The servants who were to stay behind cleared away trays of cups and plates. Those who were to come with their masters and mistresses were armed with leather flasks of fluids and pouches full of gray cotton cloths.
Like well-oiled cogs, the top tiers of Arnica's society broke the heretofore-clear divisions within their ranks. Major and minor nobles, the untitled elites, their attendants, and even the foreign representatives mingled and pressed together indiscriminately as they all chose at random which of the five biers to surround.
At least, the choice WAS supposed to be random. Barring the families, every living human present was supposed to accord the same importance to the dead if there's more than one who needed honoring in a day.
In death, all of them were equals.
But this partic
