[ That does sound familiar. Painfully so, right down to it being the commoners - or what he knows as them, relative to Fodlan's social spheres and what few things he knows of Thorne seeming to follow those same structures - who will always suffer the most at the hands of those in charge. Something he'd tried to keep at the forefront of his mind as a leader himself for all sides of Fodlan's war, but those rules don't seem to apply here.

As for that question, Claude needs a solid sip of tea first before diving into those realities. ]

Devastation, and I don't think that description is an exaggeration. It might be aided to that level because I'd been in Libertas only about a month ago so I knew what some of the city looked like before, but. [ A few seconds are spent studying his teacup as though it'll center him before he looks up again with brows furrowed slightly. ] We weren't allowed to head there to help for days, and ash drifted on the wind into Cadens off and on like an indicator of what was to come.

Half the city is rubble. Buildings leveled, collapsed, or nothing left but burned out frames, the air full of things that'd choke you if you breathed it in for too long, just... terrible.

[ That the Free Cities sought retaliation made more sense, as much as Claude dislikes thinking so despite it not being agreeing with their actions, while standing in the ruins tending to whatever he possibly could. And that also means that it isn't only the Free Citizens suffering now as a result. ]

How bad is it in Thorne?