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Patent US5336182 - Catheter steering mechanism - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign inPatentsA steering mechanism including a steering shaft coupled to a controller which includes a handle and apparatus for manipulating the distal end of the steering shaft. The steering shaft includes a flexible coiled spring having a lead spring fixed in position with respect to a distal end thereof in the...http://www.google.com/patents/US5336182?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US5336182 - Catheter steering mechanismAdvanced Patent SearchTry the new Google Patents, with machine-classified Google Scholar results, and Japanese and South Korean patents.Publication numberUS5336182 APublication typeGrantApplication numberUS 08/100,555Publication dateAug 9, 1994Filing dateJul 30, 1993Priority dateFeb 2, 1990Fee statusPaidAlso published asUS5254088, US5395327, US5531686Publication number08100555, 100555, US 5336182 A, US 5336182A, US-A-5336182, US5336182 A, US5336182AInventorsIngemar Lundquist, Russell B. ThompsonOriginal AssigneeEp Technologies, Inc.Export CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManPatent Citations (24), Non-Patent Citations (3), Referenced by (119), Classifications (15), Legal Events (3) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetCatheter steering mechanism
Patent CitationsCited PatentFiling datePublication dateApplicantTitleUS2498692 *Jan 4, 1949Feb 28, 1950Mains Marshall PaulGastrointestinal tubeUS3470876 *Sep 28, 1966Oct 7, 1969John BarchilonDirigible catheterUS3500820 *Jul 1, 1966Mar 17, 1970Torsten Hakan Oskar AlmenMedical probe for injecting x-ray contrast medium into the bodyUS3521620 *Oct 30, 1967Jul 28, 1970Cook William AVascular coil spring guide with bendable tipUS3528406 *Oct 29, 1965Sep 15, 1970Us Catheter & Instr CorpFlexible spring guide tip for insertion of vascular cathetersUS3605725 *Aug 7, 1968Sep 20, 1971Medi Tech IncControlled motion devicesUS3625200 *Aug 26, 1969Dec 7, 1971Us Catheter & Instr CorpControlled curvable tip memberUS3773034 *Nov 24, 1971Nov 20, 1973Itt Research InstituteSteerable catheterUS3934380 *Mar 29, 1974Jan 27, 1976Dubuque Awning & Tent CompanyLoading dock sheltersUS4582181 *Aug 12, 1983Apr 15, 1986Advanced Cardiovascular Systems, Inc.Steerable dilatation catheterUS4586923 *Jun 25, 1984May 6, 1986Cordis CorporationCurving tip catheterUS4641649 *Oct 30, 1985Feb 10, 1987Rca CorporationMethod and apparatus for high frequency catheter ablationUS4643720 *Feb 14, 1986Feb 17, 1987Medi-TechDrainage catheterUS4719924 *Sep 9, 1986Jan 19, 1988C. R. Bard, Inc.Small diameter steerable guidewire with adjustable tipUS4740195 *Jan 30, 1987Apr 26, 1988Medi-Tech, IncorporatedDrainage catheterUS4758221 *Feb 18, 1986Jul 19, 1988St. Louis UniversityCatheter with a tip manipulation featureUS4838859 *May 19, 1987Jun 13, 1989Steve StrassmannSteerable catheterUS4886067 *Jan 3, 1989Dec 12, 1989C. R. Bard, Inc.Steerable guidewire with soft adjustable tipUS4921482 *Jan 9, 1989May 1, 1990Hammerslag Julius GSteerable angioplasty deviceUS4944727 *Oct 2, 1987Jul 31, 1990Catheter Research, Inc.Variable shape guide apparatusUS4985022 *Nov 23, 1988Jan 15, 1991Med Institute, Inc.Catheter having durable and flexible segmentsUS5037391 *Aug 1, 1990Aug 6, 1991Pilot Cardiovascular Systems, Inc.Steerable angioplasty deviceUS5055101 *Dec 8, 1989Oct 8, 1991Catheter Research, Inc.Variable shape guide apparatusDE1213571B *Dec 8, 1964Mar 31, 1966Paul RitzauVorrichtung zum Verteilen von Roentgen-kontrastmitteln oder Medikamenten im Magen-Darmtraktus* Cited by examinerNon-Patent CitationsReference1 *Lenox Flexile Borescopes Article (undated).2 *Surgery, vol. 27, No. 6, Jun. 1950, pp. 817 821, Smith et al., Preliminary Report on New Method of Intestinal Intubation with the Aid of a Flexible Stygt with a Controllable Tip .3Surgery, vol. 27, No. 6, Jun. 1950, pp. 817-821, Smith et al., "Preliminary Report on New Method of Intestinal Intubation with the Aid of a Flexible Stygt with a Controllable Tip".* Cited by examinerReferenced byCiting PatentFiling datePublication dateApplicantTitleUS5702433 *Sep 27, 1995Dec 30, 1997Arrow International Investment Corp.Kink-resistant steerable catheter assembly for microwave ablationUS5758656 *Sep 11, 1996Jun 2, 1998Schroeder; MichaelStylet for controlled deformation of a tubeUS5797960 *Apr 20, 1995Aug 25, 1998Stevens; John H.Method and apparatus for thoracoscopic intracardiac proceduresUS5820591 *May 13, 1996Oct 13, 1998E. P. Technologies, Inc.Assemblies for creating compound curves in distal catheter regionsUS5823956 *May 7, 1996Oct 20, 1998Heartport, Inc.Method and apparatus for thoracoscopic intracardiac proceduresUS5826576 *Aug 8, 1996Oct 27, 1998Medtronic, Inc.Electrophysiology catheter with multifunction wire and method for makingUS5829447 *May 7, 1996Nov 3, 1998Heartport, Inc.Method and apparatus for thoracoscopic intracardiac proceduresUS5855560 *Mar 31, 1995Jan 5, 1999Ep Technologies, Inc.Catheter tip assemblyUS5855614 *May 7, 1996Jan 5, 1999Heartport, Inc.Method and apparatus for thoracoscopic intracardiac proceduresUS5895416 *Mar 12, 1997Apr 20, 1999Medtronic, Inc.Method and apparatus for controlling and steering an electric fieldUS5902291 *Sep 29, 1997May 11, 1999Ep Technologies, Inc.Spring assembly for catheterUS5938616 *Oct 28, 1997Aug 17, 1999Acuson CorporationSteering mechanism and steering line for a catheter-mounted ultrasonic transducerUS5954654 *Jan 31, 1997Sep 21, 1999Acuson CorporationSteering mechanism and steering line for a catheter-mounted ultrasonic transducerUS5987344 *Aug 27, 1997Nov 16, 1999Medtronic, Inc.Handle for catheter assembly with multifunction wireUS6035224 *Jan 15, 1998Mar 7, 2000Medtronics, Inc.Electrophysiology catheter with multifunction wire and method for makingUS6156027 *Aug 25, 1999Dec 5, 2000Medtronic, Inc.Handle for catheter assembly with multifunction wireUS6169916Aug 27, 1999Jan 2, 2001Medtronic Inc.Electrophysiology catheter with multifunctional wire and method for makingUS6228032May 25, 1999May 8, 2001Acuson CorporationSteering mechanism and steering line for a catheter-mounted ultrasonic transducerUS6322536Sep 10, 1999Nov 27, 2001Cornell Research