He felt very well indeed: exactly as a man should feel who was ambitious to be a king of kings and a conqueror of conquerors. So confident was he that he had recovered the ability to speak, along with an unprecedented authority over his people, that he decided to make light of his ordeal. Smacking his lips, he looked around at his captains, his wives and his faithful sorcerer, then glanced casually down into the empty cauldron and said: “A very tolerable soup—the perfect accompaniment to a diet of fish.”
* * * *
In the days that followed, King Zurara VI grew stronger and healthier still. Several minor diseases from which he had always suffered—certain fungal infections of the skin, a little rheumatism in his joints and a persistent runny nose—cleared up completely, making him realize tha
