The morning alarm in the Grand Palace of Aurelia was not a rude chime, but a live harpist performing softly from behind a silk screen.

Prince Kael opened his eyes beneath a grand canopy woven from pure silver thread. Within seconds of his eyelids fluttering, a choreographed army of attendants glided into the chamber. One offered a warm linen towel infused with rare orchid essence; another held a tray bearing an espresso dusted with edible 24-karat gold; a third knelt quietly, presenting a velvet tray of five custom diamond cufflinks.