Foundation, Inc.Minimally invasive gene therapy delivery and methodUS6332881 *Sep 1, 1999Dec 25, 2001Cardima, Inc.Surgical ablation toolUS6346074Jun 12, 1996Feb 12, 2002Heartport, Inc.Devices for less invasive intracardiac interventionsUS6401720Oct 4, 1999Jun 11, 2002John H. StevensMethod and apparatus for thoracoscopic intracardiac proceduresUS6413234May 26, 2000Jul 2, 2002Ep Technologies, Inc.Assemblies for creating compound curves in distal catheter regionsUS6464645Nov 5, 1999Oct 15, 2002Acuson CorporationUltrasonic transducer assembly controllerUS6508802May 23, 2000Jan 21, 2003Cornell Research Foundation, Inc.Remote sensing gene therapy delivery device and method of administering a therapeutic solution to a heartUS6544215Oct 2, 1998Apr 8, 2003Scimed Life Systems, Inc.Steerable device for introducing diagnostic and therapeutic apparatus into the bodyUS6585718May 2, 2001Jul 1, 2003Cardiac Pacemakers, Inc.Steerable catheter with shaft support system for resisting axial compressive loadsUS6602278Apr 2, 1998Aug 5, 2003Ep Technologies, Inc.Devices for supporting diagnostic or therapeutic elements and assemblies for creating curves in the distal regions thereofUS6605086May 2, 2001Aug 12, 2003Cardiac Pacemakers, Inc.Steerable catheter with torque transfer systemUS6610058May 2, 2001Aug 26, 2003Cardiac Pacemakers, Inc.Dual-profile steerable catheterUS6638268 *Apr 6, 2001Oct 28, 2003Imran K. NiaziCatheter to cannulate the coronary sinusUS6648875May 4, 2001Nov 18, 2003Cardiac Pacemakers, Inc.Means for maintaining tension on a steering tendon in a steerable catheterUS6651672Aug 28, 2001Nov 25, 2003Heartport, Inc.Devices for less-invasive intracardiac interventionsUS6652506May 4, 2001Nov 25, 2003Cardiac Pacemakers, Inc.Self-locking handle for steering a single or multiple-profile catheterUS6679268Mar 15, 2002Jan 20, 2004Heartport, Inc.Method and apparatus for thoracoscopic intracardiac proceduresUS6955175May 1, 2003Oct 18, 2005Stevens John HMethod and apparatus for thoracoscopic intracardiac proceduresUS6976987Jun 30, 2003Dec 20, 2005Cardiac Pacemakers, Inc.Dual-profile steerable catheterUS6991616Jan 29, 2003Jan 31, 2006Boston Scientific Scimed, Inc.Steerable device for introducing diagnostic and therapeutic apparatus into the bodyUS7008401Jan 22, 2002Mar 7, 2006Boston Scientific Scimed, Inc.Assemblies for creating compound curves in distal catheter regionsUS7100614Mar 15, 2002Sep 5, 2006Heartport, Inc.Method of Forming a Lesion in Heart TissueUS7122020 *Jun 24, 2005Oct 17, 2006Mogul Enterprises, Inc.Linkage steering mechanism for deflectable cathetersUS7273468 *Jan 5, 2001Sep 25, 2007Raymond L. BedellSteerable fiberoptic epidural balloon catheter and scopeUS7314446Dec 3, 2004Jan 1, 2008Ep Medsystems, Inc.Method and apparatus for time gating of medical imagesUS7507205Apr 7, 2004Mar 24, 2009St. Jude Medical, Atrial Fibrillation Division, Inc.Steerable ultrasound catheterUS7553305Jun 9, 2005Jun 30, 2009Enpath Medical, Inc.Push-pull wire anchorUS7615050Jun 27, 2005Nov 10, 2009Boston Scientific Scimed, Inc.Systems and methods for creating a lesion using transjugular approachUS7648462Nov 29, 2004Jan 19, 2010St. Jude Medical, Atrial Fibrillation Division, Inc.Safety systems and methods for ensuring safe use of intra-cardiac ultrasound cathetersUS7654958Apr 20, 2004Feb 2, 2010St. Jude Medical, Atrial Fibrillation Division, Inc.Method and apparatus for ultrasound imaging with autofrequency selectionUS7695451 *Dec 15, 2005Apr 13, 2010Boston Scientific Scimed, Inc.Steerable device for introducing diagnostic and therapeutic apparatus into the bodyUS7713210Nov 23, 2004May 11, 2010St. Jude Medical, Atrial Fibrillation Division, Inc.Method and apparatus for localizing an ultrasound catheterUS7731682Oct 24, 2007Jun 8, 2010Boston Scientific Scimed, Inc.Steerable device for introducing diagnostic and therapeutic apparatus into the bodyUS7819857Jun 14, 2004Oct 26, 2010Biosense Webster, Inc.Deflectable catheterUS7938828 *Mar 28, 2003May 10, 2011Boston Scientific Scimed, Inc.Cooled ablation catheterUS7972323 *Apr 13, 2000Jul 5, 2011Boston Scientific Scimed, Inc.Steerable device for introducing diagnostic and therapeutic apparatus into the bodyUS8052607Apr 22, 2008Nov 8, 2011St. Jude Medical, Atrial Fibrillation Division, Inc.Ultrasound imaging catheter with pivoting headUS8056207Jun 5, 2009Nov 15, 2011Greatbatch Ltd.Push/pull wire anchorUS8057394Jun 30, 2007Nov 15, 2011St. Jude Medical, Atrial Fibrillation Division, Inc.Ultrasound image processing to render three-dimensional images from two-dimensional imagesUS8070684Dec 14, 2005Dec 6, 2011St. Jude Medical, Atrial Fibrillation Division, Inc.Method and system for evaluating valvular functionUS8108052May 29, 2008Jan 31, 2012Nervo CorporationPercutaneous leads with laterally displaceable portions, and associated systems and methodsUS8187190Dec 14, 2006May 29, 2012St. Jude Medical, Atrial Fibrillation Division, Inc.Method and system for configuration of a pacemaker and for placement of pacemaker electrodesUS8206343Nov 3, 2006Jun 26, 2012Custom Medical Applications, Inc.Reinforced catheter with articulated distal tipUS8257344Oct 7, 2010Sep 4, 2012Biosense Webster, Inc.Deflectable catheterUS8317711Jun 16, 2007Nov 27, 2012St. Jude Medical, Atrial Fibrillation Division, Inc.Oscillating phased-array ultrasound imaging catheter systemUS8540697 *Oct 11, 2011Sep 24, 2013Greatbatch Ltd.Push/pull wire anchorUS8622915Nov 7, 2011Jan 7, 2014St. Jude Medical, Atrial Fibrillation Division, Inc.Ultrasound image processing to render three-dimensional images from two-dimensional imagesUS9375550Mar 15, 2013Jun 28, 2016St. Jude Medical, Atrial Fibrillation Division, Inc.Catheter actuators providing mechanical advantageUS9579476Oct 4, 2011Feb 28, 2017Cobra Stylet LlcDevice for introducing an airway tube into the tracheaUS9697634Dec 3, 2013Jul 4, 2017St. Jude Medical, Atrial Fibrillation Division, Inc.Ultrasound image processing to render three-dimensional images from two-dimensional imagesUS20020100485 *Mar 15, 2002Aug 1, 2002Stevens John H.Method and apparatus for thoracoscopic intracardiac proceduresUS20030004302 *May 13, 2002Jan 2, 2003Satoshi OkamotoProcess for producing purified polyether sulfonesUS20030004460 *Jan 5, 2001Jan 2, 2003Bedell Raymond LSteerable