Traitors Beware

[Martyna Z'muir]

We are a kingdom founded on Virtue, tenants of our civilization which run deep. Many enemies have tried to twist them, to pervert and corrupt them beyond recognition. It is a sad and tired tale.

All too often, this evil goes largely unopposed. This is not one of those occasions. Britannia has its protectors and they have been busy.

Since the murder of Queen Dawn, three traitors have been brought to Justice. They were given the opportunity to surrender peacefully and to face trial before the people. However, they chose to end their lives of violence as their terms: bloody.

The first to be found was Cole, a traitor to the Crown and the Ministry of Security. His life ended in Ilshenar, in a small keep built by the Bane Chosen - paid for by the Queen's blood.

The next was the notorious Blood Coast pirate, Maggie Keel, the estranged mother of Captain Christine Keel of the Royal Guard. She sacrificed her entire crew trying to escape the reach of Justice. In the end, no quarter was given.

The last to be located, was Philip Stafford, the Queen's ex-Personal Secretary. His allegiance to Virtuebane had extended as far back as the fall of Magincia. He chose to meet his end in the dank recesses of Hythloth, plotting with the Conclave daemons.

These traitors now serve as warning to those who hide their disloyalty, to those who give succor to Virtuebane's fodder. Each of their severed heads rests on a pike in northwestern Britain, gruesome testimony to the grim determination of a besieged nation.

A fourth head rests alongside the other three. It is that of Ors, the late Queen's husband. While not a traitor of his own accord, Ors' public act has forever vilified him in the eyes of many. Allegedly, he took his own life due to the grief and dishonor caused by being Virtuebane's tool of assassination. This story was relayed to a group of Ministry of Security agents by a mysterious stranger in blinding white armor moments before he callously severed Ors' head from his body. While the man claimed to be part of a Virtuous sect following a new path to 'the clarity of mind and spirit,' he was the last to see Ors alive...

The macabre display in Britain is meant to loudly declare one message to Britannia's enemies: To those of wicked intent, to those of base desire; flee now, for Evil will find no respite here.