Page 252 (1/2)

Belief in destiny delivered its own ies had arrived and a new order had been asserted, proving that destiny was an illusion The city was in shock, with only a fewforth in the faith that the neays to come were but the old ways, that the natural order in fact superseded any particular people At the same tiame of riches, and so in the end they would win – the savages would find the but illusory

Udinaas wondered if they were right There werefactors, after all Tiste Edur lifespans were profoundly long Their culture was both resilient and embedded Conservative Or, so it was Until Rhulad Until the sword claih the inland gate and approached the Edur encaanization to the vast array of tents This was not simply an army, but an entire people on the move – a way of life to which they were not accustonored him as he passed the pickets He had not heard fro ti loith its secrets Soreat distance, the ti always perverse

Rhulad’s tent was at the centre of the encampment, the entrance flanked by de-handled round before them Full helms hid their faces

‘How ed out today?’ Udinaas asked as he walked between them

Neither replied

There were four compartments within, divided by thick-clothed walls fixed to free-standing bronze frames The foremost chamber was shallow but ran the breadth of the tent Benches had been placed along the sides The area to the right was croith supplies of various sorts, casks and crates and earthen jars Passage into the main room beyond was between two dividers

He entered to see the eed on a looted couch to the left of the wooden dais, her expression strangely dulled Feather Witch stood in the shadows against the wall behind the enition Hannan Mosag and Hull Beddict were facing the e’s wraith bodyguard was not present

Hannan Mosag was speaking ‘… of that there is no doubt, sire’

Coins had fallen from Rhulad’s forehead, where the soldier’s palm had struck when it broke his neck The skin revealed was naught but scar tissue, creased where the skull’s frontal bone had caved inward – that internal daone The e butfor a ed features, then said, ‘Lost kin? What does thatreplied in his smooth voice ‘Survivors, fro the loss of Scabandari Bloodeye’

‘How are you certain of this?’

‘I have dreamed them, Emperor In my mind I have been led into other realside this one-’