Luviara’s hand tightened on her journal. “Have you some information you can share with me? Local stories, perhaps? I welcome such accounts to add to my storehouse.”

Elen smiled in her most pleasant manner, what Kem called her “putting folks off” expression. “My … ah…” She carefully did not glance toward Kem. “… my colleague and I recently read Cantilever of the Wits.”

“You’re well-read for a deputy courier.”

“The intendant encourages study and reflection for his officials. His archivist brings in all the latest work from the heartland. The author of the Cantilever suggests the wicked sorcerer-kings of old built the Spires for evil reasons. As it says, ‘Not through the manipulation of benign spirits but by the corruption of poisonous sorcery did the wicked sorcerer-kings wield a withering power that, instead of elevating them to the High Heavens as they had in their arrogance desired, instead raked them entirely from the land like waste raked from a garden to clear it of toxins and pests.’”

The theurgist sighed. “I see you are determined to champion the more lurid tales of the poets and playwrights.”

“Cantilever of the Wits was written by a noted philosopher, was it not?”

“In the heartland, we would say a ‘wineshop philosopher,’ but you are correct that his writings are popular these days.”

“What have your investigations revealed to you, Interlocutor?” Elen guessed it would be hard for a person like Luviara to resist a chance to expound on her pet ideas. So it proved.

“It’s true that Wisdom of the Four Sages is too cautious in the conclusions it draws. In this regard, I prefer Catechism of the Lost Days. Its authors identify the ‘old ones’ who built the towers as the forebears of the aivur.”

“The aivur didn’t vanish, though.”

“No, but they are barbarians who live to fight and raid along our borders. Therefore, it’s difficult for people to imagine they might have built such impressive structures, especially since none of the nations of the Wolves—not Sea, not Blood, not Forest—live in magnificent cities built out of stone with skilled masonry and masterful craftsmanship. But I would argue the proof lies in the statues. These seem to represent people strengthened by the attributes of powerful animals. Thus, they are more dangerous than any human enemy.”

“Is that what you believe?”

“The authors of Catechism of the Lost Days had self-interested reasons for writing about the aivur in a hostile way, as the Catechism was distributed at the same time as the Magnolia Emperor’s exile decree. It’s likely they were writing at her command, in order to turn popular opinion against the aivur. That’s why I take the Catechism of the Lost Days with a grain of salt.”