"I could tell you all sorts of stories," Ariadne said. She used to collect them. Like pearls on a strand. It was her favorite part of living in Valeria, the center of it all. True, it was now the last refuge. But when she'd been a girl, it had actually been a port and a living, breathing kingdom.

She frowned though, her enthusiasm tempering slightly. "But...I suppose it might offend. Sound like some sort of heresy, to talk about the gods of my homeland."