The ancient gates of the Residenzschloss Friedrichsburg – as this was the Royal Palace’s official name – were opened for the traditional New Year’s Reception for the Diplomatic Corps. This time, however, the invitation was extended to high-ranking representatives from the region’s governments. The court of Brasland had informally let it known to its counterparts abroad that the King would welcome the chance to meet suitable women of royal rank.
For over two hundred years, the Residenz, as Markunders called the palace, had been the center of power in Brasland. It was built in the second half of the XVIIIth century, in the reign of Friedrich III, who wanted to keep the aristocracy in check and in just one place. Old Fritz, as the king was known among the people, was admired and distrusted at the same time. Admired for his brilliance as a ruler, while distrusted for his lack of religious faith and liberal policies. He understood that to keep his throne he needed to have a tight control over his realm, and especially over those who owned the land. Louis, the Sun King of France, was his model, and so the Residenz was inspired in the great Versailles. The nobility, looking down upon the then upstart Balkronn dynasty, was still not completely loyal to the crown. Thus, they saw Friedrich’s project as a frivolity and an offensive expense and used it as an argument to weaken the monarch. However, they were outsmarted, as in a few years the Residenz became the center of national intrigues and those dukes and counts who earlier dismissed the royal figure with disdain were now eager for titles, positions and honours, as well as for the games, theater and shootings that took place within the palace and its surrounding estate, and the attractive women (married and single) that frequented its salons. The House of Balkronn secured its position in part due to the unnecessarily giant building, a bubble of luxury in the middle of a cold, stern city. It was in those halls that many kings were born, as well as princesses that married into the sovereign houses of Excalbia, Pantocratoria, Kartlis, Providencia and Ernestria.
January was, of course, a snowy month in Brasland, so the reception always took place inside, in one of the largest rooms of the palace, the Hall of Mirrors. Its name and proportions were the same as of the original one in Versailles, but this was still Catholic, spartan Brasland, which meant less gold and crystal chandeliers and more images of crusaders and saints in the hall’s ceilings. The reception was a standing affair, as it allowed people to mingle freely, and avoided people from countries in conflict with each other to sit together. Guests would be dropped at the palace’s main entrance and escorted by chamberlains or ladies-in-waiting to the Hall of Mirrors. There, they would be introduced to specific cabinet members or to some other nation’s ambassador. When all the guests had arrived, the Royal Family would appear and the Königshymne, Brasland’s national anthem, would be played as they all stood in silence. Then, the King would make a short speech and later proceed to greet the guests.
