Thiasa Keep

"The King's getting married."
"What?"
"To that Scalian bitch. The celebration's going to be enormous."
"He takes our sons and celebrates his own wedding..."
"My husband's been conscribed, too. God willing, we'll finally drive away the barbarians and we can live in peace."
"Peace? Not with this king. He'll look to Scalia next, mark my words."
"When did you become an expert on what the King wants?"
"Common people won't be out of politics for long, I'll tell you."

"With the men gone..."
"My dear, you cannot be suggesting we take true initiative. How unladylike."
"I find sarcasm to be far less becoming than manliness, myself."
"You have plans already, don't you?"
"And you know who else does? That Lady McNamara."
"She's one to watch."

Lawley Fiefdom

"I don't know what to think about that Farraday boy."
"He's the spit of his brother, and sure."
"Handsomer, of course. But the same dangerous ideas."

"Lord Lawley should be one to watch setting out for war. And I'd hoped he might take a liking to my Anne, too."
"Too late for you, anyway. He's besotted with the Lady Argyle, or so they say."
"Her family won't be pleased with that."
"Well, he may die without an official heir, now that he's gone for war, but I'll wager..."
"God a few bastards, has he?"

The Border Garrisons

"I'll tell ya, Hawes, we have preparations and plenty."
"The mess halls are settled? D'ye think the recruits will manage?"
"It ain't the recruits I'm worried about. 'S the bloody paid-title cavalry."
"Pagh."
"Damn them all, I say, them and their fancy armor and horses and no knowin' how to piss without a servant holdin' their--"


da'Ekain

"Nekane is back."
"But I'm not sure why the Warlord bargained so weakly for her. I worry that he's..."
"Not gone soft, not our Warlord. No, what I worry is that the interlopers were planning to wear us down mining the yellow metal and then..."
"They've been mustering."
"I think we should prepare for war. The Zerui are. I wonder when Ekain will meet with Zeru--"
"Ugh!"
"He's our ally now."
"And he's the one starting this war. I hear they're going to sacrifice an interloper."
"What?!"

"There is a Zerui with the tribe."
"Who is he? Why is he here?"
"Oh, it's that Edorta. He found someone and he's in love."
"His spirits pull him in two directions, I think. Can it be best to have a Zerui among us?"
"I heard he's someone important. And, you know, the Zerui Warlord's son has been declared dead."
"No, it can't be!"

da'Zeru

"Xanti sem'Zeru is dead. Lost in a skirmish."
"You know what I think..."
"Don't say it."
"Eguzki's bollocks, I will say it. I think it was that weasel, Iñaki. And Esti."
"Esti?"
"She's been looking awfully green around the gills."
"She's...?"
"Pregnant, and we can only hope the child is better than its parents. Or the Zerui line will die."

"An interloper sacrifice?"
"Zeru knows Eguzki's will..."
"But Iñaki forced his hand with that idiotic skirmish! Of course he had to capture someone there."
"So you're saying Iñaki is planning to... what, to destroy the people? That's--"
"I'm saying we can't rule it out. An interloper sacrifice might not please Eguzki. Not at all."
"You know what I think? I think Eguzki is angry that we allied with the Spirit-Worshippers. That's what I think."
"I can't say I disagree..."

"There's a mad chieftain on the border making raids, they say."
"Making his own sacrifices."
"And his son has an interloper murroi-emazte."
"No! Now we're sullying our blood with theirs?"
"Anyway, I'm not so sure he's wrong, this chieftain, however deluded his son may be. Why don't we make more raids on the interlopers? Zeru's gotten weak, I say."
"How can you presume to know Eguzki's will?"
"Ha. What I want to know is, how can our Warlord, after all that's happened..."