Gate,” Drakis said. “Promise me you’ll do it.”
“I will,” Urulani said, “but you have to promise me something in return.”
“Do I?”
“Promise you will attend the War Council tonight.”
“Why?”
“The council is tearing itself apart,” Urulani said, her eyes fixed on his face. “Everything they have fought for—everything Mala fought for—will become meaningless unless you step forward and lead these people.”
“To whatever end?” Drakis asked.
“To whatever end,” Urulani replied.
C HAPTER 6
Deliberations
S JEI-SHURIAN, GHENETAR OMRIS OVER the Order of Vash, winced as the muffled roar of the crowd sounded overhead.
Will these games never end?
he thought.
Fine sand drifted down into the vast space beneath the northwest end of the Great Circus. It had originally been constructed as a cistern to hold water for mock naval battles. Emperor Rhonas Suchas had ordered the Circus constructed for the purpose two hundred and thirty-seven years before in order to commemorate the destruction of the Manticorian Fleets in the Battle of the Meducean Straits. They had been used once and then the Circus was converted back to the more traditional display of gladiatorial battles and warrior races. But the old cistern remained, the fitted stones of the floor long dry and the columns rising to arches thirty feet overhead to support the westernmost end of the Circus.
Again, the muffled cheers of the crowd above reverberated between the columns and into the darkness that veiled the distant walls. Fine sand sifted down from the arched ceiling above. It drifted down between the six globes of light that floated about the small cluster of elves as they waited listlessly in the forgotten darkness.
Let them cheer, the fools.
They have no idea what is coming.
Sjei, the elder elf warrior, commander of Legions, scowled at the four other elves standing with him. Kyori-Xiuchi, the Tertiaran Master of theOccuran looked decidedly uncomfortable, constantly mopping his elongated head. The precipitous fall from Imperial favor of the Myrdin-dai—rivals of the Occuran for control of the essence of magic—had restored Kyori’s status at court but it was a question as to how long that favor might last. Liau Nyenjei and Ch’dak Vaijan, the Ministers of Thought and Law respectively, both had their arms crossed tightly; the tips of their long ears were quivering noticeably. Each looked as though he would have preferred to be anywhere but with this company. Worst of them all was Arikasi Tjen-soi, the elven Minister of Occupation who fidgeted with his robes constantly and could not seem to keep still.
The cheering resounded above once again, shaking the stones and the air in this hidden cistern.
Keep cheering,
Sjei admonished grimly in his mind.
There may come a time when your cheers will be needed and all your fervor put to the test. There may come a time when the games you play are no longer confined to the arena and the Circus and the blood being spilled is no longer that of someone else. Then we shall ask you why you no longer cheer or are amused.
“Where is she?” Arikasi barked through his carefully sharpened teeth. “Bad enough that we must hold our sessions outside of ‘Majority House’ in this gods-forsaken place but that we should have to wait for the woman at all is intolerable!”
“She’ll come when she can,” Kyori snapped back. “She is now the chosen daughter of the Imperial Glory. She has her duties to perform…”
“As do we all,” Liau Nyenjei grumbled. “The Devotional alterations alone to keep this quiet have been…”
The muffled roar above rose in a sudden crescendo drowning out Liau’s words and forcing him to stop speaking. Sjei lifted up his head, listening carefully. The noise did not die down immediately but gradually subsided. “There! She will join us shortly. Then we can more properly begin.”
“I do not see why she needs to be included in this deliberation, let alone
“I will,” Urulani said, “but you have to promise me something in return.”
“Do I?”
“Promise you will attend the War Council tonight.”
“Why?”
“The council is tearing itself apart,” Urulani said, her eyes fixed on his face. “Everything they have fought for—everything Mala fought for—will become meaningless unless you step forward and lead these people.”
“To whatever end?” Drakis asked.
“To whatever end,” Urulani replied.
C HAPTER 6
Deliberations
S JEI-SHURIAN, GHENETAR OMRIS OVER the Order of Vash, winced as the muffled roar of the crowd sounded overhead.
Will these games never end?
he thought.
Fine sand drifted down into the vast space beneath the northwest end of the Great Circus. It had originally been constructed as a cistern to hold water for mock naval battles. Emperor Rhonas Suchas had ordered the Circus constructed for the purpose two hundred and thirty-seven years before in order to commemorate the destruction of the Manticorian Fleets in the Battle of the Meducean Straits. They had been used once and then the Circus was converted back to the more traditional display of gladiatorial battles and warrior races. But the old cistern remained, the fitted stones of the floor long dry and the columns rising to arches thirty feet overhead to support the westernmost end of the Circus.
Again, the muffled cheers of the crowd above reverberated between the columns and into the darkness that veiled the distant walls. Fine sand sifted down from the arched ceiling above. It drifted down between the six globes of light that floated about the small cluster of elves as they waited listlessly in the forgotten darkness.
Let them cheer, the fools.
They have no idea what is coming.
Sjei, the elder elf warrior, commander of Legions, scowled at the four other elves standing with him. Kyori-Xiuchi, the Tertiaran Master of theOccuran looked decidedly uncomfortable, constantly mopping his elongated head. The precipitous fall from Imperial favor of the Myrdin-dai—rivals of the Occuran for control of the essence of magic—had restored Kyori’s status at court but it was a question as to how long that favor might last. Liau Nyenjei and Ch’dak Vaijan, the Ministers of Thought and Law respectively, both had their arms crossed tightly; the tips of their long ears were quivering noticeably. Each looked as though he would have preferred to be anywhere but with this company. Worst of them all was Arikasi Tjen-soi, the elven Minister of Occupation who fidgeted with his robes constantly and could not seem to keep still.
The cheering resounded above once again, shaking the stones and the air in this hidden cistern.
Keep cheering,
Sjei admonished grimly in his mind.
There may come a time when your cheers will be needed and all your fervor put to the test. There may come a time when the games you play are no longer confined to the arena and the Circus and the blood being spilled is no longer that of someone else. Then we shall ask you why you no longer cheer or are amused.
“Where is she?” Arikasi barked through his carefully sharpened teeth. “Bad enough that we must hold our sessions outside of ‘Majority House’ in this gods-forsaken place but that we should have to wait for the woman at all is intolerable!”
“She’ll come when she can,” Kyori snapped back. “She is now the chosen daughter of the Imperial Glory. She has her duties to perform…”
“As do we all,” Liau Nyenjei grumbled. “The Devotional alterations alone to keep this quiet have been…”
The muffled roar above rose in a sudden crescendo drowning out Liau’s words and forcing him to stop speaking. Sjei lifted up his head, listening carefully. The noise did not die down immediately but gradually subsided. “There! She will join us shortly. Then we can more properly begin.”
“I do not see why she needs to be included in this deliberation, let alone
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