She remembers the day when they watched from a nearby mountain as a warlord’s disciple burned down a wagon of Faraswa slaves he’d just rescued—while the slaves were still inside. Though difficult to watch, the scene was nothing new to Ilapara; gruesome acts of cruelty are an inescapable reality of life in any Umadi stopover town, and the wise know to look away. It was the abject horror she saw on Salo’s face that finally broke through to her and made her recognize how desensitized she’d become in her quest for independence. His innocence made her confront the loss of her own, to ask herself
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