He was succeeded by his daughter Uomaya, who was herself elderly and also childless. When she died after a very brief reign, the throne passed on to her nephew the duke of Rivermead, oldest son of the late Princess Ylla.
Had Lord Umpily’s memoirs survived, then someone might have realized that this was a change of dynasty. Agraine’s line was ended and a grandson of Signifer Ylo sat upon the Opal Throne. Mortals’ memories are short, though, and to mortals Emshandar IV was by then only a name in the history texts, the last of the “old” imperors, his achievements irrelevant and even his crimes forgotten. The Gods remembered better, and in the fullness of time They had rendered justice for the Yllipo massacre.
But perhaps not even the Gods recalled how the Statue had prophesied this, one blustery summer day back in the previous millennium.
*The means by which Warlock Rap obtained the signature of the faun delegate, Mistress Shup-Uth, were never officially revealed, but in private the warlock admitted that he had merely threatened to wring her neck.
**And immensely wealthy.
All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.
Copyright © 1994 by D.J. Duncan
Cover design by Open Road Integrated Media
ISBN 978-1-4976-0602-9
This edition published in 2014 by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.
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