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.She looked quite nice in a gown of autumn gold velvet trimmed in black.That she chose to wear the colors of HouseGyrfalcon said something, Grateful Peace knew.He wondered what.Was she reminding them of her noble birth and status?Was she asserting her continued alliance to her homeland? Or was the choice simply habit, what she was accustomed towearing for matters of state?Even after they had climbed the long spiral stair Apheros had ruled against revealing to her the secret of the lift LadyMelina had lost little of her energy.Grateful Peace found himself admiring her despite himself.The New Kelvinese capitalcity was set high in the Sword of Kelvin Mountains and strong men had found themselves reduced to short, panting breathsuntil their hearts and lungs adjusted to the altitude.When the herald announced them, the Dragon Speaker rose with stately majesty to greet them.In his robes of office,Apheros was a towering figure, magnificent in scarlet silk trimmed with gold.His long-jawed face was painted black but fora hint of crimson rimming each eye and silver, bat-winged dragons sparkling on each cheek.A gold dragon clung to the top of his head, claws digging into the Dragon Speaker's scalp so that a thin trickle of bloodoozed from beneath them.The dragon's eyes glittered so realistically that the reptile seemed alive and watchful.Any moment,it seemed, the dragon might bend its sinuous neck and whisper secrets into the Speaker's ear.Grateful Peace knew something of the artistry that went into creating this effect.Apheros was a tall man, but the shoes hewore hidden beneath the hem of his robe were what gave him that unreal height.His face paint was not purely black, butincluded a subtle shading of greens and browns that sharply defined his features despite the apparent monotone.The gold dragon was, of course, not alive.It was an heirloom of the Founders' days, set onto a skullcap shaped anew with each Speaker to precisely fit that Speaker's head.Peace wished he could have known the face artist who had thought to add the blood coming from beneath the dragon'sclaws.It added a certain horrid realism.Indeed, he knew otherwise quite sturdy thaumaturges who admitted not liking to lookdirectly at the Dragon Speaker when he was in full formal garb because of this single touch.They claimed the damp-seemingtrails of blood made them queasy.Lady Melina, however, was not showing any such weakness.Upon entering the audience chamber she had sunk into adeep curtsy such as was used to honor monarchs in Hawk Haven.She did not move until Apheros spoke."Rise, visitor."The language he used was New Kelvinese.He might have spoken Pellish, but that would have been a concession to aforeigner.In any case, Apheros's command of languages was nowhere near as good as Peace's.It would break the carefullyconstructed illusion of power if the Dragon Speaker trotted out his halting command of the other language.Lady Melina rose and stood with her head thrown slightly back, studying the Dragon Speaker's face.Perhaps Apheros wassomewhat put out by this inspection, for he moved to the business at hand more rapidly than Peace had anticipated."The time has come," Apheros began in deep, resonant tones more thrilling than any commanding bellow could be, "tounseal that which you have carried so faithfully to this land.As reward for your determined efforts, it has been decided togrant you, Lady Melina Shield, the great honor of opening each box and revealing what has been hidden within."Peace concealed a smile.Actually, Apheros and his intimate counselors had been concerned by the fact that as far as anyof their artisans could tell the boxes were in no way trapped, were each closed with a fairly simple mechanical lock, andwere sealed only with a wax impression of Queen Valora's coat of arms.Fear that there was some more subtle protection upon the boxes rather than a desire to honor Lady Melina was whatprompted this generous gesture.Otherwise, the boxes would have already been opened and their contents studied.After all,why let the foreign woman have a chance at them if her knowledge would prove unnecessary?If Lady Melina was aware of what a dubious honor she had been granted, she gave no sign.Dipping another curtsy, shemurmured in New Kelvinese:"Thank you, Honored Apheros."Her accent only made her humility the more charming.Apheros gave a haughty nod."Herald, summon the Primes."The Primes were the thaumaturges representing each of the sodalities.Added to their number were the Dragon's Three, theSpeaker's own chosen counselors.Apheros would have preferred to limit the witnessing to this latter group, but his precarioushold on the office made it unwise for him to risk alienating his allies.The Primes wore full face paints, designed not only to display the patterns of their sodalities, but meant to minimize anypersonal tattooing.In this gathering, they were not themselves, but their sodalities.Lady Melina watched with interest as the thaumaturges processed in, her brow furrowing with, concentration as she soughtto identify each pattern.As this was all the introduction she was to get to this august body, Peace thought she was wise.He himself would not have kept her so uncertain of her own status, but Apheros had been firm.No honors or privilegeswould be granted to the foreigner until she had proven herself necessary.Otherwise, should the need arise to dispose of her,awkward questions might be asked by the members of the conclave who, rightly, might fear that their own privileges wouldno longer protect them
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