It wasn't big, this throne room, about the size of a major corporate boardroom. The floor was hardwood, the walls paneled in the same rich-grained wood as the door I'd passed through. On the wall behind the Ali'i was a large coat of arms or seal or something—circular, with words around its circumference. Ua mau ke ea a ka aina i ka pono, I managed to pick out . . . whatever the frag that was supposed to mean. In the center of the seal was some kind of emblem incorporating a hibiscuslike flower, a tree that looked like a banyan, and—I drek you not—a fragging goose . Framing it were drapes of rich maroon velvet.