There are a number of misunderstandings about how magic works. That is not a coincidence; keeping the uninitiated in the dark keeps the balance in check, so long as it is done carefully. A lot of what we do is not magic anyway, it is knowledge and understanding and attention to detail. A lot of […]

If you really don’t want your children going somewhere – if you are honestly and legitimately afeared for their life, the last thing you should do is forbid it. I wonder sometimes whether the people of this village know that. They are good people. Kind people. Competent people, even, though on the whole not what […]

We climbed the slopes at an easy pace, checking around outcroppings and ducking under overhangs to read a few titles here and there, or leaf through some front matter. Bare globes cast yellowed light almost uniformly, but the occasional shadowed alcove or the back of a low shelf might hide some rare treasure. It would […]