Five citizens · six entries
Work, affection and an evening that refuses to turn out as expected. Lives on the rim continue between visits.
Lives
Lethra wants to work with plants in conditions the palace gardens carefully prevent. A paid junior post in the highlands offers less comfort than the place Aveline could find for her, and a prospect she cannot leave alone.
Lives
With Evin away for a restday, Edris goes out to hear a favourite singer. The singer is absent, her replacement is loud, and the evening refuses to become the quiet pleasure he had ordered for himself.
Lives
At forty-two, Edris Ro knows how to preserve an embroidered cuff and how to stretch a quiet evening. A change to his working hours gives him a chance to keep a promise at home.
Lives
Kesra wants to be trusted with work that will leave the yard. Learning to report a small error gives her a more useful confidence than pretending she never makes one.
Lives
Istra can usually tell where a boat leaks before its owner has finished denying it. A troublesome repair prompts her to let a neighbour take a larger part in her work.
Lives
Sevren spent his working life preparing other people's children for doors already open to them. In retirement, he finds a smaller and more reciprocal use for what he knows.
The princess also had a history before the novel began.
People
Her childhood, education, relationships and ambitions: a life already under way before the novel’s opening.