 I didn't just want to expand the world from a creative standpoint. I really wanted to make this commentary on how we spend so much time fighting each other, so much time destroying each other, so much time trying to get bigger than the other one. And all the while, there's someone there ready to capitalize on that weakness. Ariyemi wanted her fantasy world to illustrate the real dangers of being divided. For these first two books, the enemy was the other. The enemy was the Magi. The enemy was the monarchy.