Everywhere the stonework was enriched by carving and by inlays of mother-of-pearl and stones of contrasting colors, making designs of flowers, beasts, heroes, and gods. Sayings attributed to former kings and holy men were carved in bands of stone or inlaid in polished metal and semiprecious stones in the characters of the Mulvani language.
"These are your apartments," said Harichumbra, indicating a hall whose third story was walled by delicately carved marble screens, so that it was open to the breeze but shielded from the vision of those outside. "Her Majesty will occupy the main chamber at the end of this hall; her ladies, these rooms; my lords, this chamber…"
He showed them the amenities of the place. "This hall is called the Tiger Cub, in case you get lost and have difficulty finding your way back to it. When you have rested and refreshed yourselves, I shall return. Shall we say in one hour? Or two? It shall be as you desire. I shall now summon servants to minister to your wants."
He clapped his hands, and a score of women and several men appeared through the door at the end of the hall. Harichumbra bowed himself out.
Soon, Jorian and Karadur sat facing each other from the ends of a huge tub, while pretty little brown Mulvanian girls soaped their backs. Speaking Novarian, Karadur said:
"All right so far, my son. You managed the escort very featly." Jorian grunted. "Save that the damned horse had no stirrups, only a pair of handgrips on the front of the saddle. Not having ridden bareback since I was a stripling on Onnus' farm, I nearly fell off twice. They kindly said I might use the beast during my stay, but I must have stirrups added to the saddle. 'Tis a big, strong beast, though. I think I'll call him 'Oser' after my schoolmaster in Ardamai. Those knobby joints and feet like platters remind me of the old boy. He gives a rough ride, but at least he's willing. Tell me: why don't Mulvanians use stirrups? They've been known in the Twelve Cities for centuries."
"Mulvanians pride themselves on preserving the ancient ways and ignoring the devices dreamt up by barbarians. Did you note that elephant mill outside the palace?"
"I surely did, and an admirable device I thought it."
"Well, that was installed by King Shaju's grandfather, King Sivroka, and it has been a source of contention ever since. Whenever discontent arises against the reigning monarch, those who seek to take advantage of this condition set up the cry: Destroy this unholy foreign contraption, which robs honest water-carriers of their livelihood! When the mill wears out, I do not think it will be repaired or rebuilt."
"And then the Mulvanians wonder why their history is a catalogue of invasions and conquests by loot-hungry barbarians," growled Jorian. "When I was king of Xylar, I tried to keep up with new things."
"And what good did that do you, my son?" asked Karadur gently. Jorian snorted. Karadur continued: "I advise you to get rid of that beard."
"By Zevatas, I've come to like the thing!"
"But in Mulvan it is the badge of either a holy ascetic, an ancient in retirement, or a low-class worker, and you do not wish to pass for any of those."
Two hours later, the adviser returned. Bathed, shaved, and smelling sweetly of ointments and perfumes, Jorian listened as Harichumbra said:
"Now, my lord, my first task is to instruct you in the rules governing intercourse at the court of the King of Kings. To what class did you belong in your native land?"
"The lesser nobility. So?"
"The manner in which you greet and converse with others depends upon your own rank and that of your interlocutor. In other words, you must use one form of greeting to an equal, another to an inferior, and so on. The same applies to speech. Court Mulvani has eight grades of politeness, depending upon the relative status of the persons speaking. One must master them lest one give unwitting offense—or at least expose oneself as an ignorant boor, unworthy of one's own class.
"This applies particularly to your noble self, because their ladyships appear to speak none of our tongue. You must, therefore, interpret for them, using the forms of speech that they would use in addressing Mulvanians of various classes, from the King of Kings down to the lowly classless ones who clean out latrines.
"As one of the lesser nobility of your own country, you will rank below our own nobility but above the official class. You are, of course, aware of the importance of class distinctions in this well-ordered land. Bodily contact between persons of widely separated classes is permitted only in line of duty, as when a barber cuts a nobleman's hair. Otherwise, he of the higher class is religiously polluted and must seek ritual purification. Fraternization is likewise limited, and intermarriage is to us utterly abhorrent.
"Now, let me begin your instructions. First of all, when you approach the Great King—may he reign forever!—the disparity in your ranks requires that you advance no nearer than nine paces from him, and that you touch your forehead to the ground thrice. By the way, that hat you wore upon your arrival would be unsuitable, because of the brim."
"Then I will go bareheaded. This clime is too warm for hats, anyway."
"Oh, sir!" Harichumbra looked shocked. "That were indeed an unseemly act! Respect for the king requires that men remain covered in his presence. Suppose I get you a turban."
"I know not how to wind those cursed things, and I should find them too hot. Is there no small, brimless cap I might wear?"
Harichumbra pondered. "Ah, I have it! I will get you a cap such as members of the Dancing Saints, an ecstatic religious sect, wear. It should meet your requirements.
"And now the grammar. In addressing His Majesty, you will naturally use the politest form. Sentences whereof His Majesty is the subject or the object are put in the third person singular subjunctive…
"In approaching a member of the king's immediate family, or a member of the priesthood in his official capacity, you must halt six paces from the person and touch your forehead to the ground once. In addressing such persons, the third person singular indicative is used with the suffix ye.
"In approaching a member of the Mulvanian nobility, you must halt three paces from the person and bow so that your body is parallel to the ground. In addressing such persons, the third person singular indicative is used without the honorific suffix. The nobleman should return your bow, but only by inclining his body at half a right angle to the ground…"
Before taking his leave, Harichumbra informed Jorian that Queen Mnevis would be presented to the king in a public audience the second day after their arrival, that a private audience with the king and his advisers was being set up for the day after that, and that on the tenth day they were all bidden to a court ball.
"Barbarians," said Harichumbra, "sometimes expect to be bidden to feasts, not knowing that amongst us Chosen of the Gods, eating is deemed an unseemly act, to be performed in private or, at most, with one's immediate family. We do, however, have balls—albeit our dancing is much more decorous and decent than in some lands. This ball celebrates the seven hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the Serpent Princess."
"Will the princess attend?"
"I believe she will; it is the only occasion during the year that she leaves her apartment. By the bye, are you an addict of fermented liquors?"
Jorian stared. "I like wine and my ale, but I should hardly term myself an addict. I can do without them if need be. Why?"
"Barbarians oft have a passion for these fluids, which are forbidden to Mulvanians—save the classless, to whom they are allowed to brighten the otherwise cheerless lives they lead as punishment for some sin in an earlier incarnation. If you require these poisons—" (Harichumbra gave a delicate shudder) "—and will write a petition to the effect that you are addicted to them and if deprived of them are liable to go mad and become a danger to the community, I can arrange a regular ration for you."