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Hoyohté floated behind him, her hulking orca’s body casting no shadow. ‘I knew this assignment would be terrible,’ she said in Vaelish. ‘What other result could there be when working with such fools?’

“I don’t understand how the Morgunovs ever accomplish anything at all,” said Karkash, also in Vaelish. “It could only be the Void’s will that has allowed them to last this long.”

‘I know what you mean, but I think it’s something of a testament to Morgunov’s abilities that he can organize and lead people like that.’

“Is he not as mad as people say?”

‘Mad, certainly. A fool? No. I’ve only met him once, but I’ve seen his work. He’s just as much a genius as he is insane.’

“Would you say he is smarter than Dozer?”

‘Of course not. Dozer is the true vessel of the Void’s will and power. There is no competing with him.’

“Unless your name happens to be Sermung, apparently.”

‘Let’s not turn this into an argument.’

Karkash rubbed his neck as he stretched it. “You know my faith in Dozer is strong. I wasn’t trying to argue anything. But regimes do change. Sooner or later. And there’s only so much we can do about it.”

‘Not this again. You don’t have the power to be speaking words such as those. As servants go, you’re still a child. I’d hope today has taught you that much, at least.’

“I understand the limits of my strength. It’s the limits of others that I question.”

‘Enough.’

They waited for a long while. Honestly, Karkash didn’t expect anyone else to have survived the fight. Waiting in this place seemed like a waste of time, but unsurprisingly, Hoyohté was adamant that they follow protocol. He occupied himself with meditation, and eventually, the reaper stirred him out of it.

‘I sense Ezmortig,’ she said.

He opened his eyes and looked out over the lowlands. A vast reach of grass stretched toward the horizon, and in the distance, he could just make out the shape of another reaper headed toward them. “Surprising.”