[ caste, says kaveh, with the imperious tones of someone who has never believed in it. this, alhaitham knows. for the lokapalans, there is no other word more distasteful, no other concept more wretched. the brothers and sisters beneath the sun, so they were called. a province of sumeru that abhorred slavery, that had prince and stablehand dine at the same table, with the same utensils, and the same camaraderie. alhaitham understands the concept as well as he understands the limitations. rank is a form of discrimination. from the start, it would have been impossible for the lokapalan stablehand to hire guards for his household the same way his prince did. it would have been impossible for the serving staff of a lokapalan palace to wear the quality of gems that kaveh did, with the frequency that he did. it would have been impossible for the cook to have the expensive education that kaveh did, with the people that he learned from.

the existence of the vissudha castes simply call out this form of inequality and inequity. neither systems boast perfection. but the importance, alhaitham knows, is spiritual. the lack of caste in lokapalan frees the soul of the common man. the caste system in vissudha guarantees hope for the next samsara. but that is a religous man's argument. alhaitham, who has never believed in the grace of the greater or lesser lords, looks to kaveh. ]

Are you reluctant to praise them yourself because you fear they will not respect your opinion, or are you reluctant because you, yourself, have too much pride?

[ and then, ] Regardless, in Vissudha, the words from the household of the prince hold the same authority as the prince. You will speak with my authority. My personal slave should still remember how to command that much, does he not?