Music fills the isolated chamber as an assistant reads off a report of the armies protecting the borders of the Western Province and The Capitol have not yet been removed since the war with the East ended. The harpist decides the event about to take place will give her the opportunity to speak with the Warden of the West about why that is. She stops playing and it's revealed the figure is Empress Gilbraithe and it's time to begin the ceremony to proclaim the new Warden of the South.