Adventures in a world inspired by Renaissance Italy.

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SETTING

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The Heartlands – the most convenient piece of real estate in the whole world, packed tighter than a brothel with traders, pirates, mercenaries, and cutthroats. This place was once the heart of a empire that spanned half the globe—gone for a thousand years. Now the descendants of those world-conquerors live in massive cities, each of which is a separate state. Why haven’t the neighbors swallowed ’em up?

Simple: you don’t pick fights with someone who can just buy your whole army.

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PLACES

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Levoye – The grandest in the Heartlands, a city of trade and backstabbing. The heart of trade is the Heartlands’ heart – sue me for irony. Ruled by the Doge who’s never seen daylight.

Porto Liberte – A piss-hole for pirates and killers, if you ask the snobs. But if you’re unwanted elsewhere? They’ll welcome you here. Called the Port of Freedom for a damn reason! Oh, and they say something weird lurks in these waters – and I ain’t talking about the Krakens on the crest of House de Marais, who clawed their way up from here.

Aurelia – Pretty as a rich man’s mistress: silks, gold, and smart enough to make you feel pathetic. Banks dripping coin, galleries full of stolen beauty, parties that’d make Bacchus blush. Ruled by House Vecoli, slinking through high society like a knife in velvet.

Ferro Maltese – A city of steel, gunpowder, and the scream of forges. The Heartlands’ armory – pacifies angry neighbors with both cannons and coins. Domain of Duke, who rules the city with an iron fist. And with an Iron Claws (local assassins' guild is called exactly the same, by the way. Pure coincidence)

Solaris – Once the empire’s capital, now the holy city of the Sun God Sol. Their Sun Hounds stalk the streets, sniffing for heresy... and some darker things. Home to House Alteri – blood so pure it makes kings look like inbred pigs. They were ruling and gorging on gold while ancestors of all these "kings" and "emperors" were simple barbarian chieftains

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PLOT HOOKS

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Bridgetta de Marais’ White Whale

Even Bridgetta de Marais – the most impossible and bitchy woman in the Heartland – has a crack in her armor. Ten years back, her uncle vanished at sea. (Bullshit, say the docks – de Marais don’t drown.) She’ll pay a king’s ransom to whoever drags him – or his corpse – back to her.

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Alteri Family Drama

Old Giacomo Alteri should’ve croaked ages ago. Instead, he’s clinging to his damned life, torturing his heirs by not dying. His favorite? Paolo, the sharp grandson. But Paolo’s in love with some wrong woman – so wrong for the Alteri that Giacomo slapped the boy in public. Now Paolo’s sharpening his knives. Will love win? Or will the young hawk push the old vulture off his perch? And what rotten tricks will Giacomo pull to keep him leashed?

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Lorenzo Vecoli’s Dark Secret

Lorenzo Vecoli – every woman’s fantasy, every man’s envy. His parties? Legendary. His wine? Poisonously good. His sins? He never sets foot in a Sun God temple. And the Sun Hounds really don’t like that...

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English is not my native language, so I apologize in advance for any errors in the description. I have set the settings and boundaries of the world, but unfortunately, even if I wanted to, I cannot control that it would process everything correctly. Thank you for understanding.