Skender's Sins كتاب · المقتنيات

Of all the tyrants and fools who ruled Vale Sangora in the past, Skender Dragosti was surely the worst. He cared nothing for us, his subjects, only for ways in which he could exploit us, as if we were mere tools. And when we dared oppose him, what did he do? He bled us to death in Shrike’s Crag, a massacre more violent and abhorrent than the plague itself.

But did you know that before Knyaz Brencis seized the throne from Skender, he attempted a peaceful solution? He wished to allow Skender and all the nobility to flee Vale Sangora unharmed. He had only one condition: that they would have to leave all their riches behind, so that Knyaz Brencis could grant them to the people. Of course, Skender refused. He had fought hard for his treasure, harder than he would fight for his family, his beliefs, or his subjects. And that is why he had to die: because of how short-sighted he was.

Such is the blessing of having a ruler like Brencis, whose life spans not decades, but centuries and centuries. A knyaz who can see beyond the temptations of earthly possessions and the petty squabbles of noblemen. Knyaz Brencis has seen it all. He has lived through it all. And for that reason alone he embodies the wisdom of a whole dynasty of rulers. A dynasty ten centuries old. There is simply no baron, duke, or even king able to match Him.

All hail Knyaz Brencis!