things are-
The only one who stands a chance of holding this city-
The only one who might make something of it yet-truer than the weakling prince,
truer than priests and commanders who serve other powers-
You’re the only hope I have, the only hope this city has of being more than the
end of empire-
You might not have their love, Strat, but you have their respect. They know
you’re an honest man. They know you’ve always fought for this town. Even llsigis
know that. And they respect you if nothing else of Ranke-
-llsigis! he had laughed.
You are the city’s champion. The city’s savior. Believe me, Straton, there is no
other man could walk the line you’ve walked, and no other Rankan they know
fights for this town.
… They respect you if nothing else ofRanke.
Tempus counted him a failure. Tempus arrived in the midst of Roxane’s death
throes and laid that chaos to his account.
Let Tempus see the truth, let Tempus see that he could pull strings in this web,
let him hand peace with the factions to Tempus and let Tempus deal with gods:
Tempus was not inclined to tie himself down to one town, one place; Crit loathed
the place-but one of Tempus’s men next in line, one of Tem-pus’s trusted men
could find that answer to everything he wanted.
Ischade and Sanctuary.
There had been disturbance downstairs, a door had opened, and Moria hugged the
quilts to her in her lonely bed, lay hardly daring to lift her head. The whole
night was terrifying with thunders, with the fitful, fretful character of a sky
which promised no rain and perhaps the renewed warfare of witches. Her with the