[Suzerain of Sheol]

The familiar weight of her armor has a calming effect on Amélie, and she feels at ease in the martial confines of the tournament grounds. Amid the sea of pompous heraldry and bustling squires, she sees no familiar faces or coats of arms, no surprise with the number of visiting lords come to join cause with the Emperor in his holy war.

Amélie had hoped to find Dame Bradamante and offer her her well-wishes before the joust, but there is no sign of the lady-paladin, nor any of the exalted peers.

Halting amid the swarm of bodies to make sure she has not lost her varlet, Amélie says to Kier, "It will be the Devil's errand getting near enough to catch a view of the joust." She looks around once more, frowning. "Though in such company as this, you are like as not to be better spared observing my humiliation." Attempting a smile, she adds, "Christ Jesu would no doubt have it thus, nay?"

She pushes away memories of the blood-washed walls of Jerusalem, along with thoughts of the coming carnage in the north that will, if anything, eclipse the horrors she witnessed and inflicted in God's chosen land.