Author/Uploaded by Steven Brust
Contents Title Page Copyright Notice Dedication Prologue 1. Introductions 2. The Courtship 3. The Proposal 4. Choosing the Venues 5. Exchange of Tokens 6. Meeting The Families 7. Inviting The Guests 8. Outfitting The Bride and Groom 9. The First Feast 10. The Gathering 11. The Supplication to The Gods 12. T...
Contents Title Page Copyright Notice Dedication Prologue 1. Introductions 2. The Courtship 3. The Proposal 4. Choosing the Venues 5. Exchange of Tokens 6. Meeting The Families 7. Inviting The Guests 8. Outfitting The Bride and Groom 9. The First Feast 10. The Gathering 11. The Supplication to The Gods 12. The Parade 13. Writing The Vows 14. The Big Feast 15. The Rehearsal 16. The Wedding 17. The Reception Epilogue Acknowledgments Books by Steven Brust About the Author Newsletter Sign-up Copyright Guide Cover Title Page Dedication Contents Prologue 1. INTRODUCTIONS Epilogue Acknowledgments Copyright Pagebreaks of the print version Cover Page iii v vii 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 ii iv Begin Reading Table of Contents About the Author Copyright Page Thank you for buying this Tom Doherty Associates ebook. To receive special offers, bonus content, and info on new releases and other great reads, sign up for our newsletters. Or visit us online at us.macmillan.com/newslettersignup For email updates on the author, click here. The author and publisher have provided this e-book to you without Digital Rights Management software (DRM) applied so that you can enjoy reading it on your personal devices. This e-book is for your personal use only. You may not print or post this e-book, or make this e-book publicly available in any way. You may not copy, reproduce, or upload this e-book, other than to read it on one of your personal devices. Copyright infringement is against the law. If you believe the copy of this e-book you are reading infringes on the author’s copyright, please notify the publisher at: us.macmillanusa.com/piracy. This one is for Sisi, with love, and art, and music. PROLOGUE Have you ever noticed that getting married is like trying to collect a debt from a dead guy? If you’re gonna get married, you gotta decide which traditions to keep, and which ones to throw away, and what to do that’s got nothing to do with tradition. And you gotta work it out with someone else—you know, the one you’re marrying? That one? Well, you gotta work with that person to get something that’s okay for you both. But if you’re living in the Dragaeran Empire, and all your traditions go back to Fenario, where your family came from a few generations ago, then you got a whole ’nother layer of stuff to get through. It’s complicated, and it’s different for everyone. Just like if some jerk dies owing you money, and you want to get it back, there are a lot of things to consider, and you might start out dealing with it one way, but then change your mind, and you’ll have 1 INTRODUCTIONS Most marriages among my people, Easterners, start when you meet someone you’re attracted to. I mention that because among the Dragaerans, or at least the high nobility, it usually starts with families arranging things. Sometimes, like with the House of the Phoenix, they arrange for their great-great-grandchildren who don’t exist yet to marry each other if the omens are right, or something like that. Not sure how that works, but it isn’t my concern. I also wonder, since they live so much longer than we do, if that makes a difference in how they think about marriage. I’d guess it does, but I don’t know in what ways. Funny thing I’ve noticed, by the way: anytime marriages are arranged, it’s like, between a man and a woman, but among Easterners, and with the Houses where people pick for themselves, you get men marrying men and women marrying women or whatever. You can think about that if it’s worth the bother. Me,