"It's hard to explain," Yuyan said, "but I'll try my best. I'm...I'm actually going to be the next oracle of my country. The oracle they have now saw me in his visions, I suppose, and they summoned me to the palace. But before I could be appointed, they sent me traveling around the country to learn about it--and it's very big, so the journey takes about a year."

"Usually I would have been back and appointed a couple years ago, but...well, there was a war that ended when I was born, and there was still trouble. Rebellions were happening everywhere, so the emperor somehow found a foreign ship that was very far from danger, and sent us with them. And we can't go back until we get word that it's safe again."