Since Naktym the Foremother laid the first stone of Kermen seven thousand years ago—give or take—to celebrate the end of the Primordial War and guard the Eternal Peace, each Empress added to it. The guard tower became a castle, then the castle became a palace. Today, this palace is a ladder to Nirvana. Like the wisest of the crones, Naktym's tower didn't succumb to old age's afflictions, but solidified its importance as a seat of power. While the rest of Char-Kermen was built on a grid dictated by the rectangle of the Old Walls, Kermen had this round tower with a bulbous top and a staircase winding out of sight at its core and spread out radially.

If the azure Old Walls, crenulated along the top and interrupted by square towers, dwarfed me, Kermen didn't. Same with the mountains, built by the Divines' will. The whimsy of their form precludes it. I could barely see the design in Naktym's tower. It was added on, decorated, and lived-in, but it grew around an approachable heart of the initial structure. It was taller than the pyramids of Bhar, but it struck out into the sky like an inviting penis. And penises aren't intimidating.

I fell in love with Kermen at first sight and vowed to impress the ancient city. If someone had asked me how I would achieve this monumental feat, I wouldn't have guessed it would be with a wedding. But there I was at the gates of my mansion, begging Breva's forgiveness for the knee-buckling weight of gold and gems she had to carry.

Under the eagle eyes of the Treasurer, I emptied the contents of the Company's war chests to wear jewels in my hair, in my ears and on every square inch of my ceremonial robes woven from the cloth of gold. I could have ridden through an enemy army in my wedding dress, and no arrow would have penetrated it. That's if I didn't blind the archers first!

People of Char-Kermen didn't mind the glitter. They danced in the street as I made slow progress toward the Temple of Indara. Armfuls of butterfly orchids were tossed at me from the windows and sidewalks. I threw coins at the crowd, while Miccola batted the flowers away with her saber. Anything but to untie her purse!

"You get more cheers for being stingy, O Wise One. Teach me your ways," I told her.

"Watch your ears," she cried over the noise. Her saber whistled in circles, dicing the flowers into confetti to shower the jubilant crowd.

I laughed. My heart stood at its zenith. I wanted to hug the world. Copper, silver, gold, they were but metals. I tossed another handful of change into the crowd.

"Drink my health!" I yelled. The orchids and promises to get plastered egged me on to the temple.

Parneres waited for me atop of the steps carpeted in gold and red flowers. His face, save for the eyes, was modestly veiled. He wore an embroidered waist-tight gown with a high collar, covering every zig zag of his tattoos.

Kozima and Ondrey, who flanked him, had their faces uncovered. Next to Kozima's refined features and Ondrey's rugged good looks, Parneres still managed to be the most beautiful man in the world.

Taffiz, in unrelieved black, held the stirrup for me. I hopped out of the saddle, and he immediately inserted a golden cup filled to the brims with deep-red liquid into my hands. I had no idea where he had it.

"Drink," he advised when I barely touched the wine and pushed the cup back to him. "Drink deep, Ishmara. You need it."

I emptied the sweet fruity spirit in one gulp, then threw the cup over my shoulder without looking. For luck. To make someone else lucky tonight, though nobody in Char-Kermen would come close to me in that department.

Abandoning what I had left of self-restraint, I took the steps two at a time. Laughter, well wishes and petals rained over me. I barely kept my footing, because the squashed blooms bled their nectar under the soles of my sandals. Try and stop me! I could fly to my groom!

The moment I reached Parneres, I took his slender hands into mine. They were cool, despite the afternoon warmth. The veil, as archaic an accessory as Kozima could dig up, emphasized how soulful his eyes were. I searched their depths for the signs of healing. They shone with a feeling I couldn't name, but it buoyed my heart, sending pleasure waves through my body.

"You take my breath away, my love," I said.

Miccola and Taffiz caught up to us, having handed Breva to an attendant. All together we entered Indara's temple.

Gala's temples were full of dripping fountains for her tears. Mythra's altars were simple slabs of stone piled up with rusting offerings and bloody palm prints. Tashaya's towers had windows cut high above to make the sunrays crisscross the space.

