Ventus by Karl Schroeder

Karl Schroeder / Ventus / Page 131
voice in the whole hall was speaking. It was Yuri, who had
risen and now stood with his arms crossed, staring at nothing
while he spoke. Jordan had not heard him speak before; his
voice was a high tenor, very mannered and hard to hear, even
in this attentive silence.
"...Are aware of the Iapysian tragedy. The Boros clan
has an obligation, as nobility in that state, to not stand aside
and allow it to continue. We also have an obligation, as
nobility in other states, to avoid any action that might seem to
be foreign interference. That is the reason I have not acted
before now. It is the reason you were called here. All three
nations know the Boros' are meeting, and that we are meeting
at our ancestral home because it is our home, and for no other
political reason.
"Now, there are many stories circulating about the nature
of the catastrophe in Iapysia. It is popularly held to be a
punishment by the Winds, who are popularly held to have
installed Queen Galas to begin with. Firstly, though, she was
the legal heir, so she would have inherited without their help.
And second, she has been committing all manner of atrocities
in the name of ‘reform’, many of which have struck at the very
heart of our social order."
Brendan Sheia glared at Yuri. "Is reform a bad word
around here?" he boomed.
Yuri held up a hand, cocking his head, and said, "Not at
all. But we have to face the prospect of a nation ruled only by
the rabble, in the form of the Iapysian parliament. Regardless
of Queen Galas' crimes, no right-minded man or woman would
want to see the state headless. We would all have to deal with
the consequences and, I believe, the Winds would not look
favorably upon Iapysia. And we, the Boros, are part of
Iapysia."