In the middle of her list she mentioned that she was going to summon the Duke of Alarcansa to commence the new training for such eventualities. Then she outlined the celebrations she had taken great pleasure in planning during a sleepless night; she intended to honor their new allies, the Marlovens. When Lasva returned to her suite, I was horrified by that expression of mute misery I had hoped never to see again. “I have to get away,” she whispered to me. “I have to get away before he comes.” And she told me what the queen had said about summoning Kaidas to his new post. It was time to get ready for the Rising, at which the first celebration would take place. It was to be an “impromptu” award ceremony. The Grand Seneschal saw to it that the Marloven prince knew where and at what time to appear. The Grand Herald dug up from the treasury underneath the Archive an old beaten-gold shoulder chain that had an impeccable history, dating from the days before Colend’s borders had consolidated; days when enterprising would-be heroes went out looking for trouble to settle (or cause).
