“I am of the belief that Azoria could not benefit from any act of destruction she might attempt—but there is no evidence to bear that out. Arbiter Kavallac fears that Azoria attempts to become what Androsse’s people were—to rise above the truth of her existence as Barrani and to become more or other.”

Kaylin turned to Larrantin. “She was your student as well. Do you concur?”

“She did not speak to me of her ambitions in a general sense; as I said, she was interested in all knowledge that she did not herself possess. But if you ask my opinion? Yes, it is possible. She did not like barriers or boundaries; nor could she rest easily accepting them. You have, I am certain, heard tales of those mortals who attempted to become Immortal.”

She’d also had experience with them; it was always ugly.

“You were raised in the fiefs,” Killian said, which surprised Larrantin.

Kaylin nodded.

“You do not live there now. Had you accepted your station in life, the lot to which you were born, you would have remained in the fiefs. You would not have crossed the Ablayne.”

“It’s not the same thing.”

“Why? In both cases you attempt to rise above the circumstance of your birth.”

Kaylin was frustrated because this was true. But the question Larrantin asked seemed genuine rather than dismissive. “I accept that I’m human. I don’t consider being human to be a weakness or a sin. I have a full range of the possibilities available for humans. One of them isn’t becoming something other than mortal.

“We can make choices that defy social custom—any of us, from any race. But if we hate what we are...” She shook her head. “It’s not the same.”

“Perhaps. Perhaps not. I will not argue. I have never felt an overwhelming desire to be something I am not, although I am certain many of my relatives had an almost overwhelming desire to mold me into their version of what I should be.”

Killian, thoughtful, surprised Kaylin. “Azoria did not accept her limitations. If you wish to understand all the things that might have gone wrong, I believe you will find better possible answers from Terrano and his friends.”

Terrano once again became visible. He didn’t look annoyed; he was too deep in thought for that. “I wasn’t trying to ignore our limitations,” he finally said, to Killian, the one person who could easily eject him from the premises, even if he couldn’t be certain he could keep him out.

“No. But I believe you—and all of your friends—were fundamentally altered by the green itself. Some part of you desired to return home.”

“Not me.”