The Chamber met at the candle-clock in the Great Hall, and Idrin swore the Oath in his own voice, and the Hold heard the word Regent fall out of his mouth for the last time.
He had not expected it to be so quiet. He had expected the Hall to be loud, the way it always was when a Chamber sat to hear a clause that would cost somebody something. But the Great Hall at the candle-clock was a long room with a high dark roof, and the candles along its walls threw more shadow than light, and when Idrin walked up the boards from the door to the table’s head, his boots made the only sound in it. Nine Hands sat at the table, or stood behind it, or leaned against the benches. Harrow was by the hearth. Ysra sat under the high window with her book closed on her knee. Pell had come in late, with flour on her hands, and had taken the place at the table’s far end without a word. Gaunt sat on the bench beside her with his sling across his chest and his arms folded, looking as though he had been waiting for the Oath since the Articles were drafted and did not intend to be impressed by it. Korrin stood by the stair door, where he had stood at the last Chamber. Mourner sat on the floor by the wall, motionless. Sella was in her chair, with her ledger shut. Tallow sat…
