" Akahana was dizzying, mainly because it seemed to be several different places at once. On the surface, it was all hustle and heat, yet Shan was immediately aware of a dark and inscrutable undercurrent-magic hanging in the air, as Sinaclara had foretold. It also seemed as if if the ancient past was very close to the present and that it would be possible, either accidentally or otherwise to slip between the two. "

― Storm Constantine , The Crown of Silence (The Chronicles of Magravandias, #2)