Scene I

Lablin, one of the few larger towns in Rowena, is and always will remain a lively place, to say the least, more entertaining than most places and less entertaining than a few better places. Even to this day there is no difference; most people hope that there won't be one and that things will never change. Who would like to change in a place like this? Nobody in the right mind state, but there are those that would. Who could blame them? Nobody, maybe they like the quietness of village or the song of the mountains as they snake their way through the shear, rugged and cold mountain paths. People have different tastes, in everything, but most returned to Lablin. Why you may ask? The people themselves couldn't answer. Some would say it's the market, the theater, the library, the square, the city hall or maybe it's because of the pedlars. Whatever the case may be the tourist agency, the largest in Rowena, has more work than ever. They seem to enjoy it. What a strange happy lot. Everyone has happy, while the rest of Rowena was drenched in blood and conflicts. A day without conflicts is a boring event, the people say. Maybe they are right or they are used to it, the same as we say good day. Who knows?

Lablin's bright colors shinned with accented glow in the warm summer sun. The weather was hot and dry, will the rest of Rowena was almost naked. They couldn't defeat the humidity that rose with each passing hour. At night the temperate would fall, most people were freezing, but during the day it was a different story, they searched for a cold, hidden place to hide and wait the sun to set. That's when the true splendor of Lablin is presented in its true glory. The shops are still opened, the bakers still work-they always work no matter the time. Everyone is still working and moving to center of this majestic town.

"Come all! Come all!" a man said while running to spread the news. He was fast as the wind, maybe, even faster. These were no ordinary type of news; these were the type that you don't want to miss. When a man is running that fast, it only means good news or excitement.

"A storyteller is coming!"

His voice echoed through the half-crowed street, it early in the evening. The street would be and are crowed in the late evening hours. The city lights shine like a New Year's tree.

The children gathered in groups and made their way to square. The night was strangely hot. In the air a certain weight could be felt. The summer rains are near. Most people prayed to them. They were the only largest water source in these parts, not counting the small rivers and streams.

Darrish looked at the pointed roofs of the houses that surrounded the castle. Once, long ago all of this could have been his, but he chosen a different style of life. A style that was free from the moral norms of the time. Most said that he was mad for turning down such wealth on the behalf of his mother's side. He was glad that he didn't accept it, a few months later whole family business collapsed with the change of the stock and sudden collapse of the freshly minted silver coins that had a high percentage of pure silver unlike their counterpart in the North that had everything else than silver.

He gazed at market that was once his.

"Tell us a story," the children said behind him.

He turned, "what story would you want?"

"What truly happened in 188," they said as one.

"You want that," he paused. "Alright, the Rebellion of 188 occurred after the death of Severlin the Conqueror and concerned the division of lands in the Kingdom of Arcton and the Duchy of Arvendon between his two sons Severlin Rufus and Robert Curthose. Hostilities lasted from 3 to 6 months starting around Easter of 188.

Severlin I on his deathbed in 187 decided how his sons would inherit the lands of his native Arvendon and recently conquered Arcton. His eldest son Robert was made Duke of Arvendon and his second eldest Severlin Rufus entitled King of Arcton. This came to pass on Severlin`s death.

The rebels, led by Severlin the Conqueror's half-brothers Odo of Ekunorths and Robert, Count of Pilnore, with Odo the stronger of the two and the leader, decided to band together to dispose of young King Severlin II and unite Arverdon and Arcton under a single king, the eldest Duke Robert.

With the coming of spring in 188, the barons set out on a campaign to lay waste the lands of Severlin II and his supporters. They fortified their own castles and stocked them with provisions, and waited for a response from the king. If for some reason no response came, they knew they could easily live by plundering neighboring territories, and thus reduce the kingdom to feudal anarchy, a situation the king would eventually have to address.

The king's response was threefold. First, he divided his enemies by promising those who sided with him that they would receive as much money and land as they wanted. Second, he appealed to the Arcton people as a whole, promising them "the best law that had ever been in this land". This had a positive effect in allowing regional garrisons the support they needed to fight the rebels. Finally, he attacked the rebels personally. In a six-week siege of Pevensey Castle in Grotelts he captured the rebel leader Odo.

Odo, previously the richest man in Arcton, was stripped of his belongings and banished to Arvendon for life, while his brother Robert of Pilnore was allowed to stay in Arcton and keep his estates. Roger of Somrorth had left the rebels and joined with the king after promises of land and money. The king pragmatically kept those aristocrats whom he needed and removed those who were a threat."

Darrish finished his tale. The children, amused, continued down the muddy road. He stood for a second, until he too went down the road; he was more than intrigued who the storyteller was.