Several waves rippled through the Derschek Region and the Shadow Isles. For the first time in a long time, the Shadow Isles experienced more emigration than immigration. The Martial Squires and the Martial Apprentices weren't dumb.
Five Martial Seniors were assassinated back to back, roughly once every five days. There was no common pattern in the allegiances or loyalties of the Martial Seniors as far as the organizations that they had joined went. There were no common patterns in any regard except for the fact that they were at the bottom of the informal rankings among the Martial Seniors.
Many subscribed to the hypothesis that an assassin was targeting all the Martial Seniors of the Shadow Isles. Many further extended that subscription that the assassin was targeting all assassins and was beginning with Martial Seniors. Perhaps if and when this assassin succeeded in killing all the Martial Seniors, they would move on to the Martial Artists of the lower Realms.
