The manicured gardens of Belle Reve have thrived for over two hundred years. Be wary, though - the opulence of the mansion district hides a decadent rot that has seeped into the soil.
I think the reason why Petra gets me the most is she is not a Guardian. She’s not near-divine like Mara. She’s just technically another mortal Awoken and yet you wouldn’t know it from the fact that she has to constantly go toe-to-toe with some of the most threatening things in the universe, and only has one shot at staying alive. She’s loyal to Mara the way she is, knowing that this is (likely) the only life she’ll ever see.
Petra tossed her knife. Caught it with her mind so it hung, glinting in the dim light, over her head. Then let it fall back into her palm. “I’m the only verdict Uldren deserves.”
The Estuary, Belladonna, Rosewood, Saint-Denis, and Cemetery streetcar lines run 24 hours a day. However, if you ride one late at night, you may experience something surreal…
“The Anglo-Saxons dealt vigorously with the wolf problem - Alfred the Great was a keen hunter. Wolves were so hated that the month of January was called Wolfmonat (Wolf Month) and was set aside for their slaughter. Was the wolf really dangerous or was this a Christian reaction to an animal associated with political enemies and heathen practices? Both were probably the case. In those days people did not often pause to appreciate the aesthetic beauty of dark forests and remote countryside. Before the advent of banking, travellers were obliged to carry their wealth with them from place to place. They journeyed in fear.
In wild country “spitals” were constructed on lonely roads so that benighted travellers could rest in safety. The stonework of one such shelter can still be found just south of Glenshee in Scotland. The word “louphole” comes from “lupus hole,” a chink through which the besieged could eye the foe. There were certainly many wolves in Scotland right up to the seventeenth century, but there were other beasts at large too. Like much of Europe, it was a lawless area. The rustling of cattle was so commonplace as to remain a respectable activity as late as the nineteenth century. Tribal honour was of greater significance than honesty, which made the law particularly difficult to administer. Many of the “wolves” were bipedal.
From earliest times the forests had been the traditional home of thieves and runaways from feudal bondage. The Saxons called the outlaws wulvesheasfod (wolf-heads) because, like wolves, they had a price on their heads. Harking back to the cult of Odin, the gallows tree was known as the “wolf-headed tree.” Forget about Robin Hood! The robber “wolves” of the forest were dangerous and greatly feared, a menace down the centuries.”
