"We don't have opera in my country," Tolten responded honestly. He was rather certain they had in Gohtza. But now... was there any opera left in Plank? Oh, surely. It wasn't as though every single facet and fragment of northern life had been annihilated. The haunting tones in the music became more pronounced as he thought of the now-wasted north and he tried to turn his thoughts away.

"It's helpful. The music, I mean. It helps to quiet riotous thoughts, which are all too prevalent here. And without some diversion a man can go mad." That lesson, at least, he had learned well. Even in the midst of chaos, hell and damnation, a person needed to find joy and simple things to keep the mind from breaking neath the strain.

Of course, it seemed as though he had plenty of 'diversions' he could be devoting his attention to now. Midday meal with Mikado had been a distraction, and had taken Tolten far enough away from his most recent problem to relax, but....

Now he found his mind circling right back to it.