‘Yes, yes, we’ll talk about it in the morning,’ said Appius sharply, moving to stand between the naked Bane and his daughter.
‘Are you all right, Appius?’ asked Bane. ‘As I said, it was only a vision. And it didn’t concern you at all.’
‘Lia! Go to your room,’ snapped Appius, without turning to look back at her. Bane moved to the right.
‘Sleep well,’ he said. Lia laughed aloud, shook her head and moved from sight.
‘You are naked,’ said Appius sternly.
‘So are you beneath that robe,’ observed Bane.
‘Exactly! Beneath the robe. In civilized societies it is considered . . . offensive to parade naked.’
‘What is a parade?’ asked Bane.
‘To appear naked in public.’
‘And why would that be?’
‘Why? Because . . . it just is. I don’t know why these customs appear. But it is especially offensive for a man to appear naked before a young virgin.’
Bane grinned. ‘Are you mocking me, Appius?’
The older man sighed. ‘No, I am not mocking you. If you appeared naked on the streets of Stone you would be arrested and flogged. And if you appeared so before a young woman of good family you would be either hanged or thrown into the arena to fight for your life. Now go to your room, take the robe that is hanging on your door and put it on. I feel the need of a goblet of wine. Then you can tell me about this . . . vision.’
Moments later, garbed in a fine robe of white, ankle-length cotton, Bane entered the main room. Appius handed him a silver goblet and the two men sat on the balcony, overlooking the town of Accia, and the star-dappled sea beyond.
‘Why are you going to Stone?’ asked the old general.
Bane shrugged. ‘I promised Vorna I would see Banouin safe. He is not a fighter, but he draws trouble like flies to cow shit.’
‘That’s another thing you might want to consider,’ said Appius. ‘Your language. You speak Turgon well, and seem to have picked up some . . . interesting phrases. In polite company you should avoid using words associated with bodily functions or the nature of human intimacy. A citizen of Stone, for example, doesn’t rise from the dinner table, as you did this evening, in order to “piss”. He excuses himself and says he will rejoin the company presently. He doesn’t open his leggings in order to scratch his privates.’
‘Privates?’ queried Bane.
‘Balls!’ snapped Appius.
‘Ah. When is he allowed to scratch them?’
‘In private. Hence “privates”. You see?’
Bane nodded sagely, then drank his wine. ‘You are a very strange people,’ he said. ‘You think nothing of enslaving tribes, butchering men, and bringing war and destruction to all the lands around you. Yet you find the sight of a penis offensive, and you don’t talk about pissing. That is civilization, is it? War, murder and butchery are respectable, but a man without clothes risks a flogging?’
Appius laughed. ‘I have not heard it argued quite so simplistically before, but yes, perhaps that is the essence of our civilization: personal privacy, national expansion. However, the rights and wrongs of it are meaningless. The fact is that these laws apply. You must walk and speak warily in Stone, Bane. It will be different for Banouin. He is the son of a prominent citizen, and will be carrying papers I shall give him, signifying his position. He will be accepted. You, however, will be watched carefully for any sign of barbarous behaviour.’
‘You think me barbarous?’
‘I am an old soldier, boy. I have seen men like you. Warriors, a little in love with death. Life without risk is nothing to you. A waste. If you find a chasm you must stand on the very tip, and dare the void to drag you in. If you see a horse no man can ride you must tame it. And if you see a man no-one can beat you must challenge him.’
‘You see a lot, General.’
‘More than you think. What is Connavar thinking of to send his son into Stone?’
‘You know Connavar?’ asked Bane warily.
‘I fought alongside him in the Perdii wars, and against him at Cogden Field. Aye, I know him well enough to see him in you – even without the strange eyes. Tell no-one of your blood line, Bane. Or you will be dragged before Jasaray himself and used against your father.’