I know. [ Too well. He wants to be with Kell, too, with all of his heart -- but not more than he wants to give Kell the freedom he's always deserved and never been able to have back home.

He sighs, shaking his head slowly. ]

Perhaps you're right about the Singularity. Each year, the Dimming is... alarming. I can feel its distress, its weakness.

Viktor, you've been in Cadens some time. Do you think there's any truth to this matter of the Free Cities' government seeking to actually destroy the Singularity?

[ Really, he's only heard this rhetoric from the crown, mages and politicians in Castle Thorne. It seems to be the sort of 'common knowledge' that never has any tangible backing. ]