Keldron realised he had chosen the wrong words as he listened to Joleen speak, and quickly began to regret his flat tone with her. He also realised that what he had always taken for granted was a mere wish for these people. They had not wandered down a busy market street, with the smells of fish from the port mixing with the tanneries and sweet smells of the herb traders. He suddenly wished he could show her dawn from the window in his study – so she could see the first rays of the sun materialise over lake Eskebeth, lighting up the surface like a molten fire that couldn"t be quenched by any other than the Gods themselves. He found he had paused in the ascent, and was looking out through a gap in the trees. Not far up, he could already see the near symmetry of the bowl that one might have