fiberoptic epidural balloon catheter and scopeUS20030135156 *Jan 29, 2003Jul 17, 2003Bencini Robert F.Steerable device for introducing diagnostic and therapeutic apparatus into the bodyUS20040059326 *Jun 30, 2003Mar 25, 2004Jesse FloresDual-profile steerable catheterUS20040106897 *Nov 20, 2003Jun 3, 2004Thompson Russell B.Assemblies for creating compound curves in distal catheter regionsUS20040117032 *Nov 21, 2003Jun 17, 2004Roth Alex T.Devices for less-invasive intracardiac interventionsUS20040193149 *Mar 28, 2003Sep 30, 2004Scimed Life Systems, Inc.Cooled ablation catheterUS20040225256 *Jun 14, 2004Nov 11, 2004Ponzi Dean M.Deflectable catheterUS20050080336 *Dec 3, 2004Apr 14, 2005Ep Medsystems, Inc.Method and apparatus for time gating of medical imagesUS20050124898 *Nov 29, 2004Jun 9, 2005Ep Medsystems, Inc.Method and apparatus for isolating a catheter interfaceUS20050203410 *Nov 29, 2004Sep 15, 2005Ep Medsystems, Inc.Methods and systems for ultrasound imaging of the heart from the pericardiumUS20050228290 *Apr 7, 2004Oct 13, 2005Ep Medsystems, Inc.Steerable ultrasound catheterUS20050240103 *Apr 20, 2004Oct 27, 2005Ep Medsystems, Inc.Method and apparatus for ultrasound imaging with autofrequency selectionUS20050245822 *Mar 17, 2005Nov 3, 2005Ep Medsystems, Inc.Method and apparatus for imaging distant anatomical structures in 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Medsystems, Inc.Method and system for evaluating valvular functionUS20070167809 *Dec 14, 2006Jul 19, 2007Ep Medsystems, Inc.Method and System For Estimating Cardiac Ejection Volume And Placing Pacemaker Electrodes Using Speckle TrackingUS20070232949 *Mar 5, 2007Oct 4, 2007Ep Medsystems, Inc.Method For Simultaneous Bi-Atrial Mapping Of Atrial FibrillationUS20070299479 *Jun 27, 2006Dec 27, 2007Ep Medsystems, Inc.Method for Reversing Ventricular DyssynchronyUS20080009733 *Jun 27, 2006Jan 10, 2008Ep Medsystems, Inc.Method for Evaluating Regional Ventricular Function and Incoordinate Ventricular ContractionUS20080097139 *Jul 14, 2006Apr 24, 2008Boston Scientific Scimed, Inc.Systems and methods for treating lung tissueUS20080146928 *Dec 14, 2006Jun 19, 2008Ep Medsystems, Inc.Method and System for Configuration of a Pacemaker and For Placement of Pacemaker ElectrodesUS20080146940 *Dec 14, 2006Jun 19, 2008Ep Medsystems, Inc.External and Internal Ultrasound Imaging SystemUS20080146942 *Dec 13, 2006Jun 19, 2008Ep Medsystems, Inc.Catheter Position Tracking Methods Using Fluoroscopy and Rotational SensorsUS20080146943 *Dec 14, 2006Jun 19, 2008Ep Medsystems, Inc.Integrated Beam Former And Isolation For An Ultrasound ProbeUS20080188800 *Oct 24, 2007Aug 7, 2008Bencini Robert FSteerable Device For Introducing Diagnostic And Therapeutic Apparatus Into The BodyUS20080312536 *Jun 16, 2007Dec 18, 2008Ep Medsystems, Inc.Oscillating Phased-Array Ultrasound Imaging Catheter SystemUS20090043299 *Nov 3, 2006Feb 12, 2009Racz N SandorReinforced Catheter With Articulated Distal TipUS20090138023 *Dec 12, 2006May 28, 2009Johnson Kirk LActuator Handle for Use With Medical Device Deployment SystemsUS20090235511 *Jun 5, 2009Sep 24, 2009Enpath Medical, Inc.Push/pull wire anchorUS20090264759 *Apr 22, 2008Oct 22, 2009Ep Medsystems, Inc.Ultrasound Imaging Catheter With Pivoting HeadUS20090299444 *May 29, 2008Dec 3, 2009Nevro CorporationPercutaneous Leads with Laterally Displaceable Portions, and Associated Systems and MethodsUS20090319013 *May 19, 2009Dec 24, 2009Boling C LanceImplantable neural stimulation electrode assemblies and methods for stimulating spinal neural sitesUS20100042098 *Oct 20, 2009Feb 18, 2010Boston Scientific Scimed, Inc.Systems and methods for creating a lesion using transjugular approachUS20110021900 *Oct 7, 2010Jan 27, 2011Biosense WebsterDeflectable CatheterUS20120053569 *Oct 11, 2011Mar 1, 2012Greatbatch Ltd.Push/Pull Wire AnchorUS20130118626 *Nov 15, 2011May 16, 2013Illinois Tool Works Inc.Method of attaching a stiffening wire inside a flexible hose assemblyUS20140018732 *Jan 4, 2012Jan 16, 2014Spotlight Technology Partners LlcApparatus and Methods for Accessing and Treating a Body Cavity, Lumen, or OstiumEP1033144A1Mar 2, 2000Sep 6, 2000Cordis Webster, Inc.Deflectable catheterEP1038545A2Mar 21, 2000Sep 27, 2000Cordis Webster, Inc.Multi-directional steerable catheters and control handlesEP1103228A1 *Nov 23, 2000May 30, 2001Steffen Dr. HoffmannDevice for treating vessel defectsWO1999053830A1 *Apr 22, 1998Oct 28, 1999Michael SchroederStylet for controlled deformation of a tubeWO2005072603A1Jan 21, 2005Aug 11, 2005Boston Scientific Scimed, Inc.Systems for treating breast tissue* Cited by examinerClassifications U.S. Classification604/528, 600/434, 138/118, 600/585International ClassificationA61M25/01, A61M25/092Cooperative ClassificationA61M25/0147, A61M2025/0161, A61B2018/00952, A61B2018/00916, A61M25/0136, A61M25/0144European ClassificationA61M25/01C10K, A61M25/01C10G, A61M25/01C10ALegal EventsDateCodeEventDescriptionJan 30, 1998FPAYFee paymentYear of fee payment: 4Dec 28, 2001FPAYFee paymentYear of fee payment: 8Dec 28, 2005FPAYFee paymentYear of fee payment: 12RotateOriginal ImageGoogle Home - Sitemap - USPTO Bulk Downloads - Privacy Policy - Terms of Service - About Google Patents - Send FeedbackData provided by IFI CLAIMS Patent Services


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The Glasswrights Series by Mindy Klasky by Mindy Klasky - Read Online
Additional Information about The Glasswrights Series
ISBN: 9781504046213
Availability for The Glasswrights Series by Mindy Klasky by Mindy Klasky
The Glasswrights Series - Mindy Klasky
The Glasswrights’ Apprentice, The Glasswrights’ Progress, The Glasswrights’ Journeyman, The Glasswrights’ Test, and The Glasswrights’ Master
Acknowledgments 2000 & 2010
Acknowledgments 2001 & 2010
Acknowledgments, 2002 Edition
Acknowledgments, 2010 Edition
Acknowledgments, 2003 Edition
Acknowledgments, 2004 Edition
who taught me I could go anywhere with a book in my hands
Original Acknowledgments, 2000 Edition
This first novel would not have been possible without the support of an extraordinary number of people, especially Richard Curtis, Laura Anne Gilman, Deb Givens, Jane Johnson, Bruce Sundrud, the Washington Area Writers Group, and my family.
