“Dawn greet thee.” Mareth spoke the words in front of the pyre as he laid the girl's body down. Maria was even more pale than usual. She had been preserved for the coming of the dawn, so she could be given at the proper time. Most people thought that Blades used cold or some kind of alchemy to preserve bodies, but Cavaar thought different. Maria's lips were not blue, and aside from a pale complexion and dark burn marks, there were no other signs of decay, despite the fact that she had been dead for a month. 

The Blades have their secrets, he thought, glancing at Yarik. His friend's face was impassive, gazing out of his single good eye.

Cavaar observed the complete silence that always preceded a sunrise. Every student and instructor, every librarian and cook, every person in the castle of the Dawn was assembled. They were standing on the battlements facing the turret where the pyre was, waiting. Cavaar looked West towards the horizon, anticipating the sun. This moon was supposed to be Squad four's evaluation, but it had been canceled by the explosion. Training had still gone on that month, as the moons turned and the sun came closer, but there was a dutiful grimness that seeped into everything they did.

Cavaar strained his eyes, hoping to catch the moment when the first ray of light would pierce the sky and stream towards the castle, signaling the beginning of a new fullday and six months of light. No one spoke a word. Cavaar knew that in the townships and cities festivities would begin to celebrate the return of the light, but not at the castle. The Blades did not speak words to commemorate the beginning of a new day, there were no songs or platitudes that attempted to assign meaning. Dawn was reserved for reflection.

Finally it came. One moment the glow of light on the horizon was visible, and the next a single pale ray shot across the expanse to the castle. It caught the spire of the watchtower and cast a shadow on the large semicircular dial in the outer courtyard. An instant later Cavaar heard a soft whoosh as the sunlight bounced of the mirror at the top of the tower and passed through the small glass positioned at the base of Maria's pyre. The fire spread and the slight form of the girl was soon consumed.

They listened while she burned.