“I found many things. I found a street where the bodies of hanged men made the only shade you could hide in. Below them, in the ruins, I found the last surviving residents of the city. Pale-skinned, grey-eyed, hairless. They couldn’t even speak.”

“The ashenfolk.”

“It’s a fitting name. When they crawled out of the rubble, I thought the dead had come back to life. I held Dreamer pointed at them, but they only wanted one thing from me. Fire.”

“They’re messed up. This is what survived of the nobility after the city burned down. They don’t remember who they are or why they’re here. They only want the fire. The only thing they remember from their lost lives.”

“This city holds such beauty and such destruction. When the city revealed itself to me, I knew I shouldn’t wait to see the black wings of terror any longer. I think I understand the horror that fell upon the city. There is no dragon is there? They did it to themselves, didn’t they, Ogi?” - Jassen asked.

“It was a rich port, the knot of every trade route in the north. But after the destruction, it’s been home only to that monster. No one has managed to kill it. The czar won’t deal with it. The local rulers want nothing to do with it. Ships don’t sail, boats and merchants won’t come. They all think it was destroyed by a dragon. No one dares to accept that human hand was capable of that.” - Ogi replied.

“It’s a man’s choice to see disaster or potential. The monster isn’t real, but you’ll have to fight it either way. The city gives so much it makes it impossible for a ruler to remain sane. Gold, fame, power - they pushed the boyar and everyone around him to madness. They lived in their own world where every pleasure known to man was an arm away. While people outside the city treasured every crumb of bread, they got tired of luxury. Once a man creates utopia and solves every problem he could ever have, the first thing he does is to destroy it.”

“The hardest thing is to keep the sword sheathed.” - Ogi continued - “This city’s boyar managed to do so long enough until he believed himself to be a god. They don’t walk the earth anymore, and people forget what true divinity is. Once you see yourself as something more than the people you govern, there’s no coming back. You can’t shake the feeling that they owe you - love, worship, gold, and even their lives. The child running before your horse with wounded knees. The merchants, the soldiers, and even the lowly beggars surviving on people’s mercy. He built this city. He’s made everything possible for them.”