Prince Bronau, who is Prince Rubinyan's brother, attempts to kidnap the new King, and soon there is a warrant for his arrest on a charge of treason. Before long, King Hazarin is dead of apoplexy, and King Oron's three-year-old son Dunevon is king, with his sister Princess Imajane and her husband Prince Rubinyan as regents. Prince Bronau returns to the capital, but politics in Rajmuat change quickly. They leave, and Aly grins at Kyprioth and tells him that he owes her. Aly covers up for Kyprioth, remembering the training she received about lying to the gods and managing to fool the two deities by telling only part of the truth. Aly is also visited by Kyprioth, who takes her on a journey in a dream to Rajmuat, to see the death of King Oron and the coronation of King Hazarin, his son from his first marriage.ĭuring this time, Mithros, (the sun god), and the Great Mother goddess appear to Kyprioth and Aly, demanding why their brother is so far from the seas that they banished him to. He falls in love with Aly, and despite the fact that she tries to act professionally around him at first, Aly is attracted to him as well. One of the crows, named Nawat, transforms himself into a man and begins to work as a fletcher at Tanair. The Balitangs are visited by Prince Bronau, a close friend of the family who has also fallen out of favor with the king, and who flirts constantly with Sarai. Meanwhile, many things happen in the Copper Isles. Aly figures out the conspiracy and helps indirectly, though she doesn't officially agrees to join the conspiracy and serve as its spymaster until the next book. They believe Sarai, whose father is fourth in line to the luarin throne, and whose mother was one of the last descendants of the old raka queens, is the prophesied Twice-Royal Queen who will lead the raka to greatness. At Tanair, Aly also learns of the raka conspiracy: the native raka people of the Copper Islands, led by many of the Balitangs' pure-blood raka servants and slaves, plan to overthrow the luarin invaders who oppressed them centuries ago, and put Lady Sarai, on the throne. There, Kyprioth sends Aly help, in the form of the native crows, who, after agreeing to spy for her, begin to teach Aly their language. He, posing as his brother - the Great God, Mithros - appears to the Balitangs and tells them to keep Aly as his messenger to them and trust her insights.Īly travels with the Balitangs to the highlands on Lombyn Isle, where they own a fiefdom called Tanair. Aly sees the god Kyprioth, the Trickster God and patron of the raka, who wagers her a quick, safe journey home and a recommendation to her father that she begin work as a spy, provided she can keep the Balitang children alive until the autumn equinox. When it is Aly's turn to be reviewed by a slave matcher the Balitangs hire, a god appears to her and the Balitangs. However, shortly after Aly's arrival, the Balitang family falls out of favor with King Oron of the Copper Isles, and are forced to sell most of their slaves and household goods. (She is later informed by Kyprioth, the Trickster god, that he was the one who kept her from being sold because he wanted her to go to the Balitang family.) Aly is eventually given away as a general-work slave to the noble Balitang family, which consists of Duke Mequen, his wife Duchess Winnamine, their children Lady Petranne and Lord Elsren, and Duke Mequen's two daughters by his first marriage to Duchess Sarugani, Lady Saraiyu (Sarai) and Lady Dovasary (Dove). The pirates try to sell her as a slave in Rajmuat, capital city of the Copper Isles, with no success. She also utilizes the self-defense training her father gave her to keep other slaves from bothering her. Despite being a pretty girl in a very bad situation, Aly keeps her head, intentionally getting herself bruised and starving herself so that she won't be bought as a sex slave. However, far from wanting to follow in her mother's footsteps, the career Aly wishes to follow is her father's that of a spy.įrustrated with her parents, (who refuse to allow her to become a spy), Aly takes her boat, the "Cub", and sails down the coast, but is captured by pirates along the way. I scoff at the hollowness of life." - Aly (while teasing her father)Īlianne of Pirate's Swoop - normally called Aly - is the daughter of George Cooper, Baron of Pirate's Swoop, second-in-command of his realm's spies and Alanna the Lioness of Pirate's Swoop and Olau, lady knight, King's Champion of Tortall, and a living legend. I scorn those who sway before each breeze of taste that dictates what is stylish in one's dress, or face, or hair. "I proclaim the shallowness of the world and of fashion.
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