Abad Santos was excited. He rarely got so in his position. A minor member of the order of light, a fractious little group that had once worshipped both Matsandrau and Ondulyn but now tended towards the Sun God, he rarely got involved in anything that did not include a healthy bribe of some sort. That had changed with the appearance of the stranger, a wiry little man that had spoken in prophetic tones about "the time that would soon be here", the uprising when only the strong guilds would remain. That the man had come to him in particular marked him out for special treatment in his own mind, and so it had gone with his guild. He had spoken in dark corners, whisperings of what was to come, and unbelievably people had begun to listen. It seemed that the thirst for power and riches was not his
