>>5337203Viscount Kleiman was a famously ambitious man within the Kingdom. Once a minor lord with a tiny domain, he rose to prominence during the Kingdom’s subjugation of Duscur, following an incident that saw to the death of Dimitri’s father and Faerghus’ king. Rumors of the Viscount’s brutality towards the Duscur people made its way even to the farthest reaches of the Empire. While his actions were far from the knightly standard Faerghus had traditionally held itself to, the people of the Kingdom felt a strong hatred towards the Duscur population, who were blamed for the death of their king. The Viscount was granted control of the region as a reward for his service, and the man quickly became a powerful lord within the realm as he subjugated the population.
He saw the creation of the Faerghus Dukedom as an opportunity to achieve even greater heights. The Viscount raised a large army, composed of his own men, and supplemented by the Duscur populace, who were treated almost as slaves. He commissioned a minor fleet of ships to carry him across the ocean into Gautier territory, leaving only a skeleton crew behind to guard them while he rampaged through the Western Kingdom. Somehow, he’d learned of Dimitri’s location, and set his sights on Bulgar as his target.
As your army enters Bulgar, you find the town in total chaos. The Viscount’s army outnumbers Dimitri’s forces, but that is the only advantage they are afforded. Kleiman’s men are inexperienced, having been akin more to butchers than soldiers during their war with Duscur. Additionally, his contingent of Duscur soldiers are ill-equipped and suffer from extremely poor morale. Within the winding alleys of Bulgar, Kleiman’s men are unable to utilize their numerical advantage, and find themselves systematically cut down.
Caleb, who now serves as the Blackwing’s Chief Scout, quickly discovers where Dimitri and his men are. They’d been using local storage warehouses and homes near the town’s docks as staging grounds for ambushes on Kleiman’s men. The Blackwings manage to catch the Viscount’s army by surprise, outmaneuvering their forces and landing a wing of aerial fliers at Bulgar’s docks, where Dimitri was in the process of making a last stand. Upon landing, two things catch your attention. Firstly, rumors of Dedue’s demise were greatly exaggerated. The King’s right-hand man is alive and well, though looking a bit more haggard than usual, given the current circumstances. A living example of how unreliable hearsay during war time was.
The second thing you notice, is Dimitri himself. You’d only spent a brief amount of time with him before, and while it was undeniable that he’d had a dark side, he had still managed to remain a charming man. Standing in front of you right now, there was no trace of the prince you once knew.
