The Swan's Wake

Esmeralda's shot sent shivers not only through the foundations of a building that collapsed over a bunch of Blackguards but into the very structure of Prince Liam's faction.

The Bloody Swan was no longer a simple chess piece between the powers that be; she was a rogue card, a joker whose dance sent ripples through the stagnant waters. She had risen to be the very soul of conflict among the two factions at war: one fighting for an old world that must be preserved, and another fighting to destroy the old and build the new.

It was difficult to distinguish fact from fiction, even for those involved. Prince Liam's faction and the Royal Guard now see the Bloody Swan as the symbol of the insurgency, the wings that must be clipped, and the mouth that must be gagged. On the other hand, the Kabal did not know what to do in this situation; they had never expected the Swan to be someone from their ranks, and the Court of Sages all pleaded ignorance regarding the Swan's identity.