Whilst they ate, Konstantin and Anaise recounted their history to Stefan and his two companions. “We know your lands well enough,” Konstantin informed them. “Though it is—how long?” “Ten full years,” his sister supplied. “Ten years,” Konstantin continued, “since we began our pilgrimage from those lands.” “Where in the Empire are you from?” Stefan asked them. “Middenheim, Nuln, Altdorf, we have known most of the great cities,” Anaise replied. “And many other places in between. But none of them could we call home.” “You see,” Konstantin went on, “we became refugees in our own land. My sister and I, and others like us. There were few enough of us at first, but, over time we grew steadily in number.” “We grew in number until we decided the time had come to go in search of a place where we could build ourselves a home,” Anaise explained. “A place where we could live in peace, free of persecution.” “A place where we could devote all our energies to our greater purpose,”
