Other kingdoms knew this well. This was why they had severed all ties with Humanity, why they had marked it as a forbidden land. Stations were set up along the borders, manned by watchful soldiers and priests, their sole duty to ensure that nothing, no person, no animal, not even a traveler's wagon left the kingdom to carry the corruption beyond. To the outside world, Erik's kingdom was not simply decadent. It was a quarantine zone.
When Erik came to truly understand this, the peace he had felt was shattered. His earlier calmness, his strange acceptance of the kingdom's state, evaporated. Panic gnawed at him. If nothing was done, if he let things continue, then every last soul under his crown would be twisted into a cursed being.
The ordinary, untainted citizens who remained were the last hope of the Humanity Kingdom. The future of his people depended on them. They had to be preserved, protected, kept far from the spreading influence of the cursed spirits. But how?
