Nor lose the common touch

The king remembered my name, and if he remembered me being bigger, he had the tact not to say so to my face.

All others needed introduction. All, save one.

The king has five children. None of them are his by blood.

To the right of SWORDS stood SHUFFLES, who did so. His gaze was downcast, and he clearly had better things to do than be memorable here.

To the right of the King stood SWORDS. He carried two of them, one for each pair of arms. I've seen swords like his, but never so ornate - and never used in pairs, even by martial artists who had specialized in their use. This means one of two things: either the swords are for decorative purposes only and he has never used them, or he's mastered them more than anybody I've seen before.

That's probably not true.

Lots of things aren't.

To the King's left stood SKARN. A skarn. Polished, for such is their nature. Forgettably perfect, for such is their nature. With a shockingly clean and high-pitched female voice, for though crossdressing is not the nature of skarns, it is apparently the nature of her. Unless SKARN is a male with a perfect female voice.

At SKARN's left stood NEY. A rilkan. Scaled but not spiked, for such is the nature of rilkans. Ravishingly beautiful, for such is their nature. Visibly a woman, but rumor has it that NEY was a crossdresser too.

There are only two princesses; it would have been impolite to ask which was which. Especially since I had forgotten all of their names in the eleven years since we were last in the same room together.

All of us, that is, save one.

Before the king, flanked by the judging gaze of her four adopted siblings, was Anaphity (I'll explain her later.) When she had come to my hometown, Bladibal, she had come for the Summer Solstice Festival. That was her explanation.

It wasn't true.

Lots of things aren't.

And so she stood, having gone absent without leave, accepting judgment without apologies.

His Highness and Honor asked us of our concerns. I spoke mine.

"A four-way war is breaking out, and every side but ours has an advantage."