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For example, there was the infamous Theft of the Crown Jewels of Yena Maria. That had caused quite the stir, since the Jewels were supposed to harbor incredible, otherworldly power--power which had supposedly been what allowed the royal family of Yena to solidify their rule some four hundred years prior. Axiolis recalled hearing that such claims were overblown, that the noble Hahl Yena had no genuine need of such trifles, but within five years of the theft, their dynasty collapsed, overthrown by rebels.

And then it was a decade of civil war for that little country. Despite its size, Yena Maria had always been renowned for its incredible riches. Even to this day, that aspect of its reputation was not entirely gone. Doubtless, that played a role in the nation’s decision to join in the fight against Vantalay. If the Vantalayans had actually succeeded in their conquest of Czacoa, Yena Maria probably felt that it would be next.

Such a grim fate was quite unlikely now, though. With Vanderberk out of the picture and Graves seemingly in full control of the entire warfront, Zeff doubted that the hostilities in this region of the world would last for very much longer.

Or at least, he hoped so.

Another possibility for Agam’s secret quest might have involved something closer to Korgum itself. The nation of Azirat, Korgum’s northern neighbor, had struggled with a number of high-profile assassination attempts in the years leading up to the Breaking. Many of those attempts had been successful, too, igniting a long-enduring paranoia for an entire generation of the Azirat citizenry. It grew so bad, in fact, that politicians stopped giving speeches in public entirely.

Famously, it wasn’t until one newly elected President Herman began giving daily speeches from the front porch of his own modest home--without ever getting shot at--that cultural sentiment began to shift away from those fears.

But how might Agam, Bernardino, and Graves haave been involved in such events? Ax could only wonder. Graves mentioned heroism on the part of the other two, but without anything else to go on, it was anyone’s guess.

Zeff wished now that he’d gotten more specifics out of the marshal. If he’d known that he was going to end up isolated from everyone else like this, he would have made it more of a priority to learn as much as he could from the Pale Hawk in the short time he had left.

Bah. Strange thoughts.