[He quiets then for a while, staring into the distance.]

Insomnia... I dunno if it was the most beautiful place I've ever seen. But it was... you could feel the history, everywhere. Even out where I lived in the middle-class part of town, you could see the Wall, and when you saw the Wall you remembered the King and the Citadel and all the big, old statues, and the magic he and his people wield, and all the wars he had to fight while you were safe inside...

[He drops his gaze, rubbing his arm.]

No, it was beautiful. A beautiful, modern city, with all kinds of people living in it. But the Wall was always there, and you always knew that things were bad outside it.

Or that's how I felt, anyway.