She had been, all the chroniclers of the day agreed, the most beautiful vision any of them had ever seen as she walked down to the sea in the dark-green of ritual
When she floated, lifeless, to the surface of the water some distance from the shore, in full sight of the watching throng, Duke Cazal had screamed like a girl and fainted dead away
After which there had been rioting and a terrified pandemonium unmatched before or since on the IslandIn one isolated temple of Adaon on the north shore, all the priestesses had killed themselves when one of their number brought back the newsIt was the wrath of the god that was coming, so the portents were read, and Chiara almost strangled on its fear
Duke Cazal, foolhardy and broken, was slain in battle that summer against the joined armies of Corte and Ferraut, after which Chiara endured two generations of eclipse, rising to power again only after the bitter, destructive war fought between the erstwhile allies who had beaten itSuch a gucci handbags australia process, of course, was hardly noteworthyIt had been the way of things in the Palm as far back as the records went
But no woman had done the Ring Dive since Onestra died
All the symbols had changed with her, the stakes had risen too highIf another woman were to die in the Dive, with that legacy of chaos and defeat
It was far too dangerous, successive Grand Dukes declared, the one after the other, and they found ways to keep the Island safe in its sea-girt power without the sanction of that most potent ceremony
When the Ygrathen fleet had been sighted nineteen years ago the last Grand Duke of Chiara had killed himself on the steps of Eanna's temple, and so there had been no one to cast a ring into the sea that year, even had there been a woman willing to dive for it, in search of Morian's intercession and the god's
It was eerily silent in the saishan when she and Scelto left her roomsNormally at this hour the corridors would be loud with the stir and bustle of the castrates, fragrant and imitation louis vuitton cheap price colorful with the scented presence of women moving languorously to the baths or to their morning mealThe hallways were empty and still save for their own footstepsDianora suppressed a shiver, so strange did the deserted, echoing saishan seem
They passed the doorway to the baths and then the entrance to the dining roomsBoth were empty and silentThey turned a corner toward the stairway that led down and out of the women's wing, and there Dianora saw that one person at least had remained, and was waiting for them
"Let me look at you," Vencel said, the usual words"I must approve you before you go down
The saishan head was sprawled as always among the many-colored pillows of his rolling platformDianora almost smiled to see his vast bulk, and to hear the familiar words spoken
"Of course," she said, and slowly turned full circle before his scrutiny
"Acceptable," he said at lengthThe customary judgment, though his high distinctive voice sounded more subdued than she had ever heard itperhaps imitation chanel handbag you would like to wear that vairstone from Khardhun about your throat? For luck? I brought it with me for you, from the saishan treasures
Almost diffidently Vencel extended a large soft hand and she saw that he was holding the red jewel she had worn the day Isolla of Ygrath had tried to kill the King
She was about to demur when she remembered that Scelto had brought this back for her as something special for that day, just before she had dressed to go downRemembering that, and moved by Vence's gesture, she said, "Thank youI would be pleased to wear it"Would you put it on for me?"
He smiled, almost shylyShe knelt before him and with his deft and delicate fingers the enormous saishan head clasped the jewel on its chain about her neckKneeling so near she was overwhelmed by the scent of tainflowers that he always wore
Vencel withdrew his hands and leaned back to look at herIn his dark face his eyes were unwontedly soft"In Khardhun we used to say to someone going on a journey Fortune pink louis vuitton bag find you there and guide you homeSuch is my wish today He hid his hands in the billowing folds of his white robe and looked away, down the empty corridor
"Thank you," she said again, afraid to say moreShe rose and glanced over at Scelto; there were tears in his eyesHe wiped them hastily away and moved to lead her down the stairsHalfway down she looked back at Vencel, an almost inhumanly vast figure, draped in billowing whiteHe was gazing expressionlessly down after them, from among the brilliantly colored panoply of his pillows, an exotic creature from another world entirely, somehow carried ashore and stranded here in the saishan of Chiara
At the bottom of the stairs she saw that the two doors had been left unbarredScelto would not have to knockHe pushed the doors open and drew back to let her pass
In the long hallway outside the priests of Morian and the priestesses of Adaon were waiting for herShe saw the scarcely veiled triumph in their eyes, a collective glittering of louis vuitton expectatio