Additional Acknowledgments, 2010 Edition
This ebook would not have happened without the love and support (and never-ending techno-patience!) of my husband, Mark.
I love keeping in touch with readers! Please stop by my website, http://www.mindyklasky.com, to learn more about me, my books, upcoming appearances, etc.
As late as yesterday morning, Rani had blended pot-paints for Morada to stipple into the final design, adding the last touches to the window as it rested in its cathedral armature. Morada had climbed down the scaffolding to view her handiwork in the full light of the previous noon, only to decide that a little more stippling was needed in the Defender’s face, filling out the fierce features that symbolized the heart of the Pilgrims’ faith. Of course, the paint could not be added once the sun had passed to the cathedral’s western side - it was impossible to see the effect on the glass. Morada contented herself with rising at dawn, forcing Rani to re-mix the pot-paints in the sleepy hours after she had served up Cook’s glutinous porridge.
The touch of wood sliding beneath her fingers was comforting, familiar, and Rani was almost at the top of the scaffold before she realized that the usual rope supports had been pulled up to the plank platform at the top. Before she could question that oddity, she was confronted by Morada’s look of outrage. Ranita! What are you doing here? Sheer fury coated the Instructor’s words as completely as yellow stain on glass, and Rani bowed her head in an apprentice’s immediate apology. Morada towered over the girl, the grey streak in her jet hair lashing out like a cruel whip. The Instructor set her bony hands on her hips, and even as Rani averted her gaze, she could make out the spider web of white glass-scars on the woman’s fingers.
I’m sorry Instructor Morada. Guildmistress Salina sent me with your lunch. She said to bring it to you before the Presentation.
I don’t need any lunch! Can’t you see I’m finishing the window? I don’t have time to be interrupted by a stupid apprentice.
Rani didn’t like Morada much under any circumstances, and she was particularly rebellious after her fight through the crowd. It took a full count of ten before she yielded to the guild’s precepts. I am sorry, Instructor, if this apprentice has failed to meet your expectations. Rani remembered to lower her eyes, which was just as well, given the smoldering resentment she was unable to quench completely. In fact, she imagined that her anger gave off the acrid stench of burning. I beg your pardon, Instructor, and I beg leave to assist you in your work.
No! Morada’s outraged cry was enough to cause Rani to meet her agate gaze, even though she knew she would pay for the insolence. The cold hatred that greeted her sent a shiver down the girl’s spine. Morada was not taunting her with an Instructor’s typical cool superiority; she was not channeling the tight rage that Instructors reserved for slow or recalcitrant students. Rather, the woman’s lips were white with suppressed fury, and she lurched threateningly to where Rani huddled on the edge of the scaffold platform. Didn’t you see that I pulled up the rope support? Even you are old enough to know when Instructors do not wish to be disturbed.
Rani’s eyes darted to the pile of rope beside the scaffold’s wooden ladder, coiled high against the cathedral’s stone wall. Instructor, I merely acted on Guildmistress Salina’s orders -
Apprentice, you ‘merely’ violated one of the most basic guild rules. If you want to do anything other than grind paint for the next ten years, I strongly advise you to stop talking back to your superiors and leave this scaffold. Now. Rani wanted to explain, to soothe Morada with a joke and a story, but the Instructor’s fury cut her off. Under guild rules, Morada was wholly in the right, even if Rani had had no choice but to follow Guildmistress Salina’s instructions.
Lead stripping had no place at the cathedral. The Defender’s Window should have been fitted entirely in the workshop, colored glass laid into a sturdy lead frame on the surface of a white-washed table. Now Rani could place the acrid smell she thought she had imagined - Morada had lit a brazier to heat the lead and bend it to her needs. Such a menial task was far beneath an Instructor, especially an Instructor as famed as Morada. And Rani, having witnessed Morada humbling herself to an apprentice’s job, was certain to be penalized.
If you please, Instructor Morada, Rani could hardly speak past the constriction in her throat as she tried desperately not to see the offending metal coil. Would you like me to tend to the brazier while you finish your work?
Morada’s hand flew faster than Rani could follow, and then the girl’s cheek stung; her eyes watered involuntarily against the slap. I would like you to remember your place, Apprentice. Get your miserable carcass down the scaffold, and return to the guildhall. You have shown nothing but insolence since you were ordered to assist on this window. You merchant-rats are all the same - too stupid to follow directions and too stubborn to learn.
Protest bubbled in Rani’s chest, the words fueled by her stinging cheek. Still, Morada was the Instructor, and Rani only needed to swallow twice before managing the guild’s formula. Yes, Instructor, you speak the truth, imparting wisdom to this Apprentice.
A mynah could say as much. Go, wretch! I’ll see you in the Hall of Discipline when I return to the guild.
Yes, Instructor. Rani turned to the rope guide, ready to toss it down to steady her descent.
Apprentice! The word cracked out in the autumn air, brighter than the sunlight on the cathedral’s new copper roof. You climbed up here without the rope. You can certainly make your way down without it.
This time Rani could not keep from gaping at Morada. Anger was one thing - Rani constantly set the Instructors’ teeth on edge because she had not mastered the obsequious tones of her fellow apprentices. But to be forced to descend the scaffold without the rope, when one was perfectly available.… Rani might have been confident in her climbing skills, but it was a foolish risk to descend without a guide rope. Or perhaps you’d like a faster way down? Morada’s eyes were furious, and Rani had no doubt that the woman would follow through on her threat - at the very least giving Rani a shove to help her down the wooden ladder.
No, Instructor. Rani scurried to the platform edge, catching her lower lip in her teeth as she steadied her feet against the suddenly too-smooth wooden rungs. She silently appealed to Roan, and despite one slip in the middle of the structure, the god of ladders guided her feet safely to the ground. Only when she had made her way to the bottom of the scaffold did she indulge the hatred that simmered beneath her heart, spitting onto the ground to get a nasty taste off her tongue. Merchant-rat! Rani’s parents had paid good money to get her into the guild - better money than Morada would earn for the Defender’s Window, whatever the Instructor’s mastery of her craft.
Even now, the guild payment forced Rani’s family to live like paupers. Her older brother, Bardo, who had hoped to make his Pilgrimage this year, had had no choice but to postpone his journey. Of course, he could walk the Path of the Gods here in the City, but that was not the same. Every night, as Rani fell asleep in her closet of a room, she tormented herself with the knowledge that she - she alone - was responsible for her family’s failure to complete the Pilgrimage and gain immediate passage to the Heavenly Fields upon their deaths, long may those be in the future.
Such speculation drove her to the familiar verge of tears. After all, it wasn’t as if she had asked for the privilege of coming to the guild. Certainly, she had shown skills in that direction - even as a toddler, she had enjoyed laying out the trinkets at her father’s stall in the marketplace. Unlike Bardo and her other brothers and sisters, she was not interested by the mere glint of sunlight on silver. Unlike her mother, she did not care whether the goods were of the highest quality, imported from mysterious Zarithia. Unlike her father, she did not give a tinker’s dam if the till were full at the end of the day.
