Стража! Стража!

           Theylie... 

           Notdead,notasleep.Notwaiting,becausewaitingimpliesexpectation.Possiblythewordwe’relookingforhereis... 

           ...dormant. 

           Andalthoughthespacetheyoccupyisn’tlikenormalspace,neverthelesstheyarepackedintightly. Notacubicinchtherebutisfilledbyaclaw,atalon,ascale,thetipofatail,sotheeffectislikeoneofthosetrickdrawingsandyoureyeballseventuallyrealisethatthespacebetweeneachdragonis,infact,anotherdragon: 

           Theycouldputyouinmindofacanofsardines,ifyouthoughtsardineswerehugeandscalyandproudandarrogant. 

           Andpresumably,somewhere,there’sthekey. 

           Inanotherspaceentirely,itwasearlymorninginAnkh-Morpork,oldestandgreatestandgrubbiestofcities. Athindrizzledrippedfromthegreyskyandpunctuatedtherivermistthatcoiledamongthestreets.Ratsofvariousspecieswentabouttheirnocturnaloccasions.Undernight’sdampcloakassassinsassassinated,thievesthieved,hussieshustled.Andsoon. AnddrunkenCaptainVimesoftheNightWatchstaggeredslowlydownthestreet,foldedgentlyintothegutteroutsidetheWatchHouseandlaytherewhile,abovehim,strangelettersmadeoflightsizzledinthedampandchangedcolour... 

           Thecitywasa,wasa,wasawossname.Thing.Woman.Thasswhatitwas.Woman.Roaring,ancient,centuriesold.