Kira looked like trouble from the first moment. She was a tall, voluptuous woman dressed in the traditional red-white Bodyweaver's robes with a hip-length braid of black hair that bobbed when she talked. It was as captivating as it was annoying. I studied her for a few seconds, trying to guess just what she was. I wouldn't buy human, or at least not a pure Cerussa; she had to be at least a quarter fey to be that attractive.

“Centurion Deustrages.”

Roaken clearly wasn't her first language. I still wondered why Consul Drusus had personally ordered me to escort the priestess, but orders were orders, regardless of our gods and her attitude. Still, it rankled me to have to be at the beck and call of Illeni and Vijer's servant. Lawful good types tend to be a real drag.

“Take me to the rest of my escort.”

Naturally, it wasn't a polite request. It was looking to be a long day, and her high-pitched voice wasn't helping me any. If I ever had headaches, I'd probably have one now.

“They're off-duty at the moment.” I told her, trying to keep my sneer from showing. She probably would catch the minor insult of not calling her by her title, and I hoped it pissed her off. Kira shook her head, and I waited for a few seconds be fore she spoke again.

“Then take me to Eyilana's alcove in the Parthenon, praetorian.”

I was disappointed that we had something in common. Now she'd have a decent reason to talk to me, but with any luck, the bodyweaver would be of a lower ecclesiastical tier.

“You follow the Seer too?” I asked grudgingly.

She grinned and leaned forward on the balls of her feet, head and shoulders above me. I swallowed and looked up to her face, not wanting to give her the wrong impression.

“Aspect of Secrets. It was part of my Bodyweaver training.”

I had to wonder how in the hell she didn't fall over. It was impossible not to notice her... endowments, if you will. It was a damned shame that she didn't feel a calling to be a Hedonist at her coming of age.

“Ah.”

Normally, I'd have something more to say, but she was getting on my nerves and if this conversation lasted one more minute I'd go decapitate someone.

“Let me guess. You follow the Aspect of Books.”

I blinked, taken off-guard. Her smile broadened, and she settled back down on her feet before giggling and punching me in the arm, hard. Again, I had to wonder just what in the hell she was.

“It wasn't hard to tell, really. One doesn't rise to your rank at your age just by following Shin's Aspect of War... at least, not just that.”

I shrugged, noting the bowstring calluses on her right hand. This small talk was getting a little old, and the sooner this was over with, the better.

“How long is your stay here in Roak Val?” I growled, voice surly. Kira's smile didn't fade a whit.

“About a week. I need to find books in the Mage Towers, and there's a certain rare fungus that only grows in the Undercity that I need for my alchemy.”

Everything clicked then. My role was clear, and I was flattered. The captain of Marius Drusus's personal guard – Aurelius, or something like that, anyway – was retiring to enjoy time with his family and his remaining arm, so I was being groomed to step into his role. Perfect. I laughed and danced a little.

“Alright, off to the Parthenon, then. I'm looking forward to be of service to you, Bodyweaver Dairana.”

“My name is Kira, and who's the third of your trifecta?”

“I'm a Citrinitas of Mingan, and call me Zane.”

She held up a long-fingered hand, and I waited.

“Blood, Chaos, and... Darkness, if I'm not mistaken.”

She was right in the Aspects I worshiped. Kira had clearly done her research ahead of time, and this only confirmed my idea. I could practically taste that promotion. Primus Pilus from the Consul's orders, then from there it was only a matter of time before I'd become a Tribunus Laticlavius and be eligible to lead the entire Roak Republic's army as Legatus Legionis or run for the Senate – and the key to it all was the woman standing in front of me and her report on my performance.

“I'm currently studying the Aspect of Magic, since Potraikos – erm, Shin - forbids me from Necromancy.” I replied, my voice much warmer. We started walking north from the Campus Martia uphill towards the Pantheon and continued our little conversation. As it turned out, Kira was the niece of Marius's second-in-command when the old Consul served in Shin's Untold Legions.

“I forgot to ask you, Zane. When are your Optio and Tesserarius returning?”

“Tomorrow morning, actually. Allen is probably off in the South Tower with a bottle of wine, and Renn is probabl – oh, nevermind, he's right there. Gistos! Get over here, old man!”

I indicated the grey-haired gunmage walking towards us. Renn was a tough old campaigner, covered in scars and wiry muscles mostly hidden by his faded old Drall-skin duster and the straw hat with a feather on the right. He must have been at least sixty, but he still carried himself like I do – hell, he had better posture than I do. The old Hedonist smirked and bowed to Kira, greeting her with a kiss on the back of her pale hand before saluting me.”

“Well, Zane, I'm impressed. Who's this lovely lady you're with?” Renn asked me, not taking his eyes off of Kira. Well... part of her, anyway. I never did understand just how he managed to come across as being charmingly lecherous (much less succeed with women more often than I could) but some guys had all the luck. Then again, I outranked him and I was about thirty-eight years younger than he was. Ingram was tricky like that sometimes.

“This is Bodyweaver Dairana, and she's the one we're escorting around for the rest of the week.”

Kira edged back, looking around the crowded Parthenon, presumably to find Eyilana's alcove. I tugged on the elbow of her robe and pointed across the atrium.

“It's over there. How long will you be?”

“An hour and a half, roughly; I'm lecturing on medicinal alchemy.”

She gave me one of those dazzling melt-your-mind smiles and kissed me on the cheek before winding her way through the crush. Renn watched her backside with a look of awe on his face.

“A shame she's not a Hedonist with a body like that. I'll tell you what, Zane: I'll be nice and let you have her.”

I looked at him and burst out laughing.

“You know I'm not a fan of Weavers. Besides, this is politics: Aurelius or whatever is retiring, and Kira is like family to Consul Drusus, so...”

Renn clapped his gloved hand on my shoulder.

“You scheming bastard.”

His tone expressed pride. I'd met him years ago during the Water Riots when he was part of a crowd control brigade. He'd stood alone in front of a torch-bearing mob and pacified them without firing a shot; since then, he'd been a father figure to me as well as serving as my Tesserarius.

“Always.”

“I'll let Allen know. He's off playing with the kitties again.”

He was gone before I nodded. With a sigh, I walked towards Mingan's alcove to talk to the Vampire God, or whatever celestial minion he foisted upon me instead of coming in person like he was wont to do recently. Oh well, such was a pawn's life.