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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Feir Fireb" data-source="post: 4816832" data-attributes="member: 14074">An excerpt from "The Unscholarly Journals of Darren the Senalline": A Time to GatherBY THE END of the third day after my poisoning, I remained mildly ill but confident that I would finish my recovery from the poison with another night's sleep.  I'd hoped to hide this fact until we attempted the secret door, but the second visit from the Imperial physicians laid to rest any doubts.  Slavemaster Chang seemed especially pleased by my improvement.  "Good, now you may assist with the festival Banquet".  I blinked, mystified.  "Say again?""The number of eminent guests requires that we use the great feast hall, which is large enough that some will have difficulty seeing Atrix's performances clearly.  But it would please his Imperial Majesty that all might see the fruits of his glorious conquest.  I would not dare put an unskilled performer before the Emperor, but you should have little difficulty as a table servant and such work will keep you moving about the entire hall.  Atrix will also be serving in addition to his performances and he is to instruct you in proper procedures and etiquette for these duties, as he has become well-acquainted with them.  Li Shotay will manage another day without you, I am sure."That night, Atrix taught me the proper forms of address for different nobles and officials of all sorts.  Full obeisances became utterly impractical in a room full of possible recipients and thus were limited to the formal introduction of members of the Imperial Family itself.  We established the fundamentals of table manners in Xaimani high society (or as a servant thereto) before delving into the details, of which there were enough to make one long for the simplicity of clockwork Ki-rin.[A rough annotation map of a significant section of the palace, predominantly covering the Great Feast Hall, the Floating Gardens, the slave quarters, and surrounding and connecting areas]THE DAY OF Harvest arrived, the 10th day since Kay had been sold to the Mines of Graiqal.  Atrix and I noted that number without daring discuss the odds that she still lived or what condition we might expect to find her in.  Immediately after breakfast Atrix escorted me about the feast hall, the kitchens, and the receiving areas to explain where I needed to be and when over the course of the Banquet.We quickly devoured an early lunch and reported to the same member of the Harmonic Path who had been decorating Atrix so... interestingly... since our first day in the Palace.  Dressed made up in ribbons, rouge and all the rest myself, I gave silent thanks to Ii for having not laughed the first time I saw Atrix so arrayed.  Had I done so, Atrix would have never let me hear the end of my own preparation for the Banquet.In the map on the preceding page, I have done my best to include all of the portions that I encountered on the Day of Harvest, and have filled in several others with descriptions from Atrix, labeled in red.  The annotation is largely speculative but I have every reason to believe that careful examination would result in finding at least a handful of other secret passages within the Palace.The first guests to take advantage of the Emperor's largesse began to arrive in mid-afternoon, and they came in all the variety of the people who call the Xaimani their masters.  Many, despite distant origins, effectively called Tziwan their home for long stretches of time.  But some had come explicitly for this occasion, to pay their respects to the Emperor.  Though I did not know their names at the time, Seko, Minister of the Military, and Goru, Minister of Security, were in attendance, as were Archmasters Leratak and Shetzu of the Radiant Path.  Several Generals of the Legions, Overlords of the Sword Path, attended as guests.  Though most of the functionaries were Xaimani, the nobles and emissaries were varied indeed.  At one table sat a handful of young, arrogant Lakshari, dark of skin and hair but with features much like those of Northerners.  I found the Szianar difficult to tell from the Xaimani, but you could identify the emissaries from that part of the Empire by their elaborate headdresses and gaudy golden embroidery, and the Niyonari by their elegant austerity.  TRUE ENOUGH TO Chang's expectations, we were amongst the busiest of the slaves that night, as guest after guest requested refreshment or assistance.  Atrix in particular attracted many of the attentions of the female attendees, though I had no shortage of them myself.  After the initial socialization the guests wandered one by one into the feast hall where they reclined on luxuriant couches as slaves catered to every whim they dared indulge in the company of their peers.  