Far from Thazir, inside a dimly lit chamber carved deep beneath the earth, three figures sat around a stone table. The room was illuminated only by a handful of blue flames that cast long shadows across the walls. One of the figures, a woman draped in dark robes, slammed her hand onto the table hard enough to crack the stone beneath it.
"He took everything." Her voice trembled with barely restrained rage. "The council, the tribes, even the people." The memories seemed to make her even angrier.
"They knelt for him even more deeply than they ever did me." The words came out almost like a curse.
"They all knelt! for that bitch's son!!" Neither of the other two interrupted. The woman rose from her seat and began pacing.
"I built that city. I ruled those fools for years, and they abandoned me the moment he appeared." Her eyes burned with hatred. "I should have killed him the moment he arrived."
One of the men finally sighed. The sound was calm, almost bored.