Now that she lived in the chapter-house, her family was reduced to setting out its own displays, to its unaided attempts to seduce passing customers. So, when Instructor Morada berated Rani for buying her way into the guild, the woman did not know the true edge of her cutting words. Rani had cost her family their spiritual blessings, their savings, and - most importantly - their future, since their stall would not generate equal profits without Rani’s gift.
By the time Rani worked her way around to the front of the cathedral, she was completely convinced that her suffering at the guild’s unsympathetic hands was unwarranted. She, the poor glasswright’s apprentice.… She had done nothing to warrant scorn from her Instructors. She had done nothing to garner the beating that she would certainly get at the hands of the disciplinarian - a beating that would hurt all the more since it would fall on top of the bruises still painted across her back from last week’s exploits.
Brushing a hand against her still-stinging cheek, Rani began the steady process of worming her way to the front of the crowd. She had a distinct advantage over the other people in the cathedral square - because she was dressed in an apprentice’s somber uniform, her short tunic of black wool and her simple cape left her free to dart into places that appeared smaller than a toddler. For once, she was grateful that she was short for her age. At one point, though, she pushed too hard, and a velvet-clad woman - the wife of a Soldier by her complicated hairpiece - reached out a jeweled hand to grab at Rani’s shoulders. The glasswrights’ apprentice actually laughed out loud as she evaded the woman’s grip, darting forward in the ranks as the woman’s absurdly stiffened gown forbade her from following.
It wouldn’t do to have a Soldier after her in all this chaos, Rani chastised herself. That would warrant special attention from the disciplinarian - if a Soldier broke caste to come to the guildhall and complain about her behavior. Still, he could only complain if he caught her outright, and that was not likely. As Rani ducked in front of a line of Noble children, all dressed in identical regalia, she barely resisted the urge to make a face at their wailing protests. Heraldry was one of the many studies that Rani would master as an apprentice, but for now, she contented herself with memorizing the emblem on their coat of arms. She would check later to see which family she had offended.
You! he barked. You have no purpose here for the Presentation! His staff of office crashed down on the top step.
Begging your pardon, Rani bobbed into the deep curtsey appropriate to offer a Noble, for the herald assumed his master’s rank when he dealt with a lowly Guildsman. I have been sent to the cathedral on guild business, good sir. My Instructor is finishing the Presentation Window even now. Well, that much was true, Rani assured herself, trying to smile against the thunderhead that clouded the herald’s face.
Go around to the transept door, then, Apprentice Glasswright. There are good people waiting to honor their lord this Presentation day. The man sniffed at her costume before turning his attention to the next Noble party that craved admission to the spectacle.
Begging your pardon, Rani began again, scarcely bridling her impatience. I need to get inside the cathedral.
There. She did not precisely lie. She did not say that she needed to enter the cathedral on guild business - if she had done that, the disciplinarian could not find a punishment brutal enough. No, Rani merely told the truth - she did need to see the Presentation if she was ever going to capture the momentous event in glass of her own.
She could see that the herald did not believe her. Before the man could speak, though, the crowd surged forward, grumbling its impatience with a hundred hundred voices. For one instant, the herald glared at her, furious that she dared to challenge his authority. Then, a Noble woman was shoved by the crowd and kept her balance by planting one long-nailed hand in the middle of Rani’s back. Startled, Rani coughed as the breath was forced out of her, and she, too, caught herself on the nearest available object - the herald’s staff of office. The herald, predictably, squawked his outrage and directed a well-aimed kick toward Rani.
The crowd’s fury raised in pitch - fury that a Noble woman should be left sprawling before a herald, even if that herald sought a petty revenge. Reading the reaction with the skill of his office, the herald immediately stepped forward to assist her ladyship, steadying the woman in her voluminous skirts. His solicitousness was eloquent testimony to his fear of losing his appointment. The woman would have none of it, and she brushed away his impertinent fingers with her handkerchief, keening as if his touch burned her. The crowd’s hum turned into a distinctly hostile murmur.
Glancing around to make sure that she did not attract undue attention from the mostly Noble crowd, Rani dug into the small pouch at her belt, reluctant fingers excavating a copper that she had saved for boiled sweets. She could hardly attend such a momentous event as Prince Tuvashanoran’s Presentation without lighting her own candle, sweets or no. Her family would never live down the shame - as if they had not taught their Merchant-daughter how to worship in the cathedral. She hesitated only an instant before depositing her coin in the convenient cask, then she selected the longest candle in the nearby basket, to make up for her sacrifice.
Rani lit her taper and muttered the Guildsman’s Prayer, words that had already become familiar in the short months since her apprenticeship. Every morning, under Cook’s watchful eye, she muttered the Prayer upon awakening. She spoke it before each meal, before each artistic undertaking, before each installation of finished glasswork, in penance before the disciplinarian and - finally - at the end of every day, on her knees beside her pallet. May all the gods look upon my craft with favor, and may they take pleasure in the humble art created by my hands. May Jair Himself be pleased with the humble offering I make, and may the least of my works bring glory to the world. May my works guide me to the Heavenly Fields in my proper time, as the gods do favor. All glory to the Thousand Gods.
Despite her best intentions, Rani rushed through the last few words, unable to pry her attention from the crowd. Not surprisingly, with the vulture of a herald standing guard over the door, most of the folk were Noble. Of course, each of the major Guilds was in evidence - the Tilers, the Embroiderers, the Painters, the Armorers, others that Rani could not see from her current vantage point. Each guildmaster or guildmistress wore a heavy robe of office, surmounted by a cloak emblazoned with that particular guild’s symbol. Rani did not immediately see the glasswrights’ Guildmistress Salina, but she calculated a path that would keep her as far from the other craftsmen as possible, eager to avoid a confrontation. Nowhere in the cathedral did she espy another apprentice.
Rani’s evasive course took her down the right aisle, bobbing beneath the masterful Pilgrimage windows. In fact, with a final elbow placed sharply in the side of a Noble girl (a child too young to complain to her non-observant mother), Rani made a space for herself at the edge of the south transept. Craning her neck, she could just make out the massive window where Instructor Morada toiled. From inside the cathedral, the glasswork looked complete, with all its lead stripping in place. That completeness, though, may have been a deceptive trick of the light, for the sunlight was brilliant - strong enough to hint at the scaffolding just beyond the window. Rani noted that those rays focused through the window exactly as the guild had intended.
She might have boasted to her neighbors, or at least flashed the guild-blazon on her cape a little more flamboyantly, if the Defender’s procession had not begun at that precise moment. Trumpets rang out as if a battle loomed, and a strained hush fell over the crowd. The fanfare was repeated once, then twice, and then two times more - a total of five to match the Touched and the four castes that Jair had lived.
With each repetition, pockets of worshipers fell to their knees - first the few Touched who had been permitted to enter the cathedral as servants to Nobles. In rapid procession, the scattered Merchants knelt (Rani almost forgot and fell to her knees), followed by Guildsmen (Rani gratefully remembered her new status), Soldiers, and finally Nobles.
Prince Tuvashanoran was easily the most popular Noble in the City’s history. Not only was he breathtakingly handsome, but he was the very flower of knighthood. He had won the golden spurs with ease in the Spring Tourney, treating his opponents with compassion and respect. Various princesses from rich and fabled lands to the north and east were presented at court on a regular basis, and the Prince entertained them all - singing in his rich baritone, playing his lute, and showing off his horsemanship in the castle’s central courtyard. But he was more than a courtier.
