Then they declared the folk on Owlyn Vale must serve Amortis instead. A few months later Kori’s youngest brother (the closest to her of all her kin) came to her with the Chained God’s mark on him, chosen for the new priest. Once that was out her brother would be burned also. She was the several times great-granddaughter of liana Hazani who carried a promise from the Drinker of Souls: She or any of her descendants could call on Brann in time of trouble and Brann would come to give whatever help she could. Kori looked into Harra’s Eye, located Brann and sent a cousin to summon the Drinker of Souls to fight Settsimaksimin and help her keep her brother alive.

Some months later she was in Silagamatys for the Lot (where three children, were chosen, a girl to serve in the Temple as teacher or priestess, a boy to serve as a priest or soldier and another-either boy or girl-to be fed to BinYAHtii, though only Settsimaksimin knew this, the people thought the third child was sent to Havi Kudush to serve in the Great Temple of Amortis); during this time, Settsimaksimin became aware of the strong Talent she had in her, plucked her from her people and sent her off to school in Sitill, half a continent away from Cheonea, getting her out of his hair and keeping her safe at the same time he liked her and was proud of her spirit. To keep her in school he imprisoned her brother in crystal and informed her only she could set him free. All she had to do was go to the Chained God’s altar in the mountain cavern where she’d found Harra’s Eye and set her hand on the crystal. No one else could wake her brother; if she got herself killed, he’d sleep forever in that spell-crystal. At the end of the ten years, when her training was finished, she could leave with his blessing; if she tried to leave before that the Mistress, one Shahntien Shere, was instructed to punish her at the first attempt and kill her at the second.