Elantris

'Yes. but- Raoden cur himself off as he saw something flicker in the corner of his eye. He turned with surprise.

'A Seon,' Galladon said, noticing the glowing ball.

'Yes,' Raoden said, watching the Seon float slowly through the open ceiling

and spin in a lazy circle around the two men. 'It's so sad how they just drift around the city like this. I…' he trailed off, squinting slightly, trying to make out which Aon glowed at the center of the strange, silent Seon.

'Stile?' Galladon asked.

'Idos Domi,' Raoden whispered. 'It's Ien.'

'The Seon? You recognize it?'

Raoden nodded, holding out his hand with the palm up. The Seon floated over and alighted on his proffered palm for a moment; then it began to float away, flitting around the room like a careless butterfly.

'Ien was my Seon.' Raoden said. 'Before I was thrown in here.' He could see the Aon at Ien's center now. The character looked… weak, somehow. It glowed unevenly, sections of the character very dim. like…

Like the blotches on an Elantrian c skin, Raoden realized, watching Ien float away. The Seon headed for the wall of the church, continuing on until he bounced against it. The small ball of light hovered for a moment, contemplating the wall, then spun away to float in a different direction. There was an awkwardness to the Seon's motion-as if Ien could barely keep himself upright in the air. He jerked occasionally, and constantly moved in slow, dizzy loops.

Raoden's stomach turned as he regarded what was left of his friend. He'd avoided thinking about Ien too much during his days in Elantris; he knew what happened to Seons when their masters were taken by the Shaod. He'd assumed-perhaps hoped-that Ien had been destroyed by the Shaod, as sometimes happened.

Raoden shook his head. 'Ien used to be so wise. I never knew a creature, Seon or man. more thoughtful than he.'

… sorry, stile,' Galladon said solemnly.

Raoden held out his hand again, and the Seon approached dutifully, as it had once done for the young boy Raoden-a boy who hadn't yet learned that Seons were more valuable as friends than as servants.

Does he recognize me? Raoden wondered, watching the Seon lurch slightly in the air before him. Or is it just the familiar gesture that he recognizes?

Raoden would probably never know. After hovering above the palm for a second. the Seon lost interest and floated away again.

'Oh, my dear friend.' Raoden whispered. 'And I thought the Shaod had been harsh to me.'

CHAPTER 11

Only five men responded to Kiin's request. Lukel scowled at the meager turnout. 'Raoden had as many as thirty men at his meetings before he died,' the handsome merchant explained. 'I didn't expect them all to come running, but five? That's barely even worth our time.'

'It's enough, son,' Kiin said thoughtfully, peeking through the kitchen door. 'They may be few in number, bur we got the best of the lot. Those are five of the most powerful men in the nation, not to mention five of the most intelligent. Rao-den had a way of attracting clever men to his side.'

'Kiin, you old bear,' one of the men called from the dining room. He was a stately man with graying lines of silver hair who wore a sharp martial uniform. 'Are you going to feed us or not? Domi knows I only came because I heard you were going to fix some of your roast ketathum.'

'The pig is turning as we speak, Eondel.' Kiin called back. 'And I made sure to prepare a double portion for you. Keep your stomach in check for a little while longer.'

The man laughed heartily, patting his belly-which, as far as Sarene could tell, was as flat and hard as that of a man many years younger. 'Who is he?' she asked.

'The Count of Eon Plantation,' Kiin said. 'Lukel, go check on the pork while your cousin and I gossip about our guests.'

'Yes, Father,' Lukel said, accepting the poker and moving to the firepit room at the back of the kitchen.

'Eondel is the only man besides Raoden that I've ever seen openly oppose the king and get away with it.' Kiin explained. 'He's a military genius, and owns a small personal army. There are only a couple hundred men in it, bur they're extremely well trained.'

Next Kiin pointed through the slightly open door toward a man with dark brown skin and delicate features. 'Thar man beside Eondel is Baron Shuden.' 'Jindoeese?' Sarene asked.

Her uncle nodded. 'His family took up residence in Arelon about a century ago, and they've amassed a fortune directing the Jindoeese trade routes through

the country. When Iadon came to power, he offered them a barony to keep their caravans running. Shuden's father passed away about five years ago, and the son is much more

traditional than the father ever was. He thinks Iadon's method of rule contradicts the heart of Shu-Keseg, which is why he's willing to meet with us.

Sarene tapped her cheek in thought, studying Shuden. 'If his heart is as Jindoeese as his skin. Uncle. then he could be a powerful ally indeed.'

'That's what your husband thought,' Kiin said.

Sarene pursed her lips. 'Why do you keep referring to Raoden as 'your husband'? I know I'm married. No need to keep pointing it out.'

'You know it,' Kiin said in his deep-throated rasp, 'but you don't believe it yet.'

Either Kiin didn't see the question in her face. or he simply ignored it, for he continued with his explanations as if he hadn't just made an infuriatingly unfair judgment.

'Beside Shuden is the Duke Roial of Ial Plantation,' Kiin said, nodding to the oldest man in the room. 'His holdings include the port of Iald-a city that is second only to Kae in wealth. He's the most powerful man in the room, and probably the wisest as well. He's been loath to take action against the king, however. Roial and Iadon have been friends since before the Reod.'

Sarene raised an eyebrow. 'Why does he come, then?'

— Roial is a good man,' Kiin explained. 'Friendship or not. he knows that Iadon's rule has been horrible for this nation. That, and I suspect he also comes because of boredom.'

'He engages in traitorous conferences simply because he's bored?' Sarene asked incredulously.

Her uncle shrugged. 'When you've been around as long as Roial, you have trouble finding things to keep you interested. Politics is so ingrained in the duke that he probably can't sleep at night unless he's involved in at least five different wild schemes-he was governor of Iaid before the Reod, and was the only Elantris-appointed official to remain in power after the uprising. He's fabulously wealthy-the only way Iadon keeps ahead is by including national tax revenues in his own earnings.'

Sarene studied the duke as the group of men laughed at one of Roial's comments. He seemed different from other elderly statesmen she had met: Roial was boisterous instead of reserved. almost more mischievous than distinguished. Despite the duke's diminutive frame, he dominated the conversation. his thin locks of powder-white hair bouncing as he laughed. One man, however. didn't seem captivated by the duke's company.

'Who is that sitting next to Duke Roial?'

'The portly man?'

'Portly?' Sarene said with a raised eyebrow. The man was so overweight his stomach bulged over the sides of his chair.

'That's how we fat men describe one another,' Kiin said with a smile.

'But Uncle,' Sarene said with a sweet grin. 'You're not fat. You're… robust.'

Kiin laughed a scratchy-throated chuckle. 'All right, then. The 'robust' gentleman next to Roial is Count Ahan. You wouldn't know it by watching them, but he and the duke are very good friends. Either that or they're very old enemies. I can never remember which it is.'

'There's a bit of a distinction there, Uncle,' Sarene pointed out.

'Not really. The two of them have been squabbIing and sparring for so Iong that neither one would know