We’d Take the World Apart If She Asked Us To

The carriage came around a bend in the road and approached the spot where [Sir] Sparhawk and [his Styric teacher] Sephrenia waited. [Queen] Ehlana was talking animatedly to Oscagne and Emban, but she broke off suddenly, her eyes wide. “Sephrenia?” she gasped. “It is! It’s Sephrenia.” Royal dignity went out the window as she scrambled down from the carriage.

“Brace yourself,” Sparhawk cautioned with a gentle smile. Ehlana ran to them, threw her arms around Sephrenia’s neck and kissed her, weeping for joy.

The queen’s tears were not the only ones shed that afternoon. Even the hard-bitten Church Knights were misty-eyed for the most part. [Sir] Kalten went even further and wept openly as he knelt to receive Sephrenia’s blessing.

“The Styric woman has a special significance, Sparhawk-Knight?” Engessa asked curiously.

“A very special significance, Atan Engessa,” Sparhawk replied, watching his friends clustered around the small woman. “She touches our hearts in a profound way. We’d probably take the world apart if she asked us to.”

“That’s a very great authority, Sparhawk-Knight.” Engessa said it with some approval. Engessa respected authority.

“It is indeed, my friend,” Sparhawk agreed….

— Domes of Fire, Chapter16