As befit a party commemorating the Seventeenth Naming Day of one of the sons of the Harbormaster of Armethalieh, the event was not only well-attended by friends of the family, but visited by those who wished Antarans Gillain to think well of them over the year to come. Fortunately those visitors came early and stayed only briefly, and by the time a few chimes had passed, the party was what it ought to be: a celebration held by family and attended by friends.Where will we all be this time next year? Tiercel wondered. He was standing in a corner, attempting—so far successfully—to avoid the dancing. Harrier was not so lucky; at the moment he was out in the middle of the Gillains’ main parlor—converted for the evening to a dancing floor—getting ready to dance with Tiercel’s sister Hevnade while Goodlady Divigana, Harrier’s mother, looked on indulgently. Tiercel knew that there’d once been some talk of a match between the two, but the days when families did anything but advise their children on whom they should marry were long gone.