Only when the fabric was an unrippled puddle of metallic silk, did Tuvashanoran return to his kneeling posture. He offered up his joined hands to the High Priest, tendering the sort of fealty usually reserved for the Crown. The High Priest, expecting the honor, took those royal hands between his own, nodding solemnly before setting palsied palms upon the Prince’s bowed head. There was a long moment during which not a rustle of silk or velvet could be heard, and then the Priest’s voice echoed up to the clerestory. Who brings this man before the altar of the Thousand Gods?
It is I, Shanoranvilli ben-Jair, King of Morenia, Lord of the City, and Defender of the Faith, who brings my son to the altar. Rani started guiltily; she had not even seen the king process down the nave. From the crowd’s indrawn gasp, Rani realized that few others had watched their liege approach, so captivating was Tuvashanoran.
Looking across the dais, Rani could see the entire royal family looking on in pride. Beside King Shanoranvilli stood his young wife, the exotically beautiful Queen Felicianda. Prince Halaravilli was there as well, scarcely two years older than Rani herself, and Prince Bashanorandi, Rani’s own age. A flock of princesses rustled on the platform, craning their young necks to see what their eldest brother was doing. Or half-brother, Rani amended mentally - Prince Bashanorandi and the princesses were all Queen Felicianda’s children; only Tuvashanoran and Halaravilli survived from the king’s first marriage.
The High Priest did not appear to be concerned with the complicated relationships in the royal family. Turning to King Shanoranvilli, he intoned gravely, Defender of the Faith, you call yourself. And what proof do I have that you bear that title?
While the king’s voice might quaver, there was nothing weak or yielding in his stance on this brightest of bright days. Keeping his eyes on the High Priest, Shanoranvilli raised sere hands to the heavy chain of office encircling his neck. Even at this distance, Rani could make out the massive, interlocked J’s of the chain, the letters so ornate that they were hardly recognizable. J for Jair, J for the royal house. I wear the Defender’s Chain, Father, symbol of my obligation to the Thousand Gods and reminder of the power that those gods give to me.
And why do you come into the Gods’ House today?
I come to transfer this Chain, to one who, in his youth, can Defend the faith better than I.
The High Priest looked down at the king, as if he were considering this offer for the first time. Rani shivered at the expression in the Holy Father’s eyes, for she had seen such a look once before - the night she forsook her parents’ house for the guild. There was pride there, but it was buried beneath sorrow, the emotions so keen they sliced across the cathedral’s charged air.
And do you come here of your own free will? The priest asked at last, his bushy eyebrows arched high so that they merged into one commanding line above his far-seeing eyes.
Aye, I come of my own free will.
And you, Prince Tuvashanoran, do you take up this burden of your own free will?
Aye, I take it up of my own free will. The Prince’s voice was proud and strong, hurtling up to the windows with the vigor of youth.
Then let the Church prepare you for your duties. The High Priest raised a trembling hand, and a cloud of acolytes swarmed about the dais. Rani knew that the boys were her own age, apprenticed to the church and its priests even as she served the guild. Still, they looked like little children as they darted about the kneeling Prince, averting their eyes to the stony floor rather than gaze directly at their liege. The whole thing was ridiculous, Rani scoffed - these same boys were Tuvashanoran’s cousins, his closest family. Only royalty would be permitted to participate in a ceremony as important as Tuvashanoran’s Presentation. The royal boys could not truly have been overwhelmed with awe in the space of a few hours.
As the acolyte stepped away, bearing the worldly burden, Rani felt the urge to shout with pride for the glory of her Prince. The High Priest raised his arms, as if summoning the force of the heavens. Welcome to the house of the Thousand Gods, my son. Welcome to the most holy seat of the Pilgrim. As you set your feet upon the Defender’s road, you must let the gods know of your desire to serve them, of your desire to be their sword arm in the battles of the world. The High Priest gestured to a naked sword that lay upon the altar, unadorned steel glinting with a deadly power.
Before you take up this new weapon for your battle, drink of this cup, the stirrup cup for the journey you now undertake to serve your people, the kingdom of all Morenia, the community of the faithful. The priest held out one withered hand and an acolyte stepped forward to pass the old man a gilded chalice. The goblet was heavy, requiring two trembling fists to raise it before the awed people. With a bow, the priest passed the chalice to Tuvashanoran, who paused for a moment to settle the weight of metal and jewels in his own grasp. When he raised the cup, he found the exact focus of light from the Defender’s Window, making every facet of each embedded jewel wink at the congregation. Then, Tuvashanoran drank deeply, swallowing the holy wine with relish, with the fanaticism of a soldier riding off to battle. Only when the massive cup was drained did he hand the treasure back to the high priest.
The old man nodded proudly. Now, my son, prostrate yourself in the house of the Gods, before the Pilgrim’s Table, and offer up any thoughts that would make you impure to carry out your mission in the world.
And all the while, Prince Tuvashanoran lay before the altar, unknowing. Rani struggled for breath in the suddenly close cathedral, clambering to her feet. In the silence of the praying congregation, her voice rang out, piercing and shrill. Your Highness! To arms!
Rani threw herself against the guildhall’s majestic gates, hitting the wrought iron with enough force to make the posts screech in their stone moorings. Brother Gatekeeper! she panted, trying to force a scream behind her ragged breath. Brother Gatekeeper, let me in!
She looked behind her with a wild eye, desperately trying to fill her lungs. She had been running for nearly two hours. In the stunned silence following her shout in the cathedral, Rani had not even tried to make her way down the endless nave. Instead, she had ducked out the transept portal, using all her strength to push open the heavy oaken doors.
Even with adrenaline pumping in her veins, she had nearly been unable to get by, for the wooden mass of Morada’s scaffold blocked the door’s full swing. As it was, she needed to scrape sideways to edge through, and she did not spare a thought for the short black cloak that she left snagged on the doorframe.
The crowds near the cathedral had still been thick with disappointed citizens hoping for a glimpse of the Presentation, and the hordes became even more resistant to passage as rumors began to fly. When Rani finally cleared the Cathedral sector, she sprinted in panic in the opposite direction from the guild, winding through the Soldier’s Quarter for a solid hour before she could untangle the streets.
By the time she worked her way to the familiar byways of her childhood home in the Merchants’ Quarter, a dust of panic had sifted over the City. Twice, she saw platoons of soldiers jogging down the narrow cobbled roads, grim rage scarcely suppressed as lieutenants called out the marching cadence. Merchants pulled in their trestles while the sun still shone, and frantic mothers summoned children into the safety of dark doorways.
Rani had been tempted to run to her own family, but she realized reluctantly that she needed to warn her guild. She was an apprentice now, not a merchant, and she needed to tell her brothers and sisters of Morada’s evil, even if that meant revealing her own unplanned complicity in Prince Tuvashanoran’s death. Although half the City sprawled between her and the stricken prince, Rani could still see the streaks of crimson across Tuvashanoran’s pale, pale flesh. There was no chance that he still lived.
Brother Gatekeeper! she cried again, desperation ripping her throat as she wracked her brain to remember which of the guildsmen was assigned gate duty. Her cries remained unanswered, and she abandoned the gate to duck down the alley that lined the guild’s garden, all the while imagining a ravening crowd sweeping around the bend in the street, bent on bloody vengeance against Morada Glasswright.
