Xena Al-Jeget is a battle-hardened warrior who has spent decades on patrols keeping Miir and the Harrowing Pass safe. But the years of battle have worn on her. Though she presents a calm, confident facade, inside she's wearing thin.

Sometimes she starts at the slightest sound, blade at the ready. Sometimes she sits and stares into some far distance beyond anything there to see. Sometimes, when in drink, her mind has thrown her back into old battles, forcing the servants to flee for their lives. She's coming to dread sallying forth more and more, wondering how many more deaths she must watch, and what it means that killing comes so easily to her.