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her chair in resignation. During the nineteen years that she had sat on the Council, she had learned patience. Fifteen years ago, she herself had ardently defended the local interests of a small town in the Matriarchy; now she worked on behalf of the entire State.
    She was the Mother charged with Tradition; in other words, the guardian of institutions. For a few years now, since the death of her predecessor, Corenn’s duty had been to uphold the State’s integrity and to ensure respect from its citizens. Despite help from her subordinates, she herself was often on the road to soothe angered citizens in some village, to organize elections in another, or to ensure the proper use of power elsewhere still.
    Her authority in the Matriarchy was so great that even at this very moment, right here at the Council, she could, for example, command silence from any of the elected Mothers for failure to comply with the right of seniority.
    Her nomination by the Ancestress had prompted numerous protests at that time, especially on behalf of older women who believed they were the ones who rightfully deserved this permanentseat. But Corenn proved her effectiveness and her unfailing wisdom in exercising the judicial powers she commanded, managing the majority of the matters the Mothers brought to her by means of diplomacy alone. It was in this way, little by little, that she had earned the trust and often the friendship of her peers, especially after the Ancestress had placed each of the older Mothers in other important positions, such as the Mothers charged with Justice, the Treasury, and Resources. After a while, everyone admitted that the Ancestress had made the right choice.
    Corenn was also entrusted with a secondary duty, which was unofficial and known only to the permanent members of the Council.
    She was responsible for spotting, among the countless Kauliens she met during her travels, those who seemed to demonstrate an aptitude for using magic. She herself was a mage, though she rarely called on her powers, which she deemed rather weak.
    Each time something extraordinary was reported in one province or another, each time something seemingly impossible occurred, Corenn arrived on the scene. She made inquiries, observed, and, far too rarely for her liking, found an individual who might possess the talent.
    Without revealing anything, she would then ask the individual his, or more often her, opinion on magic, the Matriarchy, and the idea of starting a new life. When the answers were satisfactory, which was generally the case, Corenn offered a trial, requesting the utmost discretion. Among the twenty individuals she had seen, only twice were the trials crowned with success.
    In both of these cases, Corenn had passed on her knowledge to her recruits, both women. The Mother of GlobalRelations now employed them, needless to say, as spies. The Permanent Council’s intention had been to bring together enough mages to restore the legendary grandeur of former Mothers; the objective still seemed far from being realized.
    The debates followed one after another. The Tradition Corenn guarded required her to attend all of the meetings. But her intervention was rarely necessary; the majority of the matters brought forth during the Councils of Villages mainly had to do with food, trade, security, or other domestic themes. For fifteen years, it was always the same problems.
    So she waited patiently, voting when a consultation was asked of her, and casting a stern look when a young Representative raised her voice a little too much in the presence of her elders, which was usually enough to restore a more respectful attitude from the tactless individual. Finally, the Mother of Recollection reread the decisions made that particular day, and reminded the Council of the matters they still needed to debate. The village representatives then left the enormous meeting room.
    Only sixteen people stayed in the room: the Permanent Council, which now had to debate