Water Was Great Magic

Sarissa left her tent in the early morning, just as the first grey light touched the reeds along the river’s edge. This country was so rich, so wet—water welling out of the ground and flowing in great slow rivers, pooling in lakes or sinking into marshes. Here where the Frankish king was building his city—did he know what power was in this place? Tenscore springs bubbled from the mountain’s foot, feeding a river that fed a greater river.

Water in its softness could wear away stone. Water was great magic. Evil could not cross it. Dark things were washed clean in it.

— Kingdom of the Grail, Chapter 3