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PROLOGUE

ASH FELL FROM THE SKY

Lord Tresting frowned, glancing up at the ruddya parasol over Tresting and his distinguished guest Ashfalls weren’t that uncoetting soot stains on his ?ne new suit coat and red vest, which had just arrived via canal boat from Luthadel itself Fortunately, there wasn’t much wind; the parasol would likely be effective

Tresting stood with his guest on a small hilltop patio that overlooked the ?elds Hundreds of people in brown s for the crops There was a sluggishness to their efforts—but, of course, that was the way of the skaa The peasants were an indolent, unproductive lot

They didn’t complain, of course; they knew better than that Instead, they si about their ith quiet apathy The passing whip of a taskmaster would force them into dedicated motion for a few moments, but as soon as the taskuor

Tresting turned to thebeside hi noted, “that a thousand years of working in ?elds would have bred them to be a little more effective at it”

The obligator turned, raising an eyebrow—the ht his most distinctive feature, the intricate tattoos that laced the skin around his eyes The tattoos were enor all the way across his brow and up the sides of his nose This was a full prelan—a very i had his own, personal obligators back at the manor, but they were only minor functionaries, with barely a few marks around their eyes This man had arrived fro’s new suit

“You should see city skaa, Tresting,” the obligator said, turning back to watch the skaa workers “These are actually quite diligent compared to those inside Luthadel You have more… direct control over your skaa here How many would you say you lose a month?”

“Oh, a half dozen or so,” Tresting said “Sos, some to exhaustion”

“Runaways?”

“Never!” Tresting said “When I ?rst inherited this land from my father, I had a few runaways—but I executed their families The rest quickly lost heart I’ve never understood men who have trouble with their skaa—I ?nd the creatures easy to control, if you show a properly ?rm hand”

The obligator nodded, standing quietly in his gray robes He see The skaa weren’t actually Tresting’s property Like all skaa, they belonged to the Lord Ruler; Tresting only leased the workers from his God, ators

The obligator looked down, checking his pocket watch, then glanced up at the sun Despite the ashfall, the sun was bright this day, shining a brilliant cri removed a handkerchief and wiped his brow, thankful for the parasol’s shade against the midday heat

“Very well, Tresting,” the obligator said “I will carry your proposal to Lord Venture, as requested He will have a favorable report from me on your operations here”

Tresting held in a sigh of relief An obligator was required to witness any contract or business deal between noble employed could serve as such a witness—but it ator

The obligator turned toward him “I will leave back down the canal this afternoon”

“So soon?” Tresting asked “Wouldn’t you care to stay for supper?”

“No,” the obligator replied “Though there is another matter I wish to discuss with you I came not only at the behest of Lord Venture, but to… look in on some matters for the Canton of Inquisition Rumors say that you like to dally with your skaa women”

Tresting felt a chill

The obligator s only found it eerie “Don’t worry yourself, Tresting,” the obligator said “If there had been any real worries about your actions, a Steel Inquisitor would have been sent here in my place”

Tresting nodded slowly Inquisitor He’d never seen one of the inhuman creatures, but he had heard…stories

“I have been satis?ed regarding your actions with the skaa wo back over the ?elds “What I’ve seen and heard here indicate that you always clean up your o far in Luthadel A few more years of work, some inspired mercantile deals, and who knows?”

The obligator turned away, and Tresting found hi It wasn’t a proators were more bureaucrats and witnesses than they were priests—but to hear such praise fro knew that so—somecould have kissed his distinguished guest

Tresting turned back toward the skaa, orked quietly beneath the bloody sun and the lazy ?akes of ash Tresting had always been a country noble into Luthadel itself He had heard of the balls and the parties, the glaue, and it excited him to no end

I’ll have to celebrate tonight, he thought There was that young girl in the fourteenth hovel that he’d been watching for some time…

He sator had said But could Tresting perhaps speed that up, if he worked a little harder? His skaa population had been growing lately Perhaps if he pushed the in an extra harvest this summer and ful?ll his contract with Lord Venture in extra measure

Tresting nodded as he watched the crowd of lazy skaa, so the ash away fro crops They didn’t complain They didn’t hope They barely dared think That was the way it should be, for they were skaa They were—