Prince Arron Sovanid was well accustomed to the kind of elegance and majesty that the Phoenix Kings had ensured their Palace exuded. He'd grown up in Talonspire, perhaps the most posh and fanciful city in the land, short of the one he found himself in now. The gold engravings decorating the doors to the palace's main hall reminded him of home, and then of how he felt towards home. Having always lived in luxury and fine quarters, there was nothing that Arron enjoyed more than the opportunity to leave them: to explore the darkest holes and most dangerous forests in the land, and escape all of the material richness which had characterized his youth. Arron had enjoyed the ride from Talonspire, through the Passage of Noctua and the lands of the crown, more than he had the gentle stroll through Skyhaven's streets.

Of course, that was not to say that Arron didn't appreciate the niceties that his position offered. When in the palace's grand hall, gazing at the murals of the great wyrm-slayers of old, Arron was reminded of the reason he appreciated his status when he found the mural which depicted his ancestor, Peisal Sovanid: the founder of his house. In Peisal's days, the Sovanids had ruled over nothing but barren stone, empty of resources and bereft of arable land. Their hide-away far up into the mountains was a hindrance to them, preventing them from participating in the trade that the land-owners of the Passage so enjoyed. It was only in Peisal's later days, as an old man, that he found himself blessing his isolation from the rest of Noctua. When star metal fell onto Sovanid lands, on the spot where Talonspire Tower now sits, Peisal was the only man of power around to make use of it. He had a talented local smith, the only one in the area, engrave the star metal into the workings of his wooden walking stick. With this new weapon, which Peisal named after his deceased wife, Waisnan, the gravely old Sovanid descended to the lands of the Passage to join in a coalition with other great heroes gifted with star metal, and defeat the wyrm. As the draconic beast's corpses fell from the sky, their flesh became fertilizer for the wealth of House Sovanid. Peisal's descendants had worked tirelessly to enforce House Sovanid's rule over the whole of Noctua, and build a dynasty strengthened by immense wealth. Arron did not see his jewellery and fine clothes as evidence of plutocracy; he saw them as evidence of the triumph of the Sovanids past. Each sip of wine that he took and each golden necklace that he dressed himself in reminded him of House Sovanid's ascension from the owners of nothing but barren rock. House Sovanid's luxury did not announce, "Look how high we are!", but rather, "Look how high we've become!".

Shamgar's words bored Arron. He'd heard only a single sentence of the man's speech while he was so immersed in his thoughts. Something about having to turn over weapons, Arron believed. With a smug smile and a barely contained snicker, Arron presented his sword to the Palace Guard as they came by to collect Lord's weapons. He had a dagger under his armour that he didn't bother handing over, though, and each of the two Noctuan knights flanking him at either side down not turn over their swords either, the scabbards of which they made no effort to conceal. Arron did not see the need to strip those in the palace of their weapons. To the effect of finding someone to complain of such to, Arron gave a quick scan of the room, and eventually spotted James Conrad seated with a perhaps overly large retinue of guards, at the other end of the hall. He moved towards the Lord in confident strides, his guards in their full suits of armour finding it almost difficult to keep up. Arron was dressed in only light armour and dark blue and gold robes for decoration. The Sovanid owl decorated his concealed leather chest-piece, an obvious symbol of House Sovanid to anyone even familiar with the House.

"A pleasure to see you, Lord Conrad!" Arron began, patting James' back boisterously. "Your son enjoys Talonspire, I hear."