He beats her to the joke — Shion, keeping quiet? — which doesn't happen often but perhaps happens the most with Shion, whose mind and mouth work fast enough to be on par with Bellara most days. Still, she cants him a small smile for his victory and then says, "People imbue all sorts of power to things and places. I wouldn't be surprised to learn the same is true here. But that implies a level of, well, evil in the creatures kept at bay by it."

Neve isn't so sure 'evil' and 'good' are the proper terms for anything anymore — though Darkspawn come closer than most to 'evil', and she's sure plenty will agree that Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain do as well, if she's honest — but the power of sacred ground against ghastly creatures might well be evidence enough, if true.