The diplomatic flag appeared on the western road on the fourteenth day.
The Verakh network reported it at noon: a carriage bearing the kingdom's diplomatic standard, escorted by fifty Royal Guard cavalry, moving south at the pace that formal diplomatic travel required. Behind the carriage, a second vehicle, unmarked, carrying documentation whose volume suggested a mandate rather than a message.
Sakh'arran brought the report to Khao'khen at the market hall.
"She is coming back," Sakh'arran said.
Khao'khen looked at the report. The diplomatic flag. The Royal Guard escort. The documentation vehicle. The same configuration that Westyn's first mission had used, the configuration that said the council had made a decision and the decision was being delivered by the person whose professional function was to translate decisions into agreements.
