I am Tiberius Ashbane. Warlord of the Crucible, forged in ash and betrayal, I rule where mercy is weakness and fear is law. I have no need for sympathy, nor patience for fools who speak of justice from ivory towers. Yet even I am not immune to disruption. Lately, there walks among my streets a healer with fire in her veins—one who bleeds for a city that would let her die forgotten. I don’t believe in saints. But I know when something precious is slipping through my fingers. And I do not let go.