The deserted mews gave Rani some feeling of safety, and she dashed one hand against her cheek, leaving dirty streaks in the tracks of her tears. Stone walls towered over her as she fought back sobs, letting her fingers trail against the rough rock as she stumbled down the alley.
This was all a nightmare. Tuvashanoran was the greatest warrior who had ever lived. He could not be felled by a single arrow. He could not be murdered in the house of the Thousand Gods. And Morada could not have committed the murder. Still, Rani could see the lead stripping coiled on Morada’s scaffold, and she could hear the wicked anger in the Instructor’s voice. Morada had removed at least one pane of glass from the Defender’s Window, and she’d been prepared to cover up her action with hastily applied lead. Morada had been furious when Rani discovered her. If the Instructor had not murdered Tuvashanoran, she had certainly been directly involved in the attack.
Now, standing in the alley, Rani was startled by a crow’s harsh cry. Reflexively, she reached for a large stone amid the broken cobbles. Years of working before a board of shining pretties had taught her excellent aim - she could frighten off the largest crows that were intent on stealing from her hard-working family.
The bird was perched on a low branch of a straggling apple tree - possibly even the tree that had borne the apples that Rani had carried to Morada that morning. Remembering the fruit made the girl’s stomach clench in hunger. For a moment, she was ashamed - how could she even think of eating when the greatest hero of her people lay dead in the cathedral, cut down by an arrow because she had called him from his prostration before the altar? Perhaps, without Rani’s unintended assistance, the archer-assassin would have missed the prince. Perhaps Tuvashanoran would have lived. Rani might not have plucked the bow, but she had surely summoned Prince Tuvashanoran to his bitter, untimely death.
Thrusting aside her guilt, Rani studied the immediate problem of gaining entry to the guildhall gardens. The apple tree was at least fifteen feet above her, the wall itself the height of two men. Casting about the alley, Rani discovered a quartet of broken barrels. Some of the staves were cast in on each of the casks; the coopers had deemed them past repair. Still, Rani made short work of rolling the barrels to the wall and balancing them to create a rickety tower.
She was still far from the top of the wall when her stomach clenched with hunger, bile painting the back of her tongue. There was no help for it. Dusting her hands against her grimy doublet, she set her jaw and pawed for a handhold amid the stones.
She may have only worked in the guildhall for a few months, but in that time, she had been forced to stir innumerable pots of paint. She had scrubbed endless acres of whitewashed tables. She had trickled cornmeal into countless cauldrons, and then stirred the resulting mush until it thickened to Cook’s revolting expectations. Her arms trembled with her new strength, and she found hand-holds where none were visible, tiny gaps where she could force her fingers. Like a horsefly loose in the pantry, she made her way up the stone wall.
Only once did she get stuck, and that was when the crow realized that his territory was being invaded. The giant bird cawed harshly and swooped upon her. His beak clashed against the flashing gold thread of Rani’s guild emblem; the thieving bird was after the apprentice’s wealth just as its brothers had tried to steal from the merchants’ boards. Rani, thrusting away the image of bloody talons and beak, fended off the crow’s attack with a stiff-fingered hand. That instinctive maneuver made her slide down the face of the wall; she only caught herself by flattening her belly against the stone and skinning both knees.
The crow, not to be deterred, beat at her with its wings, and Rani cried out as she imagined the sharp beak ripping her flesh. The bird cawed again, flapping its huge wings in excitement over Rani’s glittering guild-patch. Rani could picture her skin being ripped as she heard the fabric tear, but then the crow stroked away on his broad wings, trailing the golden threads that had secured Rani’s multi-colored badge of office.
Anger gave way to relief, and Rani clung to the wall for a moment, panting out a prayer to Fairn, the god of birds, who had seen fit to send away that particularly nasty minion. Without the looming crow, Rani made short work of the rest of her climb. Arms quivering, she pulled herself atop the wall, and it only took a minute to summon the nerve to leap to the apple tree.
Once she was secure in the tree’s gnarled branches, she began to shake uncontrollably. Suddenly, she was chilled - her arm was bare where the crow had ripped the fabric, and she missed the cloak she had been forced to leave at the cathedral. A steady breeze stiffened against the tear-tracks on her face, and Rani realized that her hands were still trembling when she reached for a rosy apple.
For just an instant, the ripe fruit melted into the blood streaking Tuvashanoran’s fine face, but she shuddered past the image, squeezing her eyes shut and bringing the fragrant fruit to her lips. She chewed mechanically, then grabbed at another and another.
Only when the worst pangs in her belly were quelled did Rani descend from her perch. She paused at the base of the tree to gather several windfalls and stuff them into her doublet’s hidden pockets. The orchard was eerie in the late fall afternoon; autumn-bare branches straggled across a darkening sky. A breeze skirled through the trees, rattling dry leaves like prayers for the dead.
Rani ducked into the guildhall unseen and made her way through strangely silent corridors. Usually, late afternoon was the time of greatest activity - instructors finishing their classes for the day, apprentices scurrying to complete their tasks before scrubbing up after their brothers and sisters.
Today, though, no one roamed the halls. Rani passed by the great chamber where the whitewashed tables squatted, awaiting a glasswright’s hand to sketch complex charcoal designs. Not a glazier was in sight. Certainly, the ragged tail of a fire twitched on the grate, but even that was faded almost to embers. Rani almost stopped to bank the coals, in an effort to limit her work later in the day.
Afterwards, Rani could never be sure what drove her to the Hall of Discipline. Maybe, it was Instructor Morada’s angry words, delivered on the scaffold, ordering Rani to report for punishment. Maybe, at the back of her mind, she heard the ghosts of voices in the guildhall’s deadly still, and she decided to seek them out. Maybe her steps were guided by one of the Thousand Gods.
Whatever the reason, Rani made her way to the dimly lit Apprentice’s Corridor, a narrow passage that skulked behind the Hall of Discipline. She had spent more time in this darkened space than she cared to admit. The stone walls curved above her, hulking to barrel vaulting without even the narrowest of windows. Indeed, the only light in the oppressive passage came from the candles that burned on altars spaced down the corridor. Each altar was dedicated to a different god - Lene, the god of humility, Plad, the god of patience, Dain, the god of contemplation.
Altogether, there were a half dozen altars, each littered with trinkets offered up by straying apprentices. Rani had studied her fellows’ offerings on many occasions; the most censured apprentice each week was charged with replacing the massive tallow candles that smoked on each altar. The candles were as long as Rani’s arm, and as thick around as her neck, and she needed to stretch on her tiptoes to light them.
Now, she fought the compulsion to lug out replacements for the low-burning candles on the cluttered altars. Such attention to detail would have been absurd - Tuvashanoran was dead. The prince had died because she had called him; she had cried out. Rani did not need to be a soldier to know that the deadly arrow would have passed harmlessly over Tuvashanoran’s head, without her interference. If she had just kept silent, Tuvashanoran would have been spared. No burning wax in a darkened corridor was going to absolve Rani this time.
She might ignore the candles, but she could not dismiss the final altar, at the end of the shadowy passage. This was the single place within the guildhall where Rani had spent the most time since her tumultuous arrival. The altar itself was fashioned out of a massive block of stone, and its front was inlaid with dark tiles of smoky glass. The altar was sacred to a deity almost entirely foreign to Rani - Sorn, the god of obedience. It was customary for an apprentice who was summoned to the Hall of Discipline to kneel before Sorn, to ask forgiveness before punishment could be meted out by the guild disciplinarian.
