"I have known Suzanna since before we could read. I can personally guarantee that she would find something scary to do with the soul stuff."

"Exactly what primes can do seems to vary. Kiri involuntarily mindreads anybody who gets within about five feet of her unless they are very wrapped up, but we don't think our great aunt could do that."

"Ah. Even moreso, then. She would have something terrifying to do with the soul stuff. If not actually shredding them out of people's bodies, then probably turning them into meat puppets or something."

"That would get her in trouble with the other primes. One time the Serlast and Lalindar primes murdered each other and it was gruesome. Fortunately we found their successors in other countries and they aren't continuing the feud."

"Sounds like Zanna's idea of a good time."

"I am glad your murder friend is not a prime. They probably don't do elements in your country, do they? They don't do them in Soche-Tas or Thiyec or Malinqua, we went there and it was really hard to get a sense of anybody except the primes we were looking for and they were born in Welce."

"No, I don't think we 'do' elements. What does it mean to do elements."

"In Welce there are the five magic families, and you get to be the head of a magic family if you belong to that magic family and you have the appropriate personality. I'm related to the Ardelay family but I couldn't ever be the Ardelay prime no matter what because I have a torz personality - that's the earth one - instead of a sweela personality - that's the fire one. Everybody identifies with one of the elements even if they aren't at all related to any magic families. Also there are blessings." Aleko displays his blessing symbols.

"That's- hilarious. You sort your populace into little boxes. Your society is hilarious. What are blessings?"

"In temples or whatever there's big baskets of coins with symbols on them that mean stuff - mine are flexibility, imagination and contentment - and when you have a baby you get three strangers and the strangers each pick one for the baby and those are the baby's blessings and you get jewelry made of them. It doesn't mean you'll necessarily be the same element as your blessings, I've only got one torz blessing, flexibility's coru and imagination's sweela."

"Huh. And this... actually works? For magical reasons? I mean, I'd guess that you don't build a society on the equivalent of horoscope personality typing."

"It's kind of subtle, but yeah, it works. You can often guess who's going to be prime from it, Kiri was obvious, she has two sweela blessings and 'power'. Patience had power too, power is a big clue if you're related to a prime and then you turn out with the right disposition. Patience is the torz prime," he explains.

"Huh. Personality quiz magic. Something new every day, I guess. Bar, is there some kind of chart I could get of these?"

Bar presents him with a chart listing the blessings with their symbols.

"Interesting. I'd assign myself some, but it seems self-indulgent."

"I mean, it works with paper if you want to do it with paper but you have to draw them randomly and there are supposed to be at least three sets."

Bar produces a bowl of three sets of blessing coins! Isn't she helpful.

"I do not think we are the same person! Did you do that on purpose?"

"...This doesn't involve murder, right? Just floating pencils?"

"Not for the little stuff, anyway. Murder comes in when you want to do the cool shit. Bar, copy of Sulliman's Introductory Majyyk, please?" (His credit card is beside him on the counter so he doesn't have to take it out every time he wants to appearify something.)