Again the Matah turned those glacier eyes on Nish, who tried to stare her down, flushed and had to look away.

'It is the duty of every one of us to mate,' he recited, 'to replace those who give their lives in the war.'

'Not against her will, surely?' The Matah's voice was frosty.

'The population is falling,' said Nish. 'Will has nothing to do with it.'

'In the breeding factory they kept a bloodline register,' cried Tiaan. 'A stud book!'

'Is this what the world has come to?' said the Matah. 'What happened to the great romance?'

'Romance has nothing to do with mating,' Nish said loftily. 'Mating is duty, love mere unruly passion.'

'And you had a passion for Tiaan, or was your lust mere duty? Go on with your tale, Tiaan.'

Tiaan explained how Joeyn had found that strangely glowing crystal in the mine, one that had seemed to be drawing power from the field all by itself, without ever needing to be woken. And she told how she had fled with it.

'Minis called to me,' said Tiaan, 'when I was trapped in a blizzard, dying of cold. He taught me about geomancy, the greatest magic of all.'

'A most foolhardy young man,' said the Matah. 'A wonder it did not kill you.'

'He taught me just enough to draw power into the crystal and save my life. The Aachim called it an amplimet and -'

'An amplimet?' The Matah gripped the edge of the glass.

Tiaan nodded. 'In return for my own life, I promised to help the Aachim. They asked me to bring the amplimet here to Tirthrax. After many trials, including being captured by the lyrinx and forced to help them with…' Her voice cracked. She shuddered. 'I suffer dreadfully from withdrawal when the crystal is taken away. At least, I used to before the gate was made. Using that weakness, the enemy forced me to channel power for their flesh-forming.' She told that story, including the tale of the nylatl. 'Eventually I managed to escape, using the crystal, and brought it here.'