For the past three months, the once-prosperous lands of Herculia had descended into a maelstrom of chaos. Half the region, rich with sprawling farmlands and quiet villages, now swarmed with disorder. Bands of brigands and rebelling peasants roamed unchecked, raiding granaries, torching manors, and seizing whatever they could to sustain their uprisings.
The roads, before the war once bustling with merchants and travelers, were now death traps, as convoys fell prey to ambushes and supply lines were severed. Villagers fled to the forests, leaving behind ghost towns haunted by the specter of starvation and destruction.
This wave of anarchy was the bitter harvest sown by Alpheo, Yarzat's little fox , during the war just months prior. As his forces swept through Herculia, he had left a trail of scorched villages and desolation, burning crops and driving thousands from their homes.
