"So, what you're saying is that you've managed to locate the physical manifestations of bloodline in one's blood, is that it?" the Black Tortoise Matriarch asked.
Alex thought for a moment and nodded. "That is the gist of it."
"So, if I were to ask you to do the same for a Black Tortoise, could you do it?" she asked.
"Concentrate the bloodline? Yes. That's the easiest part," Alex said. "It's the soul that's the hard part."
The woman's eyes glinted with ideas. "How about this? Whether your idea of concentrating bloodline works or not, I want to put it to the test. Should it work, I will allow you to take a glance at how the ancestral pool works."
"And if it doesn't?"
The woman shrugged. "Then you save your brother from a whole heap of pain and death, don't you?" she asked. "Sounds like a win-win to me."
Alex considered that for a moment and nodded. At the very least, it did make sense.
"So you wish to test my idea," Alex said.
