And I am not writing as an old man, peevish at being overlooked. Two Domitrian sovereigns have sought my counsel! Young Tyrus, though, looks elsewhere. I am instrumental in maintaining the spiritual welfare of this court, and I am as much a fixture here as any of the Grandiloquy, so I speak with authority. I’ve ensured this center of our Empire remained untainted by those outdated faiths that should have been abandoned on old Earth. I have been the voice of the Living Cosmos for those Grandiloquy who exercise power in this galactic court. You are aware that I have served as the Vicar Primus at the Chrysanthemum for over a century. It is our young Emperor Tyrus von Domitrian. And I tremble to tell you who this new head is, though you must have guessed.

Like a two-headed viper, our enemies have reared a new pair of fangs to poison this galaxy once again. An entire faction of the Senate sought to destroy the foundation of our empire in the name of the “sciences,” and they might have succeeded, but for your words in the Emperor Randevald’s ear, your steadiness driving his striking hand. You were instrumental in striking down blasphemers set on breaching the sacred mysteries of our divine Cosmos. The day you denounced the late Senator von Impyrean for his heretical and unseemly interest in the sciences, I felt most astir with joy. I will be displaced from my position soon, so I will not have the power to act myself.

Now, it is your hour to show you are no exception! Our divine Cosmos requires your zeal and your strength. The Senators von Pasus have always been ardent champions of the Living Cosmos. As the foremost Helionic at this imperial center, I am compelled to send you my desperate plea for assistance! We of the faith are all alarmed by the last hour’s events here at the Chrysanthemum. I am the Vicar Primus now, but I sense I will not be for much longer. I hate to impose upon you at this time of grieving for your beloved daughter, Elantra, but I must. He will not object to a death in service of our Living Cosmos.

I implore you to crumple it to powder immediately after reading, and if need be, put this bearer to death to preserve these contents. You are likely receiving this note from my trusted messenger ten to twelve days from now. I apologize for the crude medium of a discreet-sheet with my handwriting, but I dare not send you a transmission. OUR MOST CHERISHED SENATOR Alectar von Pasus: May the light of the stars illuminate your every venture.

The empress sj kincaid