Cassian wore a wide smile as he walked toward the building overlooking the port's iron gates, located within the territory of one of the Seven Dukedoms of the Mariossa Kingdom.
Wanni had told him the history behind the war that decided the kingdom's ruler. At the time, there had been nearly a hundred competing forces fighting for control, but by the end, only eight remained strong enough to continue the conflict.
One of those factions eventually grew far more powerful than the others. Rather than face destruction, the remaining seven forces united to form a resistance, creating a stalemate that neither side could easily break.
In the end, the strongest faction—the Sigonla Army, which later became the kingdom's ruling power—chose a different solution. Instead of continuing the war, they elevated the leaders of the remaining factions to the rank of dukes, granting them territories such as Rimehold and several other islands.
