By tradition, the Yarglat did not eat with their womenfolk. It was true that, during the reign of the Witchlord, the dralkosh Bao Gahai used to dine with Onosh Gulkan on a regular basis – but she had been an exceptional woman in more ways than one.
Since Celadric came to power, however, the tradition had been declining. Celadric had deliberately held a series of banquets to which men and women were invited. Some important Yarglat generals who had refused to attend those banquets had subsequently been demoted, exiled or assassinated.
Over the generations in which the Yarglat had ruled the Collosnon Empire, the old traditions had been reinforced by wave after wave of immigrants coming south from the homelands of the horse tribes. But, under Celadric's rule, nomads coming south no longer received a warm welcome. He was breaking down the last vestiges of tribal culture, deliberately fostering a cosmopolitan atmosphere.
By breaking the old patterns, Celadric hoped to destroy the power and prestige of the high caste Yarglat warlords, ending their independence and subjecting them to the full discipline of imperial law. He wanted to put an end to the disastrous feuding and duelling of past generations. Breaking the old tribal monopoly on power would also allow him to recruit talent from elsewhere in the empire.
Remembering the fearsome lesson of the Blood Purge, talent had been reluctant to let itself be recruited. But now, at last, Celadric was starting to have some success. In a few more years, he would no longer be in the ridiculous situation of trying to run an empire with only a handful of competent bureaucrats; over the next few decades, he hoped to be able to start tackling the empire's larger problems, such as dredging the Yolantarath River to avoid the annual spring floods.
On the day on which Yen Olass Ampadara was captured, Celadric held one of his famous mixed banquets. In part, he was pursuing his policy of cultural change. But, quite apart from that, he wanted to celebrate. And he certainly had plenty to celebrate.
While Celadric's brothers had debated about whether to raise the ransom Draven had been demanding, Celadric had negotiated his own release. Tomorrow morning, his sister Quenerain – the source of so much unpalatable scandal – would be married off to Draven. And a solemn treaty would be signed, thanks to which the Greater Teeth would become a part of the Collosnon Empire, administered by Draven.
Celadric knew that the times had favoured him. With the reduced trade in the Central Ocean, the pirates had fallen on hard times of late. After the treaty was signed, the Greater Teeth would be used as a base for Operations against the Swarms, and Celadric had been able to offer hefty payments in the form of rents for military bases and harbour dues. To put it simply, he had bought out the pirates. Nevertheless, the fact remained: he had conquered the Greater Teeth, which had successfully resisted some of the world's most formidable military minds.
He was in a good mood.
The only thing that irritated him was his concubine, Yerzerdayla. She had asked him to release the captive oracle, Yen Olass Ampadara. Over the years they had spent together, her cool judgment and her carefully calculated advice had served him well. But lately…
More and more, over the last year or so, Yerzerdayla had been making little requests of him. Spare this man. Free this woman. Restrain the torturers. Let the hostage go. Sometimes, she didn't really seem to appreciate how difficult it was to rule the empire. Given a perfect world, of course he would have been the perfect ruler. He was not given to gratuitous cruelty, like his father, Khmar. But the world was not perfect. And, in an imperfect world, it was sometimes necessary to be a little bit ruthless in order to expedite the efficient administration of the empire.
Once, quite recently, Yerzerdayla had embarrassed Celadric badly by making one of her requests for mercy during the course of a banquet. He had refused – but, doing so, had put himself in quite a bad light. To avoid any similar scenes at this evening's entertainment, he ordered Yerzerdayla to confine herself to her chambers until the morning.
He wanted to enjoy himself.