The Crown of Treason

Chapter 4. Hide and Seek (part 1.)

A shroud of mist spread over the quay numbed the distant sounds of battle elsewhere in the city. Schildenburg's harbour district lay desolate.

By the Shifting God, the story has progressed fast. We're already at chapter 4. My apologies for interrupting myself again, good people, but to understand this chapter it is paramount to provide you all with al little bit of background information.
Yes, I know, you boys and girls prefer action, however, it is impossible to understand the political context of Daiterra without getting into its history and its relations with Aventine and Hassan's Keep.

Don't worry, I'll keep it to a minimum, if I have to explain the whole mess of the Covenant of Cities, we won't be finished before tomorrow.
Just a few bullet points to remember, ok?

· The Kingdom of Daiterra and the continent of Thesiris, now dominated by Hassan's Keep, used to be part of the Aventinian Empire.

· The Aventinian Empire is considered by historians as the pinnacle of art, culture and progressive thinking, especially compared to tribal barbarism and anarchy at its edges. You could compare it to ancient Atlantis or Rome from your dimension but with more sea dragons and merfolk.

· Aventine was at the zenith of its power when a volcanic eruption and tidal wave of apocalyptic proportions destroyed its civilisation. Believe me, I was there, the devastation of Hiroshima or Pompei was nothing to it.

· To finance rebuilding, the remnants of the Aventinian fleet and its legions launched an iron-fisted campaign of oppression, initially achieving limited success.

· From the resistance against the renewed Aventinian oppression, the Kingdom of Daiterra arose, initially as a loose confederation between the lordships of the continent that bears its name.

· After the Doshfati invasion led by Hassan Khan, the entire continent of Thesiris to the Gulf of Arthus fell under Doshfathi occupation. Technically the region is now called Darhal Salak, or 'The House of Order', but it is just as easily referred to as the Doshfathi Empire or Hassan's Keep after its capital, the former Nicopolis.

· About 50 years aga, the final remnants of the Aventinian army and fleet were destroyed in the Battle of Cirte, by a coalition of Daian tribal leaders led by Igor the first, and an assembled fleet under the banner of Hassans Keep.

· The Battle of Cirte confirmed the might of the Kingdom of Daiterra.

Ok, I think that will suffice for now. I know it is a lot of information, but compared to the full history, it is barely a sketch of current relations. Just park this bit of history somewhere between your ears and we can continue the story.
Right, were were we? Schildenburg, Harbour district, I believe, during the Night of Blood and Torches.

Sellswords on the payroll of the lord of Whitemill had established control over the area under banner of the Goldern Circle. Traitor forces had taken City Hall, the Royal Keep and the Schield's Hall. The trotting of soldier's boots and the clinking of armoured vests betrayed their presence on every square, every crossroad. Smaller patrols of soldiers trailed the streets, looking for valuables worth stealing. Iwan had barely succeeded in avoiding one of them. Unobserved in the thick of the shadows, the traitor forces had passed him by. The mercenaries muttered to each other, whispering so their commander wouldn't hear. At the order of the duke of Yserthorn, de facto leader of the Golden Circle, the harbour district was exempted from plunder. There was to be no violence, no looting, no massacres and nothing to be put to the torch. The mercenaries weren't happy with it.