“We have to be there,” he said. “I am the festival. There will not be one without me.”

“Then let it be late this year.”

He sighed. “It cannot be late, Elsha. At sunset on the eve of the festival, the two fires in the temple are put out. All night they are out, signifying the darkness that came at the beginning of the world’s cold. At dawn I walk the high narrow road to the holy place of the temple, and light the two fires again. Then I light the circle of fires in the topmost tower, and all the people see and know that I have again given heat and light to the world. The fires are kept burning for a whole year, until the eve of the next festival. If I am late, they will be out for longer than a night, and great calamity will fall across the world.”

“Who says it will?” I asked.

“Elsha, tradition is strong in Kasimarra. Everything is done as it has been done for hundreds of years. I cannot break that tradition, even if lighting those fires is the last thing I ever do.”

“I think your life is worth more than traditions,” I said angrily.

He groaned. “Don’t mutiny tonight, please. I cannot bear it. Now listen. You must know your duties at Kasimarra. When we reach the holy mountain, you will see the temple on the highest peak. I will take the high road up. I will be wearing my divining gown, and I am the only person in the world with the right to walk that road. You will enter the temple by the main gate at the mountain base. Wear your divining ritual robes. Inside the temple, in the main great hall, two lines of priests will be waiting to meet you. They will tell you what to do.

“When I have lit the fires, and as the day grows light, I will walk down the main road from the temple to the town. You will walk that road with me. It is a very jubilant procession, and the people tend to get carried away. Please keep an eye on me. If I look as if I am going to faint or do anything undignified, you have my permission to take my arm and support me. That will cause mutterings, but nothing like the commotion I’d cause if I fell over.” He shot me a pale grin. “I am sorry to be in this state, for your sake as well as mine. Things will be difficult enough for you, without your having to worry about me. After the triumphal walk through the town, we will return to the temple, and I can see the physicians there. If they wish to operate, go and get Teraj. I’ll have no one but him slicing me up. Don’t send someone else: go yourself.”