We are all very much aware that Valentine regards himself as a man of peace: his gentle treatment of those who overthrew him long ago showed us that. It is a noble trait. But I have argued here this afternoon, Hissune, that what Valentine has done now goes beyond pacifism into madness. I say the Coronal, if he is still alive at all, is insane. Thus we have a lunatic Pontifex and a lunatic Coronal, and this while a deadly enemy is at our throats. What are your views, Hissune?"

"That you misinterpret the facts as Tunigorn provides them."

There was a flash of surprise and something like anger in Divvis's eyes; but his voice was under taut control as he said, "Ah, do you think so?"

Hissune tapped the sheet of paper. "Tunigorn says that the Coronal has gone into Piurifayne, and that a spy has been caught and made to confess. Nowhere can I find him saying that Lord Valentine went to Piurifayne after hearing of the spy's confession. I think it can be argued that the truth is quite the opposite: that Lord Valentine chose to undertake a mission of conciliation, the wisdom of which we clearly might wish to debate, but which is well within his character as we know it, and while he was away on that enterprise this other information came to light. Perhaps because of the storm, it became impossible for Tunigorn to communicate with the Coronal, although one would think Deliamber would be able to find some way." Glancing toward the great world-sphere of Majipoor against the far wall, Hissune said, "What information do we have of the Coronal's present location, anyway?"

"None," Stasilaine murmured.

Hissune's eyes widened.

The brilliant red light that indicated Lord Valentine's movements had gone out.

"The light is dark," said Hissune. "What does that mean? That he is dead?"

"It could mean that," Stasilaine said. "Or merely that he has lost or damaged the transmitter that he carries on him to broadcast his position."

Hissune nodded. "And there was a great storm, that caused many casualties. Although it's unclear from the message, I can easily believe that Lord Valentine himself was caught in the storm on his way into Piurifayne, which presumably he entered from Gihorna, leaving Tunigorn and some others behind—"

"And either he perished in the storm or the transmitter was lost, we have no way of knowing which,"

said Divvis.

"Let us hope the Divine has spared young Valentine's life," the aged Prince Ghizmaile declared suddenly in a voice so shriveled and sere it seemed barely to be that of a living creature. "But there is an issue we must deal with whether he is alive or dead, and that is the choice of a new Coronal."

Hissune felt himself swept with amazement at the words this most senior of Castle lords had just uttered.

He looked about the room. "Do I hear right? Are we discussing the overthrow of a king today?"

"You put it too strongly," Divvis answered smoothly. "All we discuss is whether it's appropriate for Valentine to continue to serve as Coronal, in view of what we now know of the hostile intentions of the Shapeshifters and in view of what we have long known of Valentine's methods of dealing with any sort of unpleasantness. If we are at war—and no one here any longer doubts that we are—then it's reasonable to argue that Valentine is not the right man to lead us at this time, if in fact he still lives. But to replace him is not to overthrow him. There is a legitimate constitutional means of removing Valentine from the Confalume Throne without in any way embroiling