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She suddenly worried Tomislav was going to pass out—his face was so pale.

“Are you going to be alright?” she asked.

The Keeper nodded jerkily. “I just need a moment. This… this changes everything.”

Iryana and Pyetar exchanged a look but gave the Keeper a few minutes to process. She wanted to know what was going on in his head, but she didn’t want to push him. So they waited until he straightened back up again.

“Do you know anything about why Noshtiz was in this war? What he wanted back then?” Pyetar asked while Iryana leaned forward hopefully.

“The records are vague about everything but the destruction that was caused.” The Keeper’s eyes flitted around the room, as if searching. “The gods disagreed on something, about whether something should be done. I don’t know what it was. There were tales of great craters dug into the earth, but that’s it. I wish I knew more.”

Iryana’s hopes sank.

“Do you think Thelbiz is really on the better side? That Noshtiz would see to our destruction?” Pyetar asked.

The Keeper took a shuddering breath before answering. “The god of air always sought balance. If he is causing destruction, it would suggest he is balancing against too much creation. But I don’t see how that could be the case, unless humanity itself is too much creation. But whatever has brought him to this must be extreme.”

Iryana looked at Pyetar, face scrunching with distaste. “If Noshtiz truly is trying to do something that would wipe out Istri, this much destruction and death could be worth stopping it.”

“It’s impossible to know for sure. We aren’t meant to understand the motives of the gods.” Pyetar gripped his knees.

It felt so strange to think of the gods as something present and real, something that hadn’t been lost hundreds of years ago.

“Could this be related to the rumors of a well being drained?” Iryana asked.

“It could be.” The Keeper looked far away, like he was shuffling through old archives. “Before the great gods’ war, there were no wells. None of their magic in the ground, at least not that anyone knew of. Forging was different. A god chose their champions, to whom they gifted a bond and some of their magic in return for service. Some gods had many champions, others only a few.

“All our stories say the gods slew each other in their giant forms, their blood and their magic draining into the earth. But if they only grew weak, and it’s taken this long to recover, I would assume they’re still missing the magic they bled out. If Noshtiz is truly returning, perhaps he is able to take some of his magic back.”

“Will all the wells drain as the gods return?” She couldn’t imagine Istri without the wells. “Can they take the magic back from us?”

The Keeper hesitated. “The stories of champions said they couldn’t be unmade, not without killing them. But I imagine draining all the wells would take a great deal of time.”

That was not the comfort she’d hoped for.

They went through a few more theories, recounted the details again, but there was little left to gain there.

“I would like to reach out to the other Keepers I have contact with. I won’t reveal everything, I think that would be dangerous information to release without having a plan, but perhaps I can learn something more,” the Keeper offered.

Pyetar nodded. “I think I need to tell the local leaders, but I don’t want this fully getting out either. At least not yet.”

“I’ve been meeting with the part of the elementi conclave in the duchess’s settlement,” Iryana told them. “There is a Scholar of Noshtiz with the air elementi, perhaps he will know more.”

“That would be our best bet,” the Keeper agreed. “Although away from the libraries of our order, I’m not sure what he will have access to. Is that what you’ll do now? Return home?”

They’d already been gone a while. Hadima would hopefully be back from the Cavta Post soon.

She met Pyetar’s gaze. What else was there to do? “Yes, it’s time.”

She needed to talk to her grandmother. Needed to hold her sisters.

When Iryana returned to the Dovaki Post almost eight days later, it was evening, and the moon climbed in the sky. A light flurry added to the endless sea of white around her. The main house was lit up brightly from the inside, and she heard the chatter of her family even before she opened the door.

She hesitated with her hand on the latch.

What she had learned changed everything. It was so monumental that Iryana couldn’t imagine walking in and pretending everything was all right. The gods were going to war. The losses could be catastrophic. Would there be any point to a border? Any point to her clan’s mission?

She shook her head. There was nothing to do but get through the dinner so she could talk to the First. So, she opened the door.