“It’s a ceremony of containment and joining. Or at least that’s what I managed to glean; the book was written in Old Barrani, not the Ancestral tongue. I think it might have been their version of the regalia; without it, the power of the green...” She shrugged. “There’s a reason children aren’t exposed to the regalia. My guess is that this was a substitute for adulthood in the Ancestors.”

“Then why did she make those braids and put that flower in—in her hair?” She stumbled over not saying Mrs. Erickson’s name, and almost blew it.

“Braiding was done, for both men and women. The flower was part of the braiding. If the old woman had been an Ancestor, it would be considered normal.” Serralyn exhaled. “I think the flower is the connection to the green or the power that lies at the heart of it. But...the flower in the painting was not that flower; it was distorted, twisted.

“I’m not sure if that was the intent, or if it was the outcome. Those flowers don’t thrive outside of the green.” Serralyn hesitated.

“You might as well go all in,” Terrano told Kaylin. “Never mind. Serralyn’s concerned.”

“She is concerned,” Teela cut in, “for your continued well-being.” Teela spoke Barrani.

Terrano shrugged. “She’s never really liked conflict much. I’m not worried. Where was I? Oh, right. The flower. Serralyn theorizes that the flower itself isn’t so much planted in the green—no, that’s not right. Are you sure you don’t want to explain it?”

“It depends on how badly you butcher the explanation,” Serralyn said. She was annoyed. “What he meant to say is: the green, as we’re all aware, is not normal space. It’s not a Hallionne, and it isn’t like the Academia or the High Halls. All of those ancient buildings came later.

“Living with Helen, and living with Alsanis, made clear that much of the space that makes them like gods within their own boundaries is...like the outlands. It’s a miasma of possibility that the buildings themselves control and transform at need. The outlands are all of that, but without the driving intellect or will behind them.

“So, if we think of the outlands as a kind of geography, the buildings with sentience claim ownership of part of that space. They can extend that ownership beyond their boundaries, as long as no other will or intent interferes with theirs.

“I think the green is like the sentient buildings—but older. It wasn’t designed or created the way the sentient buildings were; we weren’t meant to interact with it in the same way. The will of the green implies sentience—and I believe the green is sentient—but it’s not a sentience that we can easily access or understand.