1 He muttered to his knife a little less while his jaw was on the mend—Mia was tempted to seek out his torturers and thank them.
Chapter 19: Masquerade
1 The wounds from Lord Cassius’s test of loyalty were all but mended among the flock by now, and to Mia’s dismay, Pip’s mutterings to his knife resumed with a vengeance.
2 Liisian portraiture is widely considered the finest in the Republic, and the best artistes can charge small fortunes for commissions. Vaiello, a famous artiste who lived at the court of Francisco XIV, achieved such frightening wealth that it was said he could buy the kingdom twice over. Sadly, after an incident involving one too many bottles of wine, Francisco’s second son, Donatello, a four-poster bed, and a riding crop, Vaiello found himself tried for treason and sentenced to death.
Predictably, Vaiello’s execution led to a profound escalation in the value of his paintings, and the marrowborn who owned them made small fortunes. Unexpectedly, however, it also led to a sudden rash of murders among famed Liisian artists, as certain wily nobles sought to increase the value of their own collections by killing off the poor bastards who’d painted them. Painters began dropping like flies, and in the few months following Vaiello’s death, “portrait artist” became the most dangerous occupation in the kingdom.
This spate of paintercide led to a frightening spike in the price of new work, as fewer masters were now available to paint commissions. Realizing their increased worth, these masters also began training fewer apprentices, leading to yet higher prices. During the height of the crisis, the going rate for a standard sitting was said to be two medium-sized estates in upper Valentia and a firstborn daughter. The debacle was put to an end only when King Francisco stepped in, simultaneously commissioning two colleges for the training of Liisian artists (one in Godsgrave and a second, more renowned one in Elai) and declaring the murder of a Liisian artist a crime punishable by crucifixion.
This incident, by the way, is still held up at the Grand Collegium in Godsgrave as a perfect illustration of the laws of supply and demand. In Vaiello’s honor, it is dubbed “the Riding Crop Principle.”
Chapter 20: Faces
1 One of the most feared swordsmen of his age, Antony Caravaggio was a duelist in the court of King Francisco III. An infamous rake with a fondness for young donas of quality, Caravaggio fought no less than forty-three duels over the course of his life, and reportedly sired fourteen bastards. Caravaggio fought with twin blades—one in each hand—pioneering the art of dual-wielding that eventually bore his name.
Ironically, his fondness for twins also proved his downfall: he was killed in a duel by Don Lentilus Varus after spending a night of drunken passion with Varus’s twin daughters, Lucilla and Lucia. Reportedly still intoxicated and too exhausted to heft his rapier, he was skewered by his opponent quite easily—an inglorious end for such an artisan of the blade.
His last words were reportedly “Worth it …”
2 Though Marielle did a splendid job weaving the boy’s face, whenever she studied him, Mia realized she still found Diamo only a touch shy of repulsive. There was something about the Itreyan boy’s stare, something cold and cruel that Mia found altogether ugly.
If it’s truth that the eyes are the window to the soul, Diamo’s opened into a lightless, straw-lined cell.
Chapter 22: Power
1 Constructed on the order of Consul Julius Scaeva, the Bridge of Follies is built entirely of watercraft—ships and boats, scuppers and ferries—strung end to end and lashed together by lengths of rusting chain. By writ of the Itreyan constitution, consuls may sit for only one term, almost three years in span. So when Scaeva broke precedent during the Kingmaker Rebellion and stood for reelection, claiming emergency powers in the Republic’s time of crisis, his most outspoken political rival, Senator Suetonius Arlani, was quoted as saying, “Scaeva has more chance of walking on the waters of Butcher’s Bay than he has of succeeding in his folly.”
When Scaeva won in an unprecedented landslide, he purchased every seafaring vessel he could find, had them lashed together to form a crude bridge, and walked across the bay barefoot. Named the Bridge of Follies after Arlani’s remarks, the span has remained a landmark in Godsgrave ever since, home to a motley of vagrants, the dispossessed and the outcast, grubbing out a living free of rent on the consul’s monument di triumph. Scaeva himself doesn’t seem to mind.
As for Senator Arlani, he was sentenced to life in the Philosopher’s Stone a few weeks after the consul’s electoral victory. The circumstances of his incarceration were entirely unrelated to his public remarks, I assure you.
2 Scabdogs are a voracious carnivore of the Liisian continent, resembling a fat, hairless canine with piggy eyes and a mouthful of razors. The scabdog is an astonishingly vicious close-quarter combatant, but lacks the endurance to chase game over long distances. They frequently feed on carrion, but have also developed a peculiar method of “hunting.”
The creature will maim itself superficially, chewing at its haunches until it bleeds. The scabdog will then make a show of being wounded, limping and bleeding until spotted by a carrion eater, such as a vulture, jackal, or another scabdog. The beast will then collapse, feigning death. This subterfuge can take hours, sometimes even turns.
The beasts are consummate actors, even going so far as to remain still while another carnivore takes a cautious bite. But when the carrion eater finally settles in to feed, the scabdog strikes, tearing its would-be predator to pieces and feasting to its heart’s content.
As a result of their self-maiming, the creatures are frequently covered in scabs, hence their name.
And in case you were wondering, no, gentlefriend, they do not make good pets.
Chapter 23: Switch
1 Ashlinn’s best hangdog expression could make a legitimate hangdog quit its job, pack its bags, and move somewhere quieter to raise chickens.
Chapter 24: Friction
1 A language spoken entirely in gestures of the hands, fingers, and face. Utilized by a master, a conversation in Tongueless can appear as little more than a series of tics, winks, and subtle nods, completely unremarkable to anyone not trained in the art.
Newer practitioners often appear to be pulling silly faces in the midst of a seizure, but practice makes perfect, as they say.
2 The braavi are a loose collective of gangs that run much of the criminal undertakings in Godsgrave—prostitution, larceny, and organized violence. For hundreds of years, the braavi were a thorn in the sides of various Itreyan kings, and even after the Republic was formed, they remained dug into the Nethers of Godsgrave like particularly stubborn ticks. Their predations wore at trade, cut into profits, and it seemed no amount of Luminatii raids could permanently remove them.