“Brother Khalid.” “Brother Hyriss. The time has arrived for your call to greater service.” “It will take a minute to pack.” Certainly not much more, reflected Trystin. “I will wait.” Trystin nodded and returned to the three-meter-square bachelor quarters, containing a narrow bed, a chest, and a wardrobe. No wonder most of the returned were in a hurry to get married. Being married-he’d really never thought about it. Who would he marry? The only two women who had come even close to understanding him were his mother and Salya. He frowned-and maybe Ulteena. But who knew if she’d even survived the latest round of troid onslaughts, although, if anyone could, she could. He hoped she had, but when he would ever… if he would ever’… Forcing his mind back to the mundane matter of packing, he pulled out the fabric traveling bag of the returned and opened it. First came the undergarments from the chest, white and longer than he would have preferred, then the two nightshirts, also white, and the white dress belt with the stylized bronze eagle with the lightning bolt that was the symbol of the returned.
