Lenora's POV
The territorial council's first formal meeting was held at the low-arched bridge.
This was my suggestion and met with exactly the resistance I'd expected from people who thought governance required walls and chairs and the weight of a proper room. I argued that the point of the new structure was that it did not require any of those things — that it could happen anywhere, that authority was not architectural.
Yeva agreed with me. Cassian, to everyone's mild surprise, also agreed. Bramwell said: It's her call.
So: the bridge.
We built temporary seating along both banks, arching from one side to the other. The river ran below us. The late summer sky was very clear.
Sixteen territorial representatives, four voices from the unclaimed territories, two capital observers, and on
