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Toued him He'd developed various theories about the warrior societies of his old reale, social status was fluid A certain sort of youngs Success depended on the individual That hy you had so as about heroes and monumental punch-ups His new realm wasn't like that An aristocratic class had developed

The clan chieftains rode chariots into battle and flaunted their lineage One after the other, they rose to express an opinion, reciting their ancestors It wasn't sufficient to say you were Cronin son of Maldur You had to go on and on saying who your grandfather was and his father before him It was the sort of pompous behaviour To at first He was beginning to have doubts

Alison hid in the tall reeds at the edge of the one to find his sister, Adrina, who had arranged to rew anxious She was in a strange land ae people and felt vulnerable without Fury If he didn't come back, her position would be desperate

Marsh birds flew overhead and fish rose to take insects on the surface of the water It looked a very rich place: one where villagers could hunt and cast their nets Fury said it had been like that but these were troubled times The marsh was now a place where outlaent to escape justice His mother's people used to hunt theerous ene tribe and didn't have time to chase crie Fury had told her to keep in hiding until she was certain as co He said the outlaere rapists and s to her She kept her head down and peered through the reeds into a narrow channel A shape appeared At first she thought it was part of a large vessel Then she saas a coracle Fury was paddling and he had a girl with him

She wasn't as Alison expected Fury had spoken of his sister as so woman beside him wasn't armed Her skin was pale She wore an e lazily about her shoulders She looked like a rich girl on a picnic, not a warrior on a dangerous mission