What had Azoria done? Kaylin was certain that Azoria was at the center of the downfall.

“What did she study with you?”

“A better question would be: What did she not study? I told you, she was voracious; she wanted knowledge she didn’t have. The knowledge itself could be anything; she could learn new languages or dead languages with the same focus and dedication she learned to control her power for the more usual martial purposes. Remember that the Barrani have never been far from war, whether it be with Dragons or each other. The desire for dominance is, in the end, rooted in the desire for safety; if we rule everything, if we have the power to rule everything, we assume that we will be safe.”

“Not a good assumption,” Kaylin replied.

“I did not say it was intelligent; I merely described the impulse. She did not, however, speak of rulership. I believe she was, inasmuch as a Barrani of power can be, fond of her father. It was certainly due to her presence that he retained his hold upon his line.”

“And her mother?”

Silence.

“Did her mother survive?”

“No one in Berranin, if you are being accurate, survived.”

“Did her mother survive her birth, her existence? Was she set aside, was she assassinated?”

Larrantin smiled; there was nothing friendly about the expression. “As I was not aware that Berranin had been utterly excised, I cannot answer that question. As you would surmise if you were actually listening to my words. But I will offer you this: knowledge is power. You have no doubt heard that before in your extremely brief life; attend to the truth of it.

“The reason those who seek knowledge frequently fail to rise to positions of power is they seek only avenues of obvious power. They are focused solely on things that will grant them martial superiority, and they fail to learn enough to understand the subtlety of something as irrelevant—to them—as a dead language.

“I was considered an expert in certain fields—but I have fallen behind, and must myself become a student.” His smile became a wall. “If you should encounter Azoria—in whatever form she has taken—please send my regards.”

“You don’t believe she’s dead.”

Larrantin did not reply.

Starrante was silent until Larrantin had clearly finished speaking. “She was interested in portals, and in particular in the way we spin them. She could not spin them herself in the same way—there were biological limitations, and apparently your kind frequently consider the spinning of portals...socially rude?”

“It’s because it looks like you’re spitting,” Kaylin replied.

“Yes?”

“It’s usually considered a sign of contempt or disgust, at least among mortals. And Barrani manners are famously restrictive, so I imagine it was even more so for her. But you taught her?”