Banners flew from every tall building People lined the streets, throwing flowers before the nobles who were carried on their litters to the stadium. It was a day of high celebration, and who could feel troubled on such a day?
One who did feel troubled arrived in the pattern room of the stadium, the final reverberations of a chime signaling the appearance of a Great One of Tsuranuanni Milamber shrugged off his preoccupation for a moment as he left the pattern room, near the central gallery of the Grand Imperial Stadium. The crowd of Tsurani nobles, idling away the time before the games began, parted to allow Milamber to pass through the archway leading to the magicians’ seats. Glancing around the small sea of black robes, he noticed Shimone and Hochopepa, who were keeping a place for him.
They signaled greetings as he left the aisle between the magicians’ section and the Imperial Party’s and joined them. Below, on the arena floor, some of the dwarf-like folk from Tsubar—the so-called Lost Land across the Sea of Blood—were fighting large insect creatures, like cho-ja but without intelligence. Soft wooden swords and essentially harmless bites from mandibles provided a conflict more comic than dangerous. The commoners and lesser nobles already in their seats laughed in appreciation. These contests kept them amused while the great and near-great were waiting to enter the stadium. Tardiness in Tsuranuanm became a virtue when one reached a certain social level.
Shimone said, “It is a shame you took so long getting here, Milamber. There was a singularly fine match a short while ago.”
“I was under the impression the killing wasn’t to begin just yet.”
Hochopepa, munching nuts cooked in sweet oils, said, “True, but our friend Shimone is something of an aficionado of the games.”
Shimone said, “Earlier young officers of noble family fought with training weapons to first blood, to better display their skills and win honors for their clans—”
“Not to mention the fruits of some rather heavy wagering,” interjected Hochopepa.
Ignoring the remark, Shimone continued. “There was a spirited match between sons of the Oronalmar and the Keda. I’ve not seen a better display in years.”
While Shimone described the match, Milamber let his gaze wander. He could see the small standards of the Keda, Minwanabi, Oaxatucan, Xacatecas, Anasati, and other great families of the Empire. He noticed that the banner of the Shinzawai was absent, and wondered at it Hochopepa said, “You seem much preoccupied, Milamber.”
Milamber nodded agreement “Before leaving for today’s festival, I received word that a motion to reform land taxes and abolish debt slavery had been introduced in the High Council yesterday. The message came from the Lord of the Tuclamekla, and I couldn’t for the life of me understand why he sent it until, near the end, he thanked me for providing the concepts of social reform the motion was intended to enact. I was appalled at such an action.”
Shimone laughed “Had you been so thick-witted a student, you’d still be wearing the white robe.”
Milamber looked back blankly, and Hochopepa said, “You go about causing all sorts of rumblings with your speeches before the Assembly, constantly harping on all manner of social ills, and then sit dumbfounded because someone out there listened?”
“What I said to our brother magicians was not intended for discussion outside the Assembly halls.”
“How unreasonable,” said Hochopepa. “Someone in the Assembly spoke to a friend who wasn’t a magician!”
“What I’d like to know,” said Shimone, “is how this potful of reforms placed before the High Council by the Hunzan Clan has your name appended to it?”
Milamber looked uncomfortable, to the delight of his friends. “One of the young artists who worked on the murals at my estate is a son of the Tuclamekla. We did discuss differences between Tsurani and Kingdom cultures and social values, but only as an outgrowth of our discussions of the differences in styles of art.”
Hochopepa looked skyward, as if seeking divine guidance. “When I heard the Party for Progress—which is dominated by the Hunzan Clan, which is dominated by the Tuclamekla Family—cited you as inspiration, I could scarcely believe my hearing, but now I can see your hand is in every problem plaguing the Empire.” He looked at his friend with a mock-serious expression. “Tell me, is it true the Party for Progress is going to change its name to the Party of Milamber?”
Shimone laughed while Milamber fixed Hochopepa with a baleful look. “Katala thinks it amusing when I get upset by this sort of thing, Hocho. And you might think it funny as well, but I want it publicly known I did not intend for this to happen. I simply offered some observations and opinions, and what the Hunzan Clan and the Party for Progress does with them is not my doing.”