Worldbuilding for the Remembrance, from 15 December.

The Detroit skyline is gone, except for the RenCen. The skyscrapers that were threatening to come down on their own collapsed first, followed by ones that were newer or had been reinforced and refurbished. The casinos caved in on themselves, as did the sprawling abandoned factories and warehouses. Corners of exterior walls sometimes gave testament to what had been before. The sea of one- and two-story houses outside of downtown still stand, unless they had structural problems that would bring them down in a mild earthquake.

When the Locusts were pushed out of Detroit, they methodically wiped out the suburbs, as long as their own numbers remained sufficient. Trios, pairs, and single Locusts would go on killing, but were intelligent enough to move cautiously and use their environments to do the most damage. Many small craters dot the landscape, where gas or other household materials were used to create explosions and/or fires.

How would Timothy see that? How would it hit him? What about Sebastian and Diane? Sebastian is going to lose consciousness once they cross the border, so Diane isn’t going to give much of a damn. It all comes down to Tim’s description, which is good, because it’s his chapter. He’s visited the area before, but has he been to Detroit proper? Probably. He’d have a fuzzy memory of it, at best. Still, the destruction here is greater than he dealt with in Grand Rapids or Lansing. It’ll be the implication of the loss of human life that will hit him, not the destruction of the physical city.

When the survivors first crowd the caravan, his relief will be intense. When they part, he’ll be thinking about his dreams. When they’re met with Jason instead of Herod, there will be confusion and doubt. That’s when Sebastian will start to convulse, and will be rushed to the newly-finished Keep.