do that in the morning?”

“That might be interesting,” Jamie agrees. “I know our military contingent will be very keen to see some of the training facilities.” There are nods of agreement from both Brion and Garvan.

“Indeed. The palace guard live and train within the palace grounds. I can also arrange for you to see some of the military training at some point. I’m not sure that they will differ much from what they expect, except perhaps in scale,” Chao points out.

“Just one thing,” Alex tells him before he leaves. “Do make it clear to your father that we don’t want to delay our progress any more than necessary to sort out the logistics of the next stage of our expedition?”

“I’m sure he will agree with those sentiments entirely, but I will make sure he is aware of your concern before you meet with him.”