Ahead, two Isyar came out of the archway, followed by a third. The first two were dressed in the typical loose robes worn by Jorvan and most other Isyar. One was taller than the other by several inches, though still short by most human standards. She had a thin, almost oval face. The third Isyar, the shortest of the three, was not dressed like the others, but instead wore a skin-tight white suit with yellow trim. She also had a sheathed sword belted at her waist. There had been Isyar like her on Scovese. Soldiers. “Élite,” Jorvan had called them when Meleng had told him about them.

Gen looked back at Meleng and Sinitïa. “When the tall one holds out her right hand to you, touch it with your left palm. Let me do the talking.”

The tall Isyar held out her left hand to Gen, but her eyes were on Sinitïa. “Captain Etiënne Gen.”

Gen clasped her wrist with his left hand, and she clasped his. “Lamdir Paydamat.” He turned his head to follow her gaze towards Sinitïa. “A...uh...pleasure to see you again.”

The Isyar turned her gaze and looked up at him—he was a good foot taller than her—and smiled. “And you. It has been too long.” Her gaze turned back to Sinitïa.

They let go of their wrists and Gen cleared his throat. “Ah yes.” He gestured at Sinitïa and Meleng. “These are passengers who travelled with me on my ship. Princess Sinitïa Alessia Deanna Folith and Meleng Drago.”

Paydamat stepped up to Sinitïa, eyes wide. The Isyar who had walked up beside her gaped at Sinitïa. Paydamat held up her right hand.

Sinitïa hurriedly fiddled with the mitten on her left hand, while Paydamat waited patiently. Sinitïa curtsied—clumsily in her heavy furs—and placed her palm against Paydamat’s.

The Isyar smiled at her. “Princess Sinitïa Alessia Deanna Folith, I am Lamdir Paydamat.”

“A pleasure to meet you,” Sinitïa said.

“Is this a diplomatic visit?” Paydamat asked.

Sinitïa looked to Meleng, who shook his head. She looked back at Paydamat. “No, I...I just wanted to see Isyaria.”

Paydamat nodded. “Then I hope you enjoy your stay, Princess Sinitïa Alessia Deanna Folith.”

“Just Sinitïa’s fine.”

Paydamat lowered her head, her brow furled. “Of...course. Sinitïa. Welcome to Chithishtheny.”

“Thank you,” Sinitïa said.

Paydamat withdrew her hand and turned to Meleng, holding out her right hand.

Sinitïa grabbed for her mitten, mouthing to Meleng, “It’s cold.”

Meleng removed his own left mitten and touched his palm to Paydamat’s. The Isyar’s hand was warm in the cold air, but nevertheless, his fingers were already starting to numb.

“Meleng Drago, I am Lamdir Paydamat.”

“An honour, Lamdir,” Meleng said. He didn’t know what the title Lamdir represented. Even though she apparently spoke Arnorgue fluently—without even a hint of an accent—she wasn’t translating that word. It had to be a title of importance though. From what Jorvan had told him of Isyar society, it was probably related to magical power in some way. “I’m looking forward to my stay.”

“I hope it will be a pleasant one,” she said.

Meleng peered more closely at her. There was something off. A slight misalignment of her mouth with her words. She wasn’t speaking fluently! She was using magic to translate!

Paydamat’s smile widened. “Impressive, Meleng Drago! I clearly need to tighten the spell a little.” As she spoke, the spell did indeed tighten. By the last word, there was no longer any misalignment between her mouth and her words. “I would not have expected a human to notice that. Were you, by any chance, at Scovese?”

Meleng nodded. “Yes.”

“I thought so. You must have experienced an effect like this before to notice it now.”

“It’s very good,” Meleng said.

“Thank you. The spell I am using is similar to the one on Scovese, though not identical. That one was clearly very sophisticated once, but it has clearly degenerated over time. It also has some very strange censorship properties.”

“I found it fascinating,” Meleng said. “I wish I could have studied it more. Unfortunately, there were...uh...other things to worry about, and well...uh…” He looked at his hand against hers, which he had just realised he could barely feel anymore. “Do you think...uh…?”

Paydamat gave a small nod. “Of course. My apologies. Welcome to Chithishtheny.” She withdrew her hand.

Meleng buried his hand in the folds of his furs, not wanting to take the time to put his mitten back on. He rubbed it gently, letting the sensation idle back.

“We will speak more of this later, I am sure.” Paydamat stepped back and addressed all three of them. “We will show you to lodgings where you may warm yourselves and be comfortable.”

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Gen bowed his head, and Meleng copied. Sinitïa was a bit slower, but did the same.

“If I might make a request, Lamdir?” Gen said. When Paydamat nodded, he continued, “Could our three rooms be adjacent? I know I normally request to be in the middle of my crew, but I promised to look after these two and show them around while they’re here. It would be easier if we were close.”

Paydamat tilted her head and stared at him. Her companion also looked aghast.

“That is, if it isn’t too much trouble,” Gen added.

