Tyrosh.
The Palace that had once belonged to Lord Bluebeard now had a new master.
The hall remained magnificent, its tall marble pillars supporting a dome painted with legends of the Three-Headed God of Tyrosh. Sunlight streamed through stained-glass windows in shafts of brilliant color.
Liu Qian sat upright in the ornate, high-backed chair that had once belonged to the lord.
The chair was inlaid with ivory and gold and furnished with deep purple velvet cushions.
He wore a well-tailored dark robe with narrow sleeves, cinched at the waist with a belt set with black jade.
Below him stood two envoys.
One came from Myr, dressed in a pale purple silk robe with intricate patterns, his eyes shifting uncertainly.
The other came from Lys and wore even more flamboyant gold-and-red silk, embroidered in silver thread with images of men and women entwined in intimacy, exuding an air of extravagance and debauchery.
When news of Tyrosh's fall reached Lys and Myr, the leaders of both city-states had issued instructions to send envoys to Tyrosh.
The Lysene envoy bowed first, his manner respectful, though his words carried a barely perceptible note of probing. "Honored lord of the Stepstones, I have come on the orders of the Governor of Lys, hoping to clarify with you in person certain questions regarding the future order of these islands."
He paused, seemingly weighing his words, his gaze darting over Liu Qian's impassive face.
"As you know, Salladhor Saan has long safeguarded the security and interests of our Lysene merchant ships along this route through the Stepstones. Now Sallador is a thing of the past, and these waters are under your control.
"We in Lys very much hope to establish a cooperative relationship with you.
"So long as you can continue the previous arrangement of mutual benefit,