The young men.

There are many handsome young men to flirt with.

You stand in the receiving line for what seems to be hours. Behind you, the guests circulate and talk, and snippets of gossip drift to your ears.

"…did you hear about Don Alonso's youngest? Foolish girl, she turned down a most advantageous proposal last year–and it was her third Season at Court!"

"What does she think to do now? She can't possibly offer a proposal to anyone; her parents cannot afford to set her up in her own household…"

It is the way of things. One either courts or is courted. A youngster of sixteen or so is courted, generally by a well-established adult of twenty-five or thirty. Among the nobility, an eldest child is likely to have his or her own household, and seek to bring a husband or wife into it. Younger children are courted by others. There are exceptions, of course: wealthy parents may be able to provide all their children with sufficient inheritance to set up households, and poverty-stricken families–like yours–cannot even do it for their eldest.

"I heard that she turned down that proposal because she had hopes of Doña Beatriz offering for her!"

"Foolish indeed! Doña Beatriz has no money to support a wife!"

"I heard that Beatriz's sister Eugenia is having a love affair with Don Carlos de Vargas…"

"With Don Carlos? But he is a Life Mage, and she is a Death Mage! How shocking!"

That, too, is the way of the world. There are Death Mage families and Life Mage families. One tends to marry within one's set. Except for the King, of course. King Agustín, like all the Monarchs of Iberia, has married across mage lines. He is a Death Mage, and his Queen Consort a Life Mage. This means their children are more likely to be Life Mages, and so a Life Mage will succeed a Death Mage to the throne. That has always been the way of things.

Of course, it is only the way of things if the King and Queen Consort succeed in producing an heir.

"…I heard Their Majesties have lost another unborn child," you hear another thread of gossip start.

"How dreadful!"

It is dreadful. Their Majesties have only the one child, and she is a Death Mage. She cannot succeed to the throne.

"I heard that the King has commanded young Tomás de Reyes to be brought to Court…"

Aunt Leonor clears her throat and changes the subject, reminding the speaker that there are youngsters listening.