They leave Madel in springtime, aboard a well-appointed ship originally belonging to the holy mother church herself. The private cabins suit Martel--a little cosier than he's inclined to enjoy, but the sense of being at sea makes up for that, and at the stern there's a larger cabin that they come quickly to refer to as the 'throne room'. It amounts ( Read more... )

After the obligatory hours worth of apologies on both sides from Ehlana and Dolmant -- something Martel personally is very glad went on behind closed doors as the rest of them set up camp in the basilica -- the reason for the Archprelate's badly-worded summons was explained; an ambassador had arrived from the Tamul Empire. Official channels did not ( Read more... )

Preceptor Sparhawk:

It is our hope that this finds you and your family in good health.

A matter of some delicacy has arisen, and we find that your presence is required here in Chyrellos. You are therefore commanded by the Church to proceed forthwith to the Basilica and to present yourself before our throne to receive our further instruction. We ( Read more... )

Martel keeps an office of sorts at the palace, besides the obligatory apartments that they rarely use. It's convenient, particularly now--with so many arrivals and so much news to sort through, everyone is busy or some approximation of. There's little for him to do yet, personally, and thus far he's spent a lot of time keeping abreast of the ( Read more... )

Martel's leaning over the plans of the palace that they've dug out of storage, spread across the table. He and Ehlana have their backs to the door, across the table from the others in the council room. "But is this all sustainable?"

"Of course it is, your Majesty. Your guardsmen are going to have to get accustomed to the changes, but there's no ( Read more... )

True to his word, Martel found a variety of other things much more interesting than keeping track of the contents of Nouria's pockets during their trip down the coast, but as soon as their feet hit the ground on the beach near Cardos...well, suffice it to say he's been more proactive. Stragen's obnoxious parting shot outside Cimmura about keeping ( Read more... )

Martel's nominally improved mood had taken a downswing at the prospect of enclosed quarters of any kind with Sparhawk, for any duration, but it hadn't been too difficult to have his own coach brought around to see himself and his ladies down to the harbor behind his brother's party. Acting so swiftly hadn't left a lot of time to explain much of ( Read more... )

The last thing Martel wants to be doing today is dealing with the fact the daughter he somehow acquired in the past few years has, in turn, somehow acquired a price on her head. One that evidently is, somehow, his fault. He's not sure how that works, precisely, but the attempts on Maryani and Nourelle are directed at him and it's grating on his ( Read more... )

It's one late afternoon when they reach the convent itself, and Martel's deteriorating mood hasn't improved since they arrived back in the country he's spent years away from, but by this point it has at least levelled out, and unexpected bursts of temper are limited to necessity (as defined by 'is this person in my way and what will be the flow on ( Read more... )

[02:51] * Martel is not, it must be said, a particular fan of Rendor. It's hot, it's sandy, and it's full of religious zealotry that isn't particularly fond of tall, cranky Elenes. It is, however, where they are now, in a small and likely temporary house.
[02:53] * Maryani likes Rendor okay. She's sitting on the dining room table peeling some kind ( Read more... )