"No, born this way," he said, shaking his head. "There's a lot of children die young; even the priests can't save them, and they're gone and buried quick, but... a lot of them don't look good. Most people don't know, but those of us who do call it a curse on this area. But the soil is good, and we don't have those madmen trying to impose themselves over us, so, for the most part, people keep their heads down, and life goes on."