Atrix's service duties soon gave way to his performances.  He began with dances and after the guests were well-settled and conversation began to die down he sang as well.  The dances were... odd, but I had no idea what to expect.  They were obviously inspired by ones he knew from the North, but he had to make them fit the circumstances.  Some of the folk dances he'd picked up while in Rim Square are suitable to unpaired dancing and a few of them reach a more rarefied form in the Palace of the Patriarchs, but they're generally better fit to dances in circles and lines. He'd managed to teach a few of those to other slaves who danced as well, but none danced them nearly as well or as much ease as he.  This fact made him even more the center of attention than he already was.  I found the music odd, too.  There were no proper Northern songs, but I couldn't see how one would perform them on such instruments as the Xaimani used.  As near as I could tell, Atrix had picked out Xaimani songs for the musicians that had a good-enough beat for the purpose of the dance and weren't so complicated that they couldn't introduce a Northern melody if he hummed it out for them. Atrix's favorite dances had always been partnered ones that aided him in wooing women, such as I saw at the Patriarch's Ball in Lynar.  Atrix had always been a strong lead, but with no one to match his skill for the more complicated dances he danced alone as if he had a phantom partner.  Perhaps he pictured someone in particular in his mind to guide him.  The Xaimani, of course, had no idea of this.  Clearly intrigued and impressed by both his skill and how different the dances were from those of the other slaves, they followed each dance with a polite but enthusiastic round of applause. The singing was more straightforward as Atrix was easily capable of carrying a tune whether with minimal accompaniment or completely solo.  Hearing my friend singing the songs of our homeland, however far away it might be, brought me comfort and courage despite.  It also provided a me welcome distraction for the nobles who would otherwise demand my attention.AT THE HEIGHT of the Banquet, immediately before the serving of the meal, an Imperial Herald commanded the attention of the room and proclaimed the entrance of the Emperor.  At this, a great fanfare arose from the musicians and all of the slaves made a great and lengthy prostration.  I would expect the guests made appropriate gestures of respect for their station but I could not see with my head pressed to the ground.  We returned to standing when the Emperor began to speak a few words of welcome to indicate that the guests should continue to enjoy the festivities.  Rising up, I might have been startled by the expense of the Emperor's raiment had I not been distracted by the fact that he had arrived seated on a dais that floated perhaps three feet above the ground, the like of which I had never seen.  Even more impressive was the brilliant golden corona that emanated from all about him, making him seem like one of Ii's saints come down from the heavens or some creature out of myth.  Perhaps a dozen perfectly poised officers of the Sword Path surrounded him, a select honor guard wearing armor of enchanted silver that caught and reflected the light of the corona to dazzle the room. The meal continued, as did Atrix's entertainments and my own servitorial duties.  The Emperor paid close attention to Atrix's singing and dancing but relied upon his own most trusted personal servants for food and drink.  For my part, I attempted to avert my gaze out to avoid seeming disrespectful, resisting the temptation to gawk at the sorcery that surrounded the Emperor. Late that night, after all had left save a few Niyonari nobles who lay passed out from consuming too much of the rice spirits we had served, Slavemaster Chang interrupted our participation in the cleaning up to complement us. "You both performed admirably tonight.  If you continue to serve His Imperial Majesty well, you may find yourselves favored among his slaves indeed."  Chang spoke with a demeanor generous enough that I suspected he'd received his own complements on the success of the Banquet. We continued to strike the decorations and joined the other slaves in gathering for ourselves the leftover food that would spoil were it not soon consumed.  Returning to our pallets, we ate easily the most massive feast we'd had since the Patriarch's ball at Lynar, well over a year previous and after countless days of meager gruel and later meals that were nutritious but uninspiring.  We still managed to save enough for a generous breakfast and Atrix, mindful of my health, remained awake for the first brief shift.  For better or for worse, we did not expect to eat with the other slaves the following morning.</blockquote>

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