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finds one, he has to make sure that new mage gets an education. If he doesn't, the penalties are harsh. The graduate mage will lose his credentials. Or hers."
    I nodded at Oswin. "That's right. The only stone mage in Chammur was a fungus on legs. I refused to study with him. Briar had to teach me the easy stuff until he found somebody who wasn't. He and Rosethorn were just visiting Chammur on their way to Yanjing, so I went with them. That's where we met Luvo. Oswin, you know a lot about mages, for somebody who isn't one. You
aren't
a mage, right?"
    "You can't tell?" Oswin crouched by the bed so he could have a better look at Luvo.
    "No, that's Briar. And his sisters. They can all tell if someone has magic in them." I squinted at Oswin. I always do that, squint at people, though I can't really
see
magic. At the same time I reached out with my power to try to feel Oswin's. I felt only air, like I do with most people. I'd only felt air with Jayat. "Are you a mage, then, Oswin?"
    He gave me a twisted, sideways smile. "No, but I've studied what they do, every chance I get. How they use herbs, how they clean wounds—whatever helps the magic along. You'd be surprised how many of those things a normal human can put to use."
    "Oswin's the reason why Starns hasn't
needed
to call on outside mages in
years
." Jayat said it with as much pride as if
he
was the reason.
    "That's not true." When Oswin blushed, he did it from the collar of his tunic all the way to the back of his skull. There wasn't any hair to cover it. "Tahar is good for most problems, and you're coming along, Jayat."
    Jayat chuckled. It was a deep, rich sound, like warm honey. "Tahar would tell you herself, she can't even predict the weather with a spyglass and a tall rock to stand on. Maybe once, but she's too old now. She's good enough for the likes of me, with my cupful of talent, but what does that say? None of us is up to Winding Circle standards. If we were, we'd be somewhere else, earning a
real
living."
    "It is a wise mortal who knows his limits, young Jayatin." Luvo cocked his head knob to look at Oswin. "And what kind of man is it who is more valuable than mages?"
    "I'm
not
!' Oswin turned even redder.
    "Oswin fixes things." Jayat leaned back on the bed. "Let's say you have a problem. Maybe your well's gone dry, or your barn roof is falling apart. You have no money for a new roof, or the mage can't find water to fill your well. So you go to Oswin's with a loaf of bread or a crock of pickled eggplant, and you tell him your problem. Oswin comes to your place with a slate and chalk and looks things over. He starts drawing things and telling you what you have to do. Sometimes it involves helping another fellow who comes to help you. Sometimes Oswin builds a device to fix your well so you have water again. Then you send him home with a roast leg of lamb or a sack of couscous. They always need food at his house."
    "Oswin fixes things." I said it again just to be sure I had it straight.
    Jayat nodded. "Now, he might see what your Rosethorn does for plants. Next time he'll remember what medicines she used besides her magic. If we use the medicines first, before the plants are dying, maybe we won't need the magic."
    "Now, then! Is this how you show folk Moharrin hospitality?" a woman asked from the doorway. Oswin and Jayat leaped to their feet, as if they were boys who'd been caught raiding the pantry. The woman looked them over with snapping black eyes. She was queenly tall. She looked even taller with her henna-red hair pinned in a knot on top of her head. Her dress was plain brown cotton with yellow and orange embroideries, under a sleeveless yellow robe. Still, the emperor didn't look so regal in all his silk. When she frowned, her thin black eyebrows snapped together over an eagle-beak nose. "This child has been riding all day. Now I find you've kept her here, gabbling like a goose, when doubtless she's starving. In my house!" She looked at me. "Your Dedicate