Sorn was a harsh master, as Rani had learned too often. A kneeler was fashioned at the foot of his altar, ostensibly to provide greater comfort to petitioners who sought divine guidance. Rani knew, though, that the kneeler was just another element of the disciplinarian’s craft, for its wooden surface was embossed with the tools of the glasswright’s trade - grozing irons and coils of lead stripping, pincers and rectangular glass tiles. It was impossible to kneel upon that narrow bench without transferring those sharp-edged images to tender knees.
Nevertheless, Rani could not approach the Hall of Discipline without at least a token obeisance. Traditionally, the disciplinarian’s first move was to check a petitioner’s knees. If Rani showed up without a visible symbol of her worship, she would merely be sent back until she was marked. Sighing, Rani lowered herself to the familiar kneeler.
She should not have been surprised to overhear the conversation in the Hall of Discipline. After all, the altar was especially situated so that one apprentice could make out the … instruction of another, thereby fostering greater discipline through the imagined penalty. Many a time, Rani had emerged from her own instruction at the hands of the disciplinarian, only to face the whey countenance of another apprentice, looking up anxiously from Sorn’s altar.
Still, when Rani realized that the voice was Guildmistress Salina’s, she caught her breath, the better to make out the hissed words.
Of course it did not go as we wished!
Rani could not make out the other person’s response, but it rumbled around the corner, a man’s timbre.
We knew there was risk in using our scaffold, Salina insisted, "but we never intended to call attention to a glasswright in the middle of the plot. Since that brat cried out, there’s no way the guard will see us as innocent victims. The glasswrights are certain to be the first suspects. The only reason they’ve delayed so far is to muster troops."
No, we must accept the cards the gods have dealt us. It was ill luck and blatant disobedience that led that merchant-rat to be in the Cathedral. She’s been a thorn in my side since I took her family’s money - I never should have kept her around. She’s too strong to bend to the good of the guild; she’s stubborn enough to break first, just to show who she thinks is mistress.
Rani’s indignation was so sharp that she almost stormed into the Hall. Only the rumble of the unheard speaker stilled her, his rumble and the icy fingers that closed around her heart at Salina’s dismissive tone.
Contract be damned. She may have shown some promise with patterns, but she’s more trouble than she’s worth. Those merchant-brats almost always are. Now, the soldiers are certain to come looking for her - her guild insignia was perfectly clear, even if no one knows her by name. I saw it myself, on the cloak she left hanging on the cathedral’s side door. I instructed Brother Gatekeeper not to let her in - at least we’ll be able to claim that we don’t know where she is.
Rani’s skinned knees smarted, and tears

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The 6 Best Hotels near Atlantic Avenue Beach, East Hampton, USA - Booking.com
East Hampton 15 properties
Hotels & places to stay near Atlantic Avenue Beach, East Hampton (USA)
Looking for properties near Atlantic Avenue Beach?
Featured hotels near Atlantic Avenue Beach
East Hampton House Resort 3-star hotel
East Hampton (2.4 miles from Atlantic Avenue Beach)
Amagansett (1.6 miles from Atlantic Avenue Beach)
The Hedges Inn 4 stars This is a Preferred property. They provide excellent service, a great value and have brilliant reviews from Booking.com guests. They may pay Booking.com a bit more to be in this programme. This is a Preferred property. They provide excellent service, a great value and have brilliant reviews from Booking.com guests. They may pay Booking.com a bit more to be in this programme.
East Hampton (3.8 miles from Atlantic Avenue Beach)
White Sands Motel 3 stars
Amagansett (4 miles from Atlantic Avenue Beach)
Danilo. Canada
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Amagansett (4.6 miles from Atlantic Avenue Beach)
The Maidstone Hotel 4-star hotel This is a Preferred property. They provide excellent service, a great value and have brilliant reviews from Booking.com guests. They may pay Booking.com a bit more to be in this programme. This is a Preferred property. They provide excellent service, a great value and have brilliant reviews from Booking.com guests. They may pay Booking.com a bit more to be in this programme.
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402008,397885,391279,305044|1,393376,402268|1,402837,402863,305044|6,402763,402223,305044,403219,399276,348514,402115,380409,394629,383648,400388,389726,404862,401554,397885|1,398078,405936,405129,401328,399415,401554|6,398443,405792,399531

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Surf, Yoga & Spa Resort - Contemporary - Living Room - other metro - by SB Design
SB DesignInterior Designers & Decorators	Email	Save to Ideabook25Ask a Question1Print	Surf, Yoga & Spa Resort
Family resort mediterranean style living room	URL
http://htp://www.sbdesign.ma
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Love the large landscape mural! Where is it from? Like Comment	Sign Up to comment	What Houzzers are commenting on:
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value: This website is an American website, online community and software for architecture; interior design and decorating; landscape design and home improvement. It was founded in 2009 and is based in Palo Alto, California.


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Saudi Arabian Oil Company: Private Company Information - Bloomberg
Saudi Arabian Oil Company is an integrated energy and chemicals company in Saudi Arabia. The company is engaged in the exploration, production, refining, distribution, shipping, and marketing of hydrocarbons; production of petrochemical products; and production and export of crude oil and natural gas liquids. Saudi Arabian Oil Company was formerly known as Arabian American Oil Company and changed its name to Saudi Arabian Oil Company in November 1988. The company was founded in 1933 and is based in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. It has subsidiaries and affiliates in Saudi Arabia, China, Egypt, Japan, India, the Netherlands, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Building 3302
966 13 872 0115
966 13 873 8190
Mr. Abdallah I. Al-Saadan
Senior Vice President of Finance, Strategy and Development
Mr. Muhammad M. Al-Saggaf
Senior Vice President of Operations & Business Services
Mr. Khalid G. Al-Buainain
Chief Executive Officer of Trading Unit
Mr. Ibrahim Al-Buainain
Chief Executive of Trading Arm
Saudi Arabian Oil Company Key Developments
Saudi Aramco's IPO Reportedly To Get Delayed
The Initial Public Offering (IPO) of Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco) might be pushed back. Saudi Arabia is preparing contingency plans for the possible delay of Saudi Aramco's IPO by a few months, into 2019, Bloomberg's Javier Blas reported. In a statement, Saudi Aramco said the IPO "remains on track." Amin Nasser, Saudi Aramco CEO, said earlier in 2017 that the IPO is likely to happen in the second half of 2018.
Petronas, Aramco Reportedly Keen On $1.8 Billion Daewoo E&C Controlling Stake
Petroliam Nasional Berhard (Petronas) and Saud Arabian Oil Company (Aramco) are reportedly among potential suitors for a controlling stake in Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co., Ltd. (KOSE:A047040), in a deal that could fetch as much as KRW 2 trillion. The 50.75 percent Daewoo E&C stake is being put up for sale by state-owned Korea Development Bank (KDB), which in July said BoA Merrill Lynch and Mirae Asset Daewoo Securities have been appointed as its advisers on the deal.
Saudi Arabia Reportedly Favours New York For Aramco IPO
Saudi Arabian avours New York for the main foreign listing of Saudi Arabian Oil Company, even though some financial and legal advisers have recommended London as a less problematic and risky option, people familiar with the matter told Reuters.
August 28, 2017 Sadara Chemical Company
February 28, 2017 Petroliam Nasional Berhad, Refinery & Petrochemical Integrated Development Project
To contact Saudi Arabian Oil Company, please visit www.saudiaramco.com. Company data is provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence. Please use this form to report any data issues.

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