Shatter

It started months ago, after the disappearance of a professor who spoke out against the use of cinden dragons. Although they were hushed for their own safety, the Academy of the Arcane has stewed in the knowledge that the palace was likely behind this, and that there was a constant threat hovering over their heads. Funding cuts, rumours of researchers being forced to aid the military and then a few more suspicious disappearances brought the discontent to a boiling point, and on the 5th Rains, the last straw falls. Following the whirlspouts, a noticeable number of Academy personnel vanished. The palace proclaims them traitors who defected to the Empire and a military squad descends on the Academy to raid their offices and arrest remaining associates. Seeing this, the anger in the student body finally explodes. They attack and overwhelm the soldiers with sheer numbers and surprise, throwing them out and barricading the campus. As the palace hesitates to attack their own civilians, a strange siege unfolds.

On the third day of the siege, strange news comes from the palace. A White Oracle prophesied the King striking down the Academy and several other figures before she dissolved in a pillar of flame. An order is thus given to bring the Academy forcibly to heel, but Prince Vinicio speaks up suddenly. He claims the prophecy is a lie by Silvan because the Oracles have had no visions since Delverne’s declaration of war. He follows this with an even more shocking accusation: Silvan’s very kingship is a lie and their father, King Giovan, wished for Vinicio to succeed. These words, true or not, spark a violent conflict within the palace. Incensed, Silvan commands the death of his treasonous brother and all his supporters. Vinicio is forced to flee but a sizeable chunk of the military goes with him, protecting him and his daughter Marise. They sweep in quickly to the Academy to offer them escape, and then together Vinicio’s small army runs east towards Amedra, where the Duchess has declared her support of the younger prince as well. The Kingdom thus splits into two - Silvan in the west and Vinicio in the east, each claiming to be the true king of Miras.

The East Miras Kingdom is undoubtedly the smaller and weaker of the two, however, so an alliance is quickly sought with the only plausible nation: the Koben Empire. Using her contacts in Song-Lu, the Duchess brings the Chancellor and Emperor an offer of their Armada, information and Empire prisoners of war in exchange for protection.

Koben’s court is deeply split on the offer. Some are hopeful that it will end a tired war front in dangerous times, while others are suspicious or too deeply bitter to consider it. The Emperor himself is surprisingly amenable to the offer, and as he moves quickly towards accepting it - too quickly with too little input in the view of many nobles - the uproar in court escalates. Foremost among those against the alliance is the Marquess of Alden, who stresses how unwise it is to trust an old enemy who has trampled them so many times. Fears and discontentment gather momentum.

The decision is abruptly taken out of everyone’s hands though. On the 14th Rains, the last night of Regenfest, the unthinkable happens - a small fireworks airship crashes near Prince Sigmund in the middle of a display, and he disappears in the chaos. Witnesses report a trio of kidnappers jumping from the airship’s rubble, throwing a cloth over the prince and stealing him away into the dark alleys. The Imperial Guard and army give urgent chase, but they are too late. The festivities close with terror and a dreadful new reality - the heir to the Empire is gone.

In the days after the disaster, Koben’s authorities search feverishly for any sign of their missing prince. It’s not long until their answer comes, in the form of a declaration from the kidnappers three days later. They claim they are the Agate Alliance, calling on the Crown from Linhythe, and they demand an exorbitant ransom.

Outrage grips the Empire. They have now been betrayed twice by the same pirates - once as the Jewel Sea Corsairs, and now again as the Agate Alliance. Talks of allegiance with the tenuous East Miras, the owners of the Agate Alliance, slam to a close. But East Miras and the former pirates still with them vehemently deny any association with the kidnapping. With their survival dependent on the Empire’s support, they initiate a risky plan to find the prince and prove their innocence. The Agate Alliance, pretending to betray the Kingdom, offers their own princess Marise to the kidnappers in order to bargain their way into the ransom deal.

The kidnappers accept. They take the princess and, as hoped, hide her away in the Shackle Isles with the prince. This is a breakthrough - now that the location is known, there is a chance of rescue. Undercover military and keen citizens from both sides launch a joint rescue mission on the 29th Rains. They will sneak into the maze of island caves where their young royals are held and steal them back. The risks are high - the coral reefs around the Shackle Isles are notorious for their danger. Traps and enemies watch the labyrinth as authorities stall negotiations. At any moment the pirates may discover the infiltration, or simply tire of the whole deal - and if they do, Sigmund and Marise are but a whim away from death.