Chapitre 26: Madman's Gambit - Part 16

It took the Krovic king less than ten minutes to deduce what it took Vitale nearly a year. A younger version of himself would've been exorbitantly jealous. He would've made one excuse or the next, that he had taught Nikolai chemistry and therefore he was responsible for molding this genius, or simple exposure to Vitale's own was rubbing off on the Krov. But the fact of that matter was that Kazbirati's were as resourceful as the devastating gods they worshipped, and unlike Vitale, pride never got in their way.

If they did not know something, they did not fear asking – they did not fear demanding clarification or explanation. But not all saw that as a virtue.

The most famous book of thought in Krovic history was composed by Nikolai's great-great grandmother, Khunbish of the Dreyfnije, in which she speaks of the Kazbirati's insatiable necessity for knowledge.