10 THE RETURNING HEART
Six years later.
Veren was on the third day of his first-ever holiday since he became an Iztari. They had promoted him: a reward for a hard two years of war to subdue a rebellion among their kind. It was an arduous battle. He almost died during two encounters, but he fought on. The vow he made to himself made him want to live.
The war ended, but the danger of another one was never far from their minds. It caught the Supreme Viscerebus Tribunal unaware and, as a result, it endangered the lives of every one of their kind from the humans that outnumbered them.
His mentor, Edrigu Orzabal, had formed a small band of Iztaris, designed to work in complete secrecy to spy, and to preempt any other potential uprising.
Before they started their official operation, they wer
