"I am only a dragon-captain, my lord. These political things—they are not for me to speak of—"

"Forgive me, then. But tell me this, at least: why were you sent forth to meet my fleet, if not to welcome us and guide us to port?"

Guidrag said, "I was sent not to welcome you but to turn you away. Though I tell you again that we had no idea it was you, my lord—that we knew only it was a fleet of imperial ships—"

"And imperial ships are no longer welcome in Piliplok?"

There was a long pause.

"No, my lord," said the Skandar woman lamely. "They are not, my lord. We have—how do I say this?—we have withdrawn from the empire, my lord. That is what a free republic is. It is a territory that rules itself, and is not governed from without."

Valentine lifted his eyebrows delicately. "Ah, and why is that? Is the rule of the imperial government so burdensome, do you think?"

"You play with me, my lord. These matters are beyond my understanding. I know only that these are difficult times, that changes have been made, that Piliplok now chooses to decide its own destinies."

"Because Piliplok still has food, and other cities have none, and the burden of feeding the hungry is too heavy for Piliplok? Is that it, Guidrag?"

"My lord—"

"And you must stop calling me 'my lord,'" said Valentine. "You must call me 'your majesty' now."

The dragon-captain, looking more troubled than ever, replied, "But are you no longer Coronal, my lord—your majesty—?"

"The changes in Piliplok are not the only changes that have occurred," he said. "I will show you, Guidrag. And then I will return to my ship, and you will lead me to the harbor, and I will speak with the masters of this free republic of yours, so that they can explain it to me more thoroughly. Eh, Guidrag? Let me show you who I am."