Khao'khen read Aliyah's draft for the third time on the morning Kael's urgent message arrived.
Kael's message changed what he did with the reading.
The draft itself he had found nearly complete on the first reading, days earlier. One sentence in the third paragraph, describing the Arch's situation in terms that emphasized the threat's scale, had read to him as slightly more alarming than the letter's purpose required.
The letter's function was deterrence through demonstrated coalition depth, not an appeal for sympathy. That one sentence leaned a few degrees toward the latter.
He had been intending to send the draft back to Aliyah with the single suggested revision and wait for her confirmation before finalizing it, in the normal sequence.
Kael's message removed the normal sequence's two or three days of travel time from what was available.
He made the revision himself, on the draft itself, in his own hand, with a note beside it: this is the only change.
