The months between Worldcon and the holidays were nervy and hectic. Characters I had planned to carry a fair share of the plot collapsed under the weight and required replacement. This settling doesn’t come easily for me-oh, I wish it did. Once he showed up, the plot of Law finally, finally settled down. He also gives Nema (Tsecha) something to do, oh yes he does. He allows insight into the Haárin mindset, embodying both their history and their aspirations. An Haárin character named Dathim Naré popped out of nowhere and helped the once-thin idomeni storyline grow and sprout leaves. Like Peter Gabriel in his video for Big Time, they step onscreen and announce “Hi there!” Whether you expected them or not, you’ve no choice but to make a place for them at the table because by golly, they’re here to stay. They must allow him access to Jani Kilian, his favorite student. He is Chief Propitiator of the Vynshàrau, and his place is where it is. But then they always have - such is not his problem. His government had appointed him ambassador to the humanish Commonwealth against their better judgment, and now it appears that they regret their decision. Now it seems there are those in the government who haven’t forgotten them either, and wish to use them to embarrass and discredit her.Īs Jani finds her old life catching up with her, idomeni ambassador Egri nìRau Tsecha finds his new life in the strange humanish capital city confounding him. The casual observer would think Jani had left all that far behind. Ever on the alert for the face in the crowd that turned up once too often, the skimmer that dogged her trail. Then, she subsisted in decrepit settlements and way stations and worked at scrap-heap jobs, on the run from crimes committed two decades before. How different this is from her former existence. And in Lucien Pascal, an enviable, if occasionally difficult, lover. She has contacts everywhere, from the highest reaches of government to the military to the idomeni embassy. She’s in great demand as a documents consultant, and the money she earns enables her to live in Chicago’s most exclusive neighborhood. Her ever-changing health problems appear to be finally under control. On the surface, Jani Kilian’s life has undergone many changes since her medical discharge from the Commonwealth Service. “Kristine Smith supercedes herself with each new book.” Janny Wurts