A Quadripartite Entente

[Jamzor the Jaxxor]

Ceadda Eadinga sat in the back of a nondescript, black car escorted by police through the streets of Kalstad. As he watched the buildings go by, he thought about why he was here. Arrenland was an old power in Kvænna, but especially on the high seas. She used to have a mighty island empire in the Avidnan and Æsean Seas. Now, that empire had slipped through the kingdom's fingers. Eadmund Dunstan, the new chancellor, thought that it was the weakness of past generations that had allowed Arrenland to fall to second-rate status. The new firebrand chancellor was determined to regain the glory of ages past. That was why Eadinga was here.

Eadinga was not a well-known public figure. Quite the opposite, in fact. His official position was Assistant Deputy Director of the Office of Strategic Planning, part of the Directorate of Intelligence under the Ministry of War. It was rather mundane, at least on the outside. Eadinga was what one might call a "career patriot" who did whatever was asked of him in order to serve the home isles. He was also the son of the Earl of Hwitburg, a "high noble" in the parlance of the Adwestenes, which should grant him some respect among them.

To put it plainly, he had been sent here to put together a plan for the division of Cynas, Sindar-Astrasia, and Falsea. Chancellor Dunstan saw an opportunity to increase Arrenland's power and prestige through the good, old-fashioned method of territorial acquisition. Although Eadinga might not agree on some parts of the chancellor's plans, the chancellor nonetheless thought that now was the time to make this move, so Eadinga went.

Soon enough, the car pulled up to the residence of one Count of Laxenhive.