A land called “Illgate”

They have called it “Illgate,” the land where we warred with Medosi dogs. We have left it to rot, Kilyan does the same, and no Zark wants for infertile land. The trees were burned, grass stomped to nothing, yet these fiends wish to settle it. Medosi vultures have come, some folk from Kilyan, even some of our own people.

The soil will not spawn so much as a sprout. The rivers run with salt. What lives they hope to make there I can only imagine. People always come to a land that promises a better life, but never is it so easy. It sickens me that they go, but I pray for them, pray for their children. Since my son has returned, I find myself often praying for children, even those of my enemies, for the children are not yet my enemy, and we must wish they do not become as foolish in hatred as their fathers.

May these settlers find something in Illgate that I cannot. May they find peace, and may their children come to be allies to my own. One can only pray.

— Lord Keeper Edav Burima, NCY 196