[ He trails off, and at first he doesn't notice, eyes dark with memory. And then he shakes his head at her with a wry smile ]

I told you it was long. It doesn't end there, of course. It only got worse, although even in the worst of it, there were still small flickers of joy.

In the end, the treasures we had sworn to reclaim rejected us, for the sins we committed to regain them had made us as unholy as any of the Fallen.