ful.
"Tell me about being blind," Spyder said. "About how theres blind and then theres blind. "
Shrike poked at the sand with her cane. "You probably sensed that I have moments where I can sort of see things. "
"From the beginning. "
"Its not really sight. Its low rent magic, which is the only kind I know. I never had any formal magic training and just picked things along on the road. Traded for spells. Bought them. Stole them, too. There has always been a little magic in my family, but my mother had that knowledge and she was dead. I studied weapons because it made my father happy.
"When our kingdom was scattered and I was on the road, I only had the possessions I could grab from my bed side. A few family heirlooms. One of these was a kind of bracelet with a casting of a bird on top. A shrike. thats my familys totem animal.
"We also had family gods which we prayed and made offerings to. All the royal families have household gods. You need a deity or two on your side to keep other Houses from taking whats yours. Those who knew how could petition the gods for favors. I didnt have that knowledge. But I got it.
"Id run off some bandits from the property of an odd little man, Cosimo Heisenberg, a kind of mechanical wizard. He made machines that were like people. Karakuri, he called them. Little wind up men and women who could sing an aria or write a sonnet or sew a wedding gown.
"He wanted to pay me with a new set of eyes, but I didnt like the notion of depending on mechanical, wind-up sight. So, he helped me use the gifts I already had better. He made this cane for me, which, as youve seen, is more than a cane. He also examined my heirlooms to see if there was anyt
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