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The door to the bedroom opened and two priests came out
They seemed surprised, but not unduly so, to see the porter waiting with three visitorsOne man was of medium height and middle years, with a sharp face and close-cropped salt-and-pepper hairHe carried a physician's tray of herbs and powders in front of him, supported on a thong about his neck
It was at the other man that Devin stared, thoughIt was the other man who carried the High Priest's staff of officeHe would have commanded attention even without it, Devin thought, gazing at the figure of what had to be Danoleon
The High Priest was an enormous man, broad-shouldered with a chest like a barrel, straight-backed despite his yearsHis long hair and the beard that covered half his chest were both white as new snow, even against the whiteness of his robeThick straight eyebrows met in the middle of a serene brow and above eyes as clear and blue as a child'sThe hand he wrapped about the massive staff of office held it as if it were no more than a cowherd's hazel switch
If they were like this, Devin thought, awed, looking up at the man who had been High Priest of Eanna in Tigana when the Ygrathens came, buy fake rolex watches if the leaders were all like this then there were truly great men here before the fall
They couldn't have been so different from today; he knew that rationallyIt was only twenty years ago, however much might have changed and fallen awayBut even so, it was hard not to feel daunted in the commanding presence of this manHe turned from Danoleon to Alessan: slight, unprepossessing, with his disorderly, prematurely silvered hair and cool, watchful eyes, and the nondescript, dusty, road-stained riding clothes he wore
But when he turned back to the High Priest he saw that Danoleon was squeezing his own eyes tightly shut as he drew a ragged breathAnd in that moment Devin realized, with a thrill that was oddly akin to pain, where, despite all appearances, the truth of power lay between these menIt was Danoleon, he remembered, who had taken the boy Alessan, the last prince of Tigana, south and away in hiding across the mountains all those years ago
And would not have seen him again since that timeThere was grey in the hair of the tired man who stood before the High Priest nowDanoleon would be seeing that, trying to deal with itDevin found himself hurting for the two fashion d |
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