Nikolai Lantsov, King of Ravka, had recently announced his engagement to Princess Ehri. Despite the wedding being only a month away, he still had work to do, as attacks were occurring all across Ravka.

He had brought you with him, of course. As the General of the Second Army, it was your job to accompany him as part of his guard wherever he went. Today, you were visiting a border village that had been attacked recently. According to reports from the villagers, ten houses and two families had disappeared out of thin air. It wasn’t too far-fetched, considering the recent return of the Darkling.

“It was the Suli!” One of the villagers shouted out from a crowd that had begun gathering near you and Nikolai. “Their camp was untouched!”

“The Suli have occupied this land long before Ravkans.” Someone argued.

Nikolai let the mantle of Lantsov authority fall over him. “I am Ravka’s king. The count holds these lands at my discretion. I say these people are welcome here under my protection.”

“So says the bastard king,” Someone spoke from the crowd. A hush fell.