Ellegaard first examined the area near the doors while Jeanne amused herself by inspecting the display armors. She closely observed the impact marks on the wall above the doorway, then the dried blood lying beneath it.
She frowned as she crouched down and touched the blood with her fingers.
"It's a few weeks old…"
She stood up and looked around. The throne was empty, the windows shattered, and there were signs of battle across all the walls—but these were far older than the blood at the entrance to the throne room. Though there had been a recent fight here, it hadn't caused much damage, as if one side had been defeated in a single blow.
She walked toward the throne, hoping to find something more. There, in the ashen crater before the marble throne, was a thin groove where a slender object might have once been embedded. She touched the crater with her fingers, frowning at her discovery.
"Divine presence…"
