Night

East Borough, Black Palm Street.

Even the breeze carried heat on this summer night. Dressed in a full set of worker's clothes, Aitris was drenched in sweat. She found herself missing her days at sea. It had been hot and humid there too, but she could go bare-chested whenever she liked. In Backlund, even in East Borough, taking off her shirt completely would draw attention.

After walking for some time, she relied on instinct to find a familiar intersection. She had scouted it a few days earlier, and she had no map with her now.

Gas lamps were scarce here, with only one or two visible in the distance. If clouds had covered the Red Moon tonight, Aitris was sure many stretches of road would have been too dark to see.

As she walked, angry shouts suddenly came from up ahead:

"Get up! All of you, get up!

"You can't sleep here, you sons of bitches!

"The streets and parks aren't places for lazy pieces of shit like you to sleep!"

Aitris stopped short. The Poor Law came to mind, and she understood what was happening. Back when she had been a police officer, she had done much the same thing on night patrol. At the time, she had seen nothing wrong with it. She had only been upholding the kingdom's laws...

But after venturing beyond Backlund and seeing how the poorest people truly lived—even being beaten awake with a club while sleeping in a park herself—Aitris had begun to question whether what she used to do was justified. She often wondered... Was it really right? Why had the members of the two houses made such an inhumane law?

She had once put the question to her Guide into the world of Beyonders, Mr. Anderson, the Strongest Hunter.

She remembered