Page 103 (1/2)

Colors! she thought

"There are soinal D’Denir in the city," Vasher said, "and most of them should still function, even still I created them to last"

"But they have no ichor-alcohol," Vivenna said "They don’t even have veins!"

Vasher looked at her It was him The saed shape to look like someone else He just looked like a Returned version of hi on?

"We didn’t always have ichor-alcohol," Vasher said "Iteasier and cheaper, but it isn’t the only way And, in the lanced at the God King again "You should be able to imprint them quickly with a new security phrase, then order them out to stop the other army I think you’ll find the phantoms of mine to bevery effective Weapons are virtually useless against the stone"

Susebron nodded again

"They are your responsibility now," Vasher said, turning away "Do better with theue

The next day, an arates of the city, running down the highway after the Lifeless who had left the day before

Vivenna stood outside the city, leaning against the wall, watching theaze of those D’Denir, she thought Never knowing they were alive, just waiting to be Coiver had left the statues behind as a gift to the people, a syo to war She’d always found it strange A bunch of statues of soldiers, a gift to remind the people that as terrible?

And yet, they were a gift The gift that had ended the Manywar

She turned toward Vasher He, too, leaned against the city wall, Nightblood in one hand His body had reverted to its ly hair and all

"What was that first thing you taught ?" she asked

"That we don’t know much?" he asked "That there are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Commands that we haven’t discovered yet?"

"That’s the one," she said, turning to watch the Awakened statues charge into the distance "I think you were right"

"You think?"

She smiled "Will they really be able to stop the other ar "They’ll be fast enough to catch up--the flesh Lifeless won’t be able to march as quickly as ones with stone feet I’ve seen those things fight before They’re really tough to beat"

She nodded "Sodecides to use the Lifeless statues to conquer them"

She snorted "Has anyone ever told you that you’re a grurees with rump," he said "I’m just bad ords"

She s up his pack "See you around" With that, he began to walk along the path away from the city

Vivenna walked up next to hi?" he asked

"Going with you," she said

"You’re a princess," he said "Stay with that girl who rules Hallandren or go back to Idris and be proclaiive you a happy life"

"No," she said "I don’t think so Even if my father did take me back, I doubt that I’ll ever be able to live a happy life in either a plush palace or a quiet town"

"You’ll think differently, after a little time on the road It’s a difficult life"

"I know," she said "Butwell, everything I’ve been--everything I was trained to do--has been a lie wrapped in hatred I don’t want to go back to it I’m not that person I don’t want to be"

"Who are you, then?"

"I don’t know," she said, nodding toward the horizon "But I think I’ll find the answer out there"

They walked for another short time

"Your family orry about you," Vasher finally said

"They’ll get over it," she replied

Finally, he just shrugged "All right I don’t really care"

She so back Princess Vivenna was dead She’d died on the streets of T’Telir Vivenna the Awakener had no desire to bring her back

"So," she asked as they walked along the jungle road, "I can’t figure it out Which one are you? Kalad, who started the war, or Peacegiver, who ended it?"

He didn’t answer immediately "It’s odd," he finally said, "what history does to a ed Why I stopped fighting, and why I brought the Phantodoet confused about his identity when things like that happen"

She grunted in assent "You’re still Returned, though"

"Of course I aet the Breath?" she asked "The one a week you need to survive?"

"I carried them with me, on top of the one that makes me Returned In a lot of ways, Returned aren’t quite what people think they are They don’t automatically have hundreds or thousands of Breath"

"But--"

"They’re of the Fifth Heightening," Vasher said, interrupting her "But they don’t get there by the nule, powerful Breath One that takes the It’s a divine Breath, you ht say But their body feeds on Breath, like"

"The sword"