The 'bus' pulled into a huge, round plaza at the foot of the bridge, edged by buildings that blazed warm light from a million windows. At the very center of the plaza, a massive statue stood; even the tallest buildings came barely to its knees. It seemed to emit its own glow, a cold white light very different from the yellow pinpricks that bobbed around it.

Liya craned her neck to look at it as she got off the bus. "Whoa. It's a lot taller up close. Who is that?"

Yoshi very gently pulled her out of the way of the other passengers trying to get off the bus behind her. "That's the Cynn Escala," he said, not seeming nearly as enthralled by the sight as Liya. "He was the first ruler after the great war."

Cynn Escala was expressionless; his chin was lifted, and his one eye gazed out towards the Palace. The other eye was an empty socket. A cloak covered his shoulders, carved as if the wind was lifting it, and he wore his long hair wrapped with a cap at the end. In one hand he gripped the shaft of a long-handled spiked hammer.

"All four of the founders have statues that tall," Yoshi remarked. His words caused Liya to drop her eyes, and she suddenly realized where they were.

A fountain surrounded the feet of the great statue, and surrounding that was a market bustling with crowds that seemed even thicker and busier and more varied than any that ever filled the front hall at the Palace--a lot of the people crowding about Liya looked human, and she couldn't be sure which ones were and which ones were spirit or some other creature. She glanced around, sidling up against Yoshi, who seemed not bothered by the movement.