As Pyris, under his Petne Chaos identity, and Mira stepped out into the night of the Midnight Dominion, they immediately felt the tension in the air. The streets were thick with an unnatural energy, the kind that promised danger at every turn. The curfew, while officially enforced in the whole midnight dominion by the general, was little more than a suggestion in certain parts of the Dominion.
Here, in the underbelly of a city dominated by warlords and criminals, rules existed only for those too weak to break them.
"This place," Pyris muttered, his voice low as they walked, "it's on the edge of complete collapse."
Mira, her eyes always sharp, scanned the area as they moved. "Lawless cities like this are only ever one spark away from burning. Kassius controls it, sure, but barely. The people obey out of fear, not loyalty." It seemed like Kassius's rule here was holding onto the city from dropping into complete lawlessness.
