"I'm sure that's technically true, if they're Linnipese," says Jensal. "It isn't as though the place has an abundance of schools which admit boys."

"...What do you mean? Why not?"

"I've never personally visited Linnip, you understand, but the world history curriculum word on it is that after they kicked out the Ertydoan colonists a couple hundred years ago they mass-converted to Aleism, now a moderately popular world religion, and Aleism is remarkably sexist. It's moderated where it's found in other countries, but in Linnip it's the state religion and accordingly they don't send boys to school or let them do much without supervision from their mothers or sisters or wives."

"The books in the library were a little like that, but I didn't know how much like that it really was there... that is not fair," she says. "Boys should be able to go to school and do things if they want."

"Well, it might be that they don't want," says Jensal, "considering the boys are Aleists too, but I haven't asked any."

"They should still be allowed. It isn't fair otherwise."

"I'm not going to argue Linnipese gender politics with a miracle-worker," says Jensal.

"A miracle worker?"

"Yep. In the illustrious opinion of Draconic, anyway. You cured shrens, therefore you are a miracle-worker."

"I don't know if I should care about Draconic's opinion," says Matilda. "Draconic has weird opinions."

"It does at that. But in this particular case going along with what it's trying to call you will make you more immediately recognizable to anyone who speaks the language."

"Well, okay."

"Good, because that's how I explained you to the parents of the home shrens," says Jensal.

"Thank you very much," says Jensal.

"Hi, Matilda," says Terali. "Is something wrong?"

"Well, I wish someone had told me about shrens much earlier," she says. "And I think it's not fair that boys don't get to school in Linnip. Everyone should get to go to school. School is wonderful."

"What's a shren?" blinks Terali.

"They're sort of like dragons except there's something wrong with their magic so they can't fly properly until they can shift, and they can't shift until they're twenty years old, and not flying hurts them," she says. "It was very bad. But then I fixed all the babies. I'm going to go back later for the rest of the grown-ups."

"Oh. Well, that was very nice of you," says Terali. "Do you need to reschedule anything to do that?"

"No, I don't think so. And I learned a new thing about ialdae," she adds. "When dragons or shrens catch ialdae, they catch it a lot. More than any human except me."

"Yeah! I'm not sure why. I think it might be something about dragon magic. Dragon magic is weird. But ialdae is a stuff, there are amounts of it, and different people with it make different amounts, and Annei and Sarsia and Lavender make smallish amounts and I make tons and tons and dragons are somewhere in between. Why can't boys in Linnip go to school?"

"Well, the public schools don't let them in and nobody has started a private school for them, but I think somebody could if anyone wanted to."