The meals he’d enjoyed in the palace in Tyrne had been amazing, but they had also been terrifying things, with endless runs of cutlery and odd bowls and goblets for almost everything. True, most of the Sa’ba Taalor had ignored those sundry items, but Andover hadn’t felt quite like he could, and so he spent most of each meal with others trying to imitate what item should be used with which bite of his meals.This was different. There was a great deal of fresh food – roasted meats, vegetables raw and cooked alike and several different breads – and the only rule seemed to be to eat until you could barely move.Andover had no problem with that notion. He ate a great deal and enjoyed every bite.And when it was done there was only one speech. King Tuskandru stood where he had been sitting and raised one hand for silence. When most of the people were paying attention, he simply said, “The gods are generous today. Eat and celebrate that generosity.” Had he not known better, Andover would have thought that the most rousing speech he’d ever heard by the way the people around him reacted.
