Alistair said, "Second, the Pestilence. Not a plague that spreads by breath or touch. A plague that spreads by despair. The body breaks because it cannot hold the god. The mind lies because it cannot hold the truth. The soul devours because it cannot hold love. We saw it in Lyra's city. Black veins. Fever. Warnings written in journals no one would ever read."
The king said. "And the plague was a god trying to be born."
"A failed one," Lysander said. "A stillbirth. But the contractions continue. The Hollow King is not yet born. It is being born."
Alistair continued. "Third, the Famine. The world gives plenty but no nourishment. Fields grow grain that tastes of ash. Wells fill with water that does not quench. Markets overflow with food that rots in the belly. People eat and eat and still starve."
The king said, "We have had reports of that. In the outer provinces. Grain that will not rise. Bread that turns to dust in the mouth."
