Zhitko

Zhitko was a sorcerer trained in old practices from the eastern lowlands, where such traditions survived longer than in the cities. He arrived at Kazimir's besieged camp three days before the fortress fell, uninvited and unfed, and offered the young king an alternative to defeat. He performed the ritual that separated Kazimir's death from his body using a bone blade no longer than a smallest finger. He wrapped the blade in cloth and left without ceremony.

He was older than he looked, which in his profession meant very old indeed. He arrived at Kazimir's camp, standing at the edge of the firelight like something the forest had exhaled. His voice carried the accent of the eastern lowlands.

Zhitko is known only through Kazimir's memory and Fen's intelligence. He spoke plainly, without greeting or ceremony. He told Kazimir the cost in direct language and appeared to mean it—though three hundred years of reconsideration have not resolved whether he was honest or merely precise.

Sorcery. He performed the ritual that separated Kazimir's death from his body. The nature and extent of what he can do is not fully understood.