He leaned closer. "And I have personally inspected my favorite pleasure mates to determine which ones are the most fertile. Hyrillka would be honored to have another of the Prime Designate's bloodline among our populace."

The ache in Jora'h's heart from the knowledge of his father's weakening medical condition diminished his joy and dampened all desire for entertainment. "You do too much for me, brother. We will make appropriate appearances, and perhaps Adar Kori'nh can stage a brief display of his septa's prowess." Jora'h fixed his eyes on his own son-how young the boy looked!-who waited behind the Hyrillka Designate, as if intimidated. "But for now Thor'h and I have important business."

The young man bowed, though it was more like a flinch. "My uncle told me, Father."

Rusa'h chuckled. "Ah, the difficulties of being the Prime Designate. I am glad that I wasn't the firstborn!"

Thor'h had an intense, fidgety demeanor. His long hair was intricately coiffed, adorned with tiny gems like the residue of a dewy breath. Colorful clothes hung loosely on his shoulders, and Jora'h wondered just how skeletal his son was. It seemed a strange contrast to Rusa'h's pudginess. Both men ate well and relaxed often, but Thor'h probably indulged in shiing and other pleasure drugs, while the Designate simply preferred to eat and sleep. Hyrillka was particularly known for the production of shiing, a stimulant distilled from the milky bloodsap of nialia plantmoths.

Was I like this when I was young?Jora'h wondered.

As an odd side effect of shiing, his son's image in thethism was muddied. Although the Prime Designate could sense Thor'h if he concentrated, right now the thoughts were unclear, and Jora'h was left to interpret only the expressions he could read with his eyes.

How could this boy ever become a Mage-Imperator?For that matter, how can I?

Later, the Hyrillka Designate dragged them through hours of performances, with an unending banquet served by lovely women of exotic kiths, all of whom flashed inviting eyes at Jora'h. Their names were added to a list Rusa'h had compiled, and the Prime Designate knew he would have to service some of them.

Three placid-looking lens kithmen sat in their priests' robes, ready to serve their purpose and talk about the Lightsource and interpret hints from thethism . From their docile expressions, apparently no one on Hyrillka had had problems for some time.If only they knew what is about to happen in the Empire.

The open architecture of Hyrillka's citadel palace featured tall columns and open-roofed courtyards filled with gardens and huge scarlet flowers. In the temperate weather, little shelter was required, and rain-repellent fields kept the interiors dry during rainstorms. The structure looked like an ancient temple being swallowed by jungle undergrowth.

Through an odd botanical quirk, Hyrillka's native vegetation had shied away from woody stems and tall trees, tending instead toward groundcovers and long, flexible vines that draped over the uneven terrain. The hanging gardens of Hyrillka were counted among the wonders of the Empire-tangled masses that drooped over cliffsides, sprouting enormous blossoms that drank waterfall mists. Pollinating four-winged birds feasted on berries and flitted from one widemouthed trumpet flower to another.