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standing behind as his arms encircled her waist. Briefly, he enjoyed the feel of her body up against his, but then he saw what had caught her attention.
    The street outside was thronged with a crowd, people streaming past toward the centre of the city. Beggars, merchants, storekeepers, labourers, all pushed past and tripped over one another as they hastened along the street, chatting eagerly with their neighbours.
    Turning to glance back at Lucius, Elaine looked at him for answers, but he just shook his head in puzzlement.
     
    The crowd thronged in the Square of True Believers, people jostling for position even as more filed in from the surrounding streets. Children were held close by their parents, lest they become utterly lost in the sea of bodies, while more adventurous onlookers scaled discarded crates, wagons, and statues for a better viewpoint. At the furthest edges of the crowd, where the press of people was lighter, the pickpockets worked, the occasional cry of "thief!" accompanied by quick footsteps and scattering children.
    All eyes were on the wooden dais and pulpit that had been constructed in front of the Cathedral. A sudden influx of funds from Vos had driven the completion of the Cathedral, so that its towers now loomed over the square. Rumours abounded that the Cathedral's quick construction had as much to do with a cut in the height of the two towers flanking the massive wooden doors to the nave as it had with more money being made available. The priests of the Final Faith had originally intended the Cathedral to be the tallest structure in the entire city, presiding over even the five towers of the Citadel. However, the lawmakers within Vos had stood their ground, and the message was clear; even the religion of the Final Faith could not be allowed to overshadow the rule of Vos.
    A hush fell over the crowd nearest the Cathedral, and it quickly spread over the entire square as the tall metal-bound doors of the massive edifice opened. Only subdued murmurs rippled through multitude as the first figures strode proudly, in two lines, from the innards of the Cathedral.
    Resplendent in white tabards bearing the red crossed circle of their Order, the Swords of Dawn put the garrisoned soldiers stationed to police the population of Turnitia to shame. Their armour was of the latest fashion, sporting plates over the normal mail to protect the shoulders, forearms and thighs. Their helmets remained open-faced but were far more intricately crafted, with state-sanctioned prayers inscribed in gold on their tall, flat surfaces, topped by short red plumes. What arrested the attention of most, however, were their wicked-looking weapons, slab-sided halberds, great pole axes that looked as though they could cleave a full grown man in two with a solid blow. These were new weapons in the Vos arsenal and, though untested in open warfare, they had already garnered a fearsome reputation among the citizens of the Empire.
    The Swords filed out of the entrance of the Cathedral and down its steps, marching in perfect harmony, the clanking of their armour echoing across the square. Fanning out, the soldiers assembled themselves in two lines either side of the dais, staring implacably out at the crowd, as if daring anyone to make a foolish move.
    No one dared. As one, the Swords raised their halberds a few inches above the paved stones and then brought them down in unison, the sound commanding instant silence from the gathered citizens. None stirred as their attention focussed on the open doors of the Cathedral and its dark interior.
    A young priest, flanked by two neophytes, walked solemnly from the Cathedral, swinging censers in time with his steps. They were all clothed in the white robes favoured by clergy of the Final Faith, though the priest's clothing was draped in a green stole that denoted his rank. With aching slowness, he paced down the steps and, reaching the dais, handed the censer to one of the neophytes before climbing the