“The God Wars were a long time ago,” she said. “These days, gods and human Craftsmen have plenty of common interests, which lets us find win-win scenarios.”

“For example?”

“We do a lot of restoration,” Teo said. “Where the God Wars scarred the earth, when a Deathless King’s golem manufactory infests a mountain range with demons, we step in to solve the problem.”

“I’m surprised the Deathless Kings care about cleaning up after themselves.”

“You’d be surprised how interested a Deathless King—or Queen—can be in the environment if you frame the problem right. My business partner explains all this with a high-handed pitch, lots of appeal to human destiny and the future of”—she waved vaguely beside her ear—“whatever. For me, it’s simple: without people you have no power; without a planet you have no people. Deathless Kings need something to rule. We preserve the something.”

“And they pay you for that.”

“They back us. Cover expenses. Keep us inspired, though not as richly as I’d like. I came out of sales and contract management, commission-driven roles for the most part. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss that nice fat gob of enlightenment every quarter. But damn if this isn’t more fulfilling, day-to-day.”

“And you’ve been operating for?”

“About three years now. Founded four years ago, but it took us a while to get rolling. You know the drill. Paperwork, demons, more paperwork because of the demons.”

“You’ve mostly worked in Northern Kath, it says here.”

“So far. We’re looking to expand to the Old World, though. The Shining Empire first, natural since they’re closer to DL, but also Koschei’s kingdom and the Northern Gleb.” She paced the room, hands in pockets. A ship must have felt like death to this woman. She liked to move. “That leaves us in an odd position. Most of our board members are serious God Wars vets—Craftsmen. To say they don’t like gods puts it mildly. Operating on the ground in the Old World means sacrificing to local deities, and they want to avoid that. And please understand, when I say ’want to avoid’ I’m being professionally euphemistic, the actual terms our sponsors used were more…” She trailed off.

“Flowery?” Kai suggested.

“‘Bloody,’ I think, is more fitting.”

Okay. Needs assessed, offer a solution. “Well, Kavekana is well positioned to help with sacrifice planning. The maintenance fee for your idol supports priests up the mountain”— and she actually managed to say that without a self-pitying wince, not exactly a victory worthy of triumphant song but not bad, either—“who worship the idol in your stead. The same priests help construct and manage the idol’s investments, and ensure grace is dispensed where and when you need it.”

“That’s just what the pro-faction on the board says.”

“You’re not convinced.”