"Not everyone," Karla said. "There are the landens, the non-magic people of each race. And it is true, they do not rule. But that's because the gift of Craft gives us a connection to the land that they lack. Those of us born to the Queen caste, for example. Any daughter, born to any Blood family, however humble their origins, can be born a Queen. She belongs to that caste because she was born with the ability to feel the land, know what's wrong with it, and Heal it at need."

She shrugged. "I'm not saying that it's pure altruism that allows us to rule. We have a power the landens cannot match. But that power was given to us for that exact reason: to act as caretakers for the land and the people in it."