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‘Surely you do not suspect either of the part of the conspiracy’

‘No, but I a to believe that other forces are at play here We are at the heart of a convergence, Chosen One, and not just between us and the Malazans’

‘Indeed’

‘Ghost Hands is not as he once was He is a priest once more’

Sha’ik’s brows lifted in frank disbelief ‘Fener is gone, Bidithal-’

‘Not Fener But consider this The god of war has been dethroned And another has risen in its place, as necessity deer of Summer, as once the First Hero, Treach A Soletaken of the First Ereat, Chosen One, forthe role he would assume A Mortal Sword, a Shield Anvil, a Destriant-all of the ancient titles… and the powers the god invests in theod other than Fener,’ Sha’ik asserted ‘Nor, I ih to embrace him in turn You know little of his past, Bidithal He is not a pious man He has committed… crier of Summer has made his choice’

‘As what?’

Bidithal shrugged ‘What else could he be but Destriant’

‘What proof have you of this extraordinary transforh, Chosen One’

Sha’ik was silent for a longof her own ‘Destriant to the new god of war Why wouldn’t he be here? We are at war, after all I will think of this… develop it is true-see its relevance’

‘Perhaps, Chosen One, the nificant relevance is also the simplest one: Ghost Hands is not the broken, useless iven his… ambivalence to our cause, he presents us with a potential threat-’