After a few moments of staring and Gen shuffling his feet, Paydamat gave a small smile while lowering her head. “I understand. How foolish of me. This is the first time you have been here with wizards, Captain Etiënne Gen.” She gestured to Meleng and Sinitïa. “These two will stay in the wizards’ lodgings across the road.”

Gen bowed his head. “Of course. My apologies.”

“But I’m not a wizard,” Sinitïa said.

Paydamat raised her head, her eyes widening. The second Isyar gaped again. Even the third Isyar, who had remained stoic, unmoving, and silent the whole time, dropped her jaw slightly before quickly returning to her stoic stance. The second Isyar started to say something, but Paydamat held up her hand to stop him.

“My apologies, Prin...Sinitïa. I was aware humans do not train all who have potential, but I assumed your title of princess would have provided you access to such training. I apologise if I have caused offence.”

Sinitïa shook her head. “No, no offence. It’s just weird the way you all stare at me. I mean, Jorvan told me this would happen, but I don’t really understand why, but no, I haven’t been trained.” Her eyes widened. “But I want to learn.”

“I apologise again, Sinitïa. I will admit, I am unsure of the decorum in this circumstance. However, I think I will lodge you in the wizards’ lodges. You have remarkable talent—more than I thought possible in a human. It will also allow us to honour your royal status.” She turned to Gen. “Captain Etiënne Gen, I am sorry we cannot fulfil your request.”

Gen held up his hand. “No apology necessary, Lamdir. I was thinking too much like a human when I made the request.”

Paydamat motioned to the second Isyar. “This is my associate, Reszidbovroh. He will show you to your room. I will take Sinitïa and Meleng Drago to theirs. We will see each other again soon, Captain Etiënne Gen, I’m sure.” She bowed her head to Gen.

Gen bowed his head in return. “I look forward to it, Lamdir. Meleng, Sinitïa, if you’d still like me to show you around, I’ll meet you back here in half an hour. It will be dawn by then. We’ll have a couple hours of light.”

Sinitïa nodded several times quickly. “Sure!”

Paydamat started back towards the main road and the other building. “Sinitïa, Meleng Drago, please follow me.”

Sinitïa took Meleng’s hand and they followed. Sinitïa glanced back several times.

“Everything okay?” Meleng asked, glancing back to see what she was looking at. The third Isyar was following behind them. “I don’t think she’s going to hurt us.”

“No, it’s just Paydamat never introduced her,” Sinitïa said.

Meleng started to respond, but Paydamat beat him to it. She spoke without looking back at them. “She is Élite. She is here for security, nothing else.”

Sinitïa frowned. “Oh. They never tell us the guards’ names at home either.” She looked back again and waved. The guard gave a little smile in return, then went straight back to her stoic look.

“Please do not disturb her while she is on duty,” Paydamat said. “However, if you must know her name, it is Fevionawishtensen.”

Meleng looked back at the Élite again. Jorvan’s fomase? He hadn’t known she was Élite. In fact, he knew very little about her. Beyond her name and existence, Jorvan had never said much about her. Jorvan tended to be private about those sorts of things.

“May I ask you a personal question, Sinitïa?” Paydamat asked as they neared the building.

“Of course.”

“How is it your sister was trained in magic and not you?”

“You mean Felitïa?”

Paydamat lowered her head. “The one who started the war. The one the Volganths called the Will-Breaker, yes.”

“She ran away to become one,” Sinitïa said. “Royalty aren’t allowed to become wizards.”

Meleng couldn’t see Paydamat’s expression, but she fell silent several seconds before responding. “I see.”

“If I’d known I could use magic, I would have gone with her.” Sinitïa frowned. “Or I guess not because I was a baby at the time, and after that, I always did what I was told. But I know now and I’ve run away. Kind of. I’m not sure I should have told you that. But maybe now I can learn. I want to.”

Sinitïa looked ready to continue on, but Paydamat interrupted her. “May I ask why the two of you have come to Isyaria?”

“We came with a friend,” Meleng said. “An Isyar. Jorvanultumn. He’s at the ship at the moment.”

Paydamat looked back at them. “Jorvanultumn has come home? How interesting.”

“You know him?” Sinitïa asked.

Paydamat looked forward again. “Yes. His return is sooner than I would have expected.”

Meleng glanced back at Fevionawishtensen, but she showed no reaction to the news. Given her few and brief reactions so far, he must have missed any she had given. He leaned in closer to Sinitïa and whispered, “That’s Jorvan’s fomase.”

Sinitïa gasped and looked back. “You’re Jorvan’s fo-mah-say?”

Meleng sighed. He’d hoped she would take the cue to be quiet.

“Yes, she is,” Paydamat said. “But she is on duty. As I asked before, please do not disturb her.”

Sinitïa grimaced and bit her lower lip. “Sorry.” She took a glance back again and gave Fevionawishtensen a quick wave. Then she grinned at Meleng.

They continued the rest of the way to the lodge’s entrance in silence. The archway led into a large, square room. One of those grey plants grew out of the hard earth floor in the centre of the room and extended out in a spiral. Paydamat continued forward, sometimes stepping on the plant as she went. Fevionawishtensen remained standing in the entrance.