“The Bravos, they are always in such a hurry. They show up at our little performances at the last possible moment and then leave as soon as the curtain is coming down. They are always in such a rush. You would think that they should take time to savour the exquisite intricacies of the performance. Understand the subtle inferences in the work, such that every meaning and nuance can be extracted from the words so that they understand the true themes.”

“But no, all such things are lost on them in their hurry to go about their lives. They act quickly and without true thought and the only thing that saves them is that they are fit and skilled in the outdoors. I mean Venka, he came to my show the other week with his little trainee Kutan. He’s been training the kid for years, but the kid still has no patience. The other day the kid nearly fell off the side of the ship and it was only a reserve of Venka’s energy that managed to grasp him and pull the kid back on board. The kid got told off, but put on a pout that would have made Nev proud. Either the kid will learn or he’ll be dead, but then I guess that’s the Bravos way. Learn or die.”

“One moment, I need to go on. They’ve just announced a curtain call. Don’t fret my little sweet flowers, I will be back to finish my discussion of the Bravos. I hope you enjoy the show darlings!”

“Well, I hope you enjoyed our little performance. Venka showed up at the start of the show, but there was no sign of his apprenctice. It seemed that Kutan had not been able to get a ticket, the cost was just too much for him. Venka thought quickly and went to one of the Showfolk who inspect the tickets. He is a smooth talker than Venka and he persuaded Janic to let the kid into the venue for a discount on the reserve price of the tickets, which Janic put straight into his pocket. Now this is not the Lyra way for our little troop and Janic has been spoken to and a little subtle use of Ignescence means that he will not seek to put his own pocket above the needs of the group.”

“Venka though, he sloped of real quickly in a rush with his protegee. Soledad would probably proud of the pair of them. She seems to be one of the more hotheaded of the Bravos Exalts, even more so that Kojo.”

“Why do I tell you this story? Well I have a rare treat for you that will show you just what I have been saying!”