Codex - Last Years of Driss

Section 1
"Ramblings in a survivor's notebook, probably written a few years after the 'breathing in'." "Within a few days of the end of the occupation, there was a trial. All those who had pledged, or were believed to have pledged affiliation to the Yellow Blood Penitents were brought en masse to the courthouse in Driss." "'You are accused of inciting racial hatred, of treason, and of slander against the nation of Bandinia, which is your home.'"

Section 2
"Witnesses came forward and corroborated the claims. The reaction of some of the jury was vitriolic;" "'You talk of the burden of shame. You are our burden of shame, your lot have brought Bandinia down for centuries. Your attitudes are prehistoric, you shackle us, you make us feel worthless. You are the reasion we have never stood up and fought.'" "Others were more moderate;" "'The Penitents are part of our heritage. They are not directly responsible for any of this. We're making them scapegoats, when it is our oppressors who are to blame. Just think how they made Bandinians their scapegoats, how their failings since Alkabar were put on us, and then decide if these Penitents deserve punishment.'"

Section 5
"There was a funny coronation. The crowns and mantles were placed over the shoulders of the new King and Queen - young parents who raised seven children through the occipation in downtown Darat, and somehow survived. They smiled, they were modest, they were perfect for the throne. There was a banquet to which all the guests brought home-cooked food, candelabras were lit and crooked music was played on crooked trumpets." "Sinkholes opened up across the gardens of Calipolon, and other subsidences were a daily occurrence. Still, Driss made merry, and its people lived the life. Even when sandstorms grew violent enough to kill, survivors danced out afterward, scattering rose petals on the bodies it had rubbed out." "I think they all knew of the war in the north, but no one cared. For ten years, Bandinia would be free, like it had never been free before."