Valentine is now established as Coronal of Majipoor, about to undertake the grand processional, yet filled with inexplicable despond, still filled with the dark cloud that had passed over his soul in the Labyrinth.
His forboding is not without foundation as he soon faces a planetary crisis — the shapeshifting Metamorphs are sabotaging the crops on which Majipoor's billions depend — and a conflict with his protégé and heir-apparent Hissune.
Only after a crisi and conflict have been overcome can Valentine fulfil his destiny and succeed to the title of Pontifex.