[Ronin carefully doesn't comment on the flicker, and asks another question.]

Is the Orb a magical object then? It must give a measure of comfort to know who will rule next, though.

[His own expression dims for a moment, not quite sad, but more lost in memories. He hardly remembers Tara's coronation, and of course there were all the complications to the choosing of the new Queen after her, but there had been that little bit of wondering who would be next, even before the ceremony to choose the Pod.]