Brother Qown felt a shiver sweep through him. The priest knew very little about the Cornerstones. Father Zajhera seldom spoke of them, but Brother Qown remembered enough to know they were eight artifacts with different and significant magical abilities.

“You once told me the Cornerstones are gods trapped in stone,” Brother Qown whispered.

Zajhera waved a hand, irritated. “I was being poetic. That description gives the stones more credit for sentience than they deserve. The Cornerstones are eight gems, tied to universal concepts. They contain godlike power, but not a divine being’s will and intelligence. Such direction must be supplied by another. Anyone who holds them in fact.” His smile turned sardonic. “Even an escaped slave from Doltar.”

“What…” Brother Qown’s throat felt dry and thick. “What does the Name of All Things do? What are its powers?”

Zajhera shrugged. “Who can say with any certainty? It provides information. Its power is subtle. Its sphere is knowledge. It seems the stone can be used to answer questions. Even perhaps questions as esoteric as, what tenyé sigil might turn the air sweet and pure?”

“Any questions?” Brother Qown felt a panicked flutter in his chest. Could its owner predict the future, research their enemies’ weaknesses? What couldn’t someone do with such answers at their fingertips?

“I cannot say.” Father Zajhera set his tea aside. “But it is a mystery you must unravel.”

“But I—”

Zajhera raised two fingers. “She needs you, my son. She needs someone to light her path, for the dark is all around her. Xaltorath has been a terrible influence, and you have seen what she becomes when she loses control.”

“She should be trained. I have never known anyone with so much potential. Three spell-gifts, Father! She maintains her strength at all times and doesn’t even realize she’s doing it.”

“Trained by whom?” Father Zajhera said. “She’s a woman. The empire does not grant women licenses to use or learn magic. A woman who knows even a single spell-gift, no matter how much potential she may have, is a witch. And witchcraft is a crime the empire punishes with death, not slavery.”

“You know Quuros laws are vile. However, I’m not even sure they’d be applied here, because of the Joratese treatment of gender. For example, Joratese law makes it clear only men may hold a noble title, yes?”

Father Zajhera’s brows drew together. “Yes.”

“No.” Qown held up a finger as emphasis. “Only stallions can hold a noble title. But the rest of the empire assumes that means men. For example: What’s the Guarem translation for the root of the word idorrá?”

“Why, male—” Father Zajhera paused. “Male, but that isn’t actually what idorrá means.”

“No, it isn’t. Idorrá is a gender-neutral concept. But because we western Quuros can’t imagine power, or leadership, tied to anything but masculinity, we assumed the word must mean man. It doesn’t.”