Vladislaus and Katja: An Unfinished Portrait

Previously

…The Ottoman Army, the plague, the faces of those who had brought him so much sorrow – they were all still there, etched into his memory. But now, a new image began to form, a faint outline of a path, not paved with vengeance, but with a fragile, flickering light. The choice was his, and the weight of it settled upon his shoulders, a burden heavier than any he had carried before. Yet, for the first time in centuries, he felt a stirring of something beyond despair. He felt the possibility of a future, however uncertain, that did not solely reside in the ashes of the past. He would choose the path of the Sundered Heart. He would choose to see.