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He had not even been teain, in their disjointed concourse, the Crippled God had revealed his lack of understanding when it caift to Karsa an invitation to be broken in some fashion But I cannot be broken The truth, so simple, so direct, seemed to be an invisible force as far as the Crippled God was concerned, and each time he collided with it he was surprised, du

Of course, Karsa understood all about being stubborn He also kne such a trait could be fashioned into worthy armour, while at other times it did little more than reveal a consummate stupidity Now, he wanted to reshape the world, and he kneould resist him, yet he would hold to his desire Sa that she would mean ‘stupid’ Like the Crippled God, the witch did not truly understand Karsa

On the other hand, he understood her very well ‘You will not ride with ainst one of the stones, ‘because you see it as a kind of surrender If you must rush down this torrent, you will decide your own pace, as best you can’

‘Is that how it is?’ she asked

‘Isn’t it?’

‘I don’t know,’ she replied ‘I don’t know anything I had so was I supposed to take from that?’

‘You are a witch You awaken spirits They scent you as easily as you do them’

‘What of it?’

‘Why?’

‘Why what?’ she demanded

‘Why, Samar Dev, did you choose to become a witch?’

‘That’s-oh, what difference does that make?’

He waited

‘I was… curious Besides, once you see that the world is filled with forces-most of which few people ever see, or even think about-then how can you not want to explore? Tracing all the patterns, discovering the webs of existence-it’s no different fros out’

He grunted ‘So you were curious Tell me, when you speak with spirits, when you summon them and they come to you without coercion-why do you think they do that? Because, like you,"they are curious’

She crossed her arnificance in soless The bear sniffed ed ‘These things happen’

‘I’m not convinced’

‘Yes,’ he smiled, ‘you are truly of this world, Samar Dev’