"Not if the Naturals mostly avoid the Labyrinth," Jigano responded with a wry grin, rising to continue their journey. Given how the curve of the walls was tightening it likely wouldn't be much farther. "If only a few foolish or daring souls attempt to brave it once in awhile, and the get killed by the boggarts before they can come back and report what they found, it might not get studied exhaustively. There was nothing written about the boggarts before Amalia found Safrin's Book, for instance, and no one had heard of them until Remi and I encountered one last year." He shrugged in agreement of Loren's points though, nodding acceptance of the lack of usefulness of dead bodies. "Perhaps the true fertilizer is what happens after the prey is, ah, 'processed' by the boggarts and squirrels in the natural way?" he suggested.
He reached out to trail his fingers along the side of a hedge that was narrowing the path and forcing he and Loren to walk closer together. His earth magic pushed the thorns away as he did so, so he could run his fingers through the silky new leaves. "Mmm. I've been trying not to talk about it," he admitted with a sigh. "Though I suppose it's not exactly a secret anymore. But yes, that is... not exactly how I remember the vision, but close enough. It's not that we need to prevent use or awakening of the portals so much as prevent them from being used for ill. Which technically could include non-Ascended using them for war or invasion," he admitted. "But... I think it was clear that the gods would prefer if no more were opened. And my suspicion - without proof - is that the Voice and her fellow young gods likely used the portals to move their troops swiftly across the continent during the first godwar three hundred years ago."
He reached out to trail his fingers along the side of a hedge that was narrowing the path and forcing he and Loren to walk closer together. His earth magic pushed the thorns away as he did so, so he could run his fingers through the silky new leaves. "Mmm. I've been trying not to talk about it," he admitted with a sigh. "Though I suppose it's not exactly a secret anymore. But yes, that is... not exactly how I remember the vision, but close enough. It's not that we need to prevent use or awakening of the portals so much as prevent them from being used for ill. Which technically could include non-Ascended using them for war or invasion," he admitted. "But... I think it was clear that the gods would prefer if no more were opened. And my suspicion - without proof - is that the Voice and her fellow young gods likely used the portals to move their troops swiftly across the continent during the first godwar three hundred years ago."
