THE north and the west and the south are good hunting ground, but it is f*******n to go east. It is f*******n to go to any of the Dead Places except to search for metal and then he who touches the metal must be a priest or the son of a priest. Afterwards, both the man and the metal must be purified. These are the rules and the laws; they are well made. It is f*******n to cross the great river and look upon the place that was the Place of the Gods—this is most strictly f*******n. We do not even say its name though we know its name. It is there that spirits live, and demons—it is there that there are the ashes of the Great Burning. These things are f*******n—they have been f*******n since the beginning of time.
My father is a priest; I am the son of a priest. I have been in the Dead Places
