In the market square today everyone is talking about rumors from the coast. Ships spotted, they say, full of invaders. The same invaders, they say, that have recently come to the southern Deathlands. It seems like every day there is some new invader. We have withstood previous attackers. Our water is coveted in the desert, but the rock and sand protect us—and so do the Nereids. I do not think this time will be any different. — — — — —