On the twelfth day of Christmas my true Muse sent to me…

A Twelve-Sided Table from a Room with Twelve Doors

‘Malian…saw her own awe and wonder mirrored in Kalan’s face. The room’s twelve walls remained, but now the roof was far overhead and points of fire glimmered in the arched dome. Like stars, Malian thought, staring up—or meteors burning through space.

The twelve doorways, too, had grown tall, stretching toward the distant roof. Each frame was outlined in golden flame and the solid wooden doors had been replaced by shimmering mist. “You may not look through them yet,” the fiery voice said. “For now, turn your eyes to the table.”

Malian blinked at the circular table that had appeared in the center of the room. Its circumference was vast and supported on what looked like a massive tree trunk, rooted into the stone floor. She moved closer and saw that the table was divided into twelve equal parts, each one separated by fiery lines. The surface was cloudy, filled with moving shapes that she could not make out.’

~ from © The Heir Of Night, The Wall of Night Book One: Chapter 4 — Call to Arms
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Eleven Normarch damosels

Ten Ijiri Assassins

Nine Derai Houses

Eight Night Honor Guards

A Jhainarian Seven

Six Emerian Oakwarders

Five messenger horses

Four Emerian marches

Three weapons of power

Two mysterious heralds

and

One chosen hero!
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