None of the 'foreigners' have been here longer than those six months. There was a giant welcome festival for the first of us, though that didn't exactly go well.

The Emperor told me it was the first time she attempted a summoning spell, originally meant as a kind of 'call for heroes,' but others got pulled in as well.

[The latter bit is carefully worded, since she's no longer sure she believes it, but that doesn't come across in her tone.]