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"And Garen De in

"He is one of the younger sons Gravely wounded at Maseve and iht attribute to many reasons, some of which may involve the Medium He escaped after his injuries healed and fled to another country Daho "There is one story about him that I particularly ad and wonan abbey in a distant land and one of his cousins arrived, for they are cousins to our king through ainst his Family at Maseve Well, Garen drew his sword and nearly beheaded the rounds! Everyone gawked, expecting to see blood spilled Then he paused, spat on the ground, and said, ‘Though you had no rant enerous of him," Lia said, wide-eyed

"An act of clemency that made him practically as famous as his father Run wars, that he has co who killed his father The thought of Sevrin De to our realdom ablaze with a thousand different ruues and leagues away serving a foreign king But fro it as an idle report The full host of the king’s army musters and marches on Winterrowd As I told you before, there will be another slaughter"

Lia was desperate to see the arhtered?"

"No one has defeated the king in twenty years of battles since Maseve, althoughfear to his enes of his foes amidst his own standard No army who has faced him, not even Sevrin De in their cups last night, only the younger knights and squires are joining Deht for the king all these years, are paid and fed They know his kind of war Let ht- up her cloak and shaking the grass off it

"Lia," Duerden said, shifting aardly, then rose with her "Can I ask you so first?"

"What is it?"

He fidgeted with his sleeve, tugging it taut "When you said you would dance with me at the Whitsun Fair…I want you to know that…you realize that I would have told you all this anyway You need not make me any promises I would…I should like to dance with you…but I do not want you to feel coerced"

Lia stared at him for a uess you are right"

"I have a question for you then Why do you only greet the girls at the abbey?"

"I…what…you reet everyone…"

"No you do not I have seen you We can be walking together and talking, and you will greet another girl who passes by, but never one of the boys Why?"

He was flummoxed His face turned red

Lia clasped the cloak around her throat She gave hi smile and then hurried away

What she really wanted to ask him, which she dared not, was about the twisted charht She would save that question for the arrounds

"The power of the Medium should never be compelled Its power enerations of Faeneration honors it, the union is strengthened until they gain access to the ultimate power of the Medium and free their line froer, spite, jealousy, or doreement with the Medium To thehts, their desires, their wills over to it They think their own thoughts They desire their own cravings And they des in nature, there is opposition Sun and dark Sweet and bitter Courage and fear And like the Medium, there is a means by which one can force power to obey A fellow can compel another to serve him It is my experience and has always proven to be the case that when huive in to their baser instincts, they discover ways to forge a link to the Mediuurative but literal Those who do parade the emblem of this union from a chain around their necks"