“They are no longer, of course. But there was a day,” Marez said happily, “when they were the most powerful and the most beautiful of partners. A force like no other this Kingdom has ever seen. Calling them animan is like calling the Zrignigh a mountain range...” The old man trailed off, waving a wrinkled hand slowly through the air, caressing the peaks that rose opposite them. “It is to misunderstand the true unity of mind and soul. They were never two hearts, only two bodies.”

“And then what happened?”

“What always happens,” Marez said simply, as if it should be quite obvious. “People grew greedy.”