Indara's temple was full of mystique, with a mesh of alcoves hiding bronze statues frozen in poses of contemplation or passionate discovery. Sometimes you looked in—and found one empty. Other times, a single rune in the Mother of All Tongues was inscribed on a cloth or a string of beads... you never knew.

Incense's aroma permeated the air with Ashanti's intrusiveness. Even if Indara wasn't a Divine patron of the actors, I could see why They called to Parneres' heart.

I advanced to the central shrine at a decorous pace, hand in hand with my groom. It was proper and it masked his limp.

Priestesses in red sarees chanted, their eyes closed in contemplation, hands clasped at the heart's level. I always thought it strange that red wasn't Mythra's color because of blood we spilled in her name, but Indara claimed it for Their abode of secrets.

Once the chant echoed enough times under the dome and the bell rang, Paneres went to one knee. His maimed legs labored to bend. I almost grabbed his shoulder to help him, but Kozima stopped me with a sharp look. He even shook his head to warn me off. I bit my lips, swallowed hard, as my heart swelled with love and pity. If I wasn't so late in coming to his rescue, Parneres would be whole.

Parneres finally settled. When he knelt, it was impossible to tell how gravely he was injured. Just a tall man with a waist-line of a wasp and the eyes of an antelope.

In the sonorous silence, he said exactly the same thing he had said during the most memorable performance of Naktymyana in my life. His voice, magnified by the high ceiling, brought tears of joy to my eyes.

"Ina'amatus, ina'guarda, ina'Indara," Parneres said.

Indara's passion coursed through my veins, reaching into the deep and precious places within me. It would be special for him if I called upon Indara for a blessing, but my nature couldn't be changed.

"Ina'Mythra, tea'guardo. Tea'amatus, Parneres," my voice said, quivering and as if coming from a distance, just like it did during my other two weddings. Divine Indara would forgive me. This was my vow, and Mythra favored me.

Then, ignoring Kozima's frantic eyes, I extended my hands to clasp Parneres' wrists and lift him to his feet, into my embrace. From all the Divines, Indara would be the most likely to understand my impatience.

I pulled Parneres' veil down to finally kiss him in a way that was neither conservative nor old-fashioned. Again, Indara would forgive me. If Kozima ended up cross-eyed, he would only have himself to blame.

The chant, the incense and the kiss sent my head spinning. And it didn't stop spinning.

I didn't remember much of the feast until it was Taffiz' turn to present Pareneres and me with a gift. He handed over a tiny box of carved ivory. I flipped the lid open with my nail and gasped, before showing the content to my newlywed husband.

On the bed of white silk, laid a single blood-red pearl set into an earring.

"Taffiz—" I started to thank him, but he bowed himself off the bridal dais, moving backward, a lopsided grin twisting his face. The satin jacket with a high collar and a row of buttons down the front, opening up into wide folds to the knee, showed his wiry frame and smooth movements to their best advantage, but my attention returned to my groom.

Parneres picked up the earring between two fingers reverently. My memory wasn't cheating me--this wasn't a copy, this was the pearl I had given him long ago. Parneres put the hoop through his ear without a single word. I didn't need words to know what he meant.

I got up, toasted the gathering and thanked them from the bottom of my heart for sharing this day of joy with me.

Parneres and I left the pavilion to the giggling and excited cheering customary under the circumstances. Miccola and the Treasurer accompanied me. The brother-husbands went with Parneres. I didn't need anyone's help to find the bedroom in my own house, but the silly custom of settling the newlyweds into the marital bed came in handy with unfastening and removing pounds of heavy garments and jewels.

Finally, attired for a wedding night rather than scaling a castle wall if you wanted to impress the besieged with your wealth before vanquishing them, I pressed Miccola to my chest.

"One day, my friend, you too shall succumb," I sniffled.

She sniffled louder than I did, or maybe she snorted. "Not on your life!"

Then she held me at an arm's length and clicked her tongue. I waited for her to say something, but she didn't.