Summers End

**"Our people have no need for a king. For what is a king, but a slave master with a golden hat?!" -Kora ad'Monisto's remarks following the Cherry Stream Massacre.**

Summers End is a city in turmoil. For close to a decade the city state has been embroiled in civil war with their former King. Beginning with the dissolution of the ancient Grand Council of Elders, the King was labeled a tyrant, and a traitor to the ancient traditions of Summers End. With King Molkain's audacious power grab he quickly found himself fending off a coup by the insulted Elders. Fearing for his life the King fled Summers End for his ancestral fortress: The Red Keep. Today Summer's End operates under the rule of the Grand Council, and leads a war weary populace in their struggle against tyranny.

As a city Summer's End is relatively young. The Summer Isles were only settled five hundred years ago, and the architecture of the city represents more modern styles. Consequently the people of Summers End are far less ensconced in tradition than other peoples on the Free Coast. Their willingness to do away with a sitting monarch is unheard of previously, and many view their rebellion as sacrilege. The Pontifex of Densport calls the rebellion "an unforgivable insult to Adar, King of Kings," and many senior priests of Adar have issued edicts of excommunication to the entire city. As a result the followers of Adar are looked upon with extreme suspicion within Summer's End, and most temples to Adar have been vandalized or seized by the government for other purposes. Religious tensions have drawn followers of Pellar to Summer's End. The age old Pellaran conflict with Adar has drawn many citizens to worship at the ever expanding temples. Additionally, the uniquely brutal tactics employed by King Molkain have drawn warrior-priests of Pan'ier from across the Free Coast to Summer's End. For many followers of Pan'ier crimes committed by rulers upon their people are the most heinous of all, and has led to several Pan'ieran crusades against King Molkain. As a result the forces of numerous Pan'ieran Knightly Orders have bolstered the ranks of Summer's End, and have transformed The Krak al'Mont, the Citadel of Summer's End, into the largest Pan'ieran temple on the Free Coast.

Politically, the civil war on the Summer Isles has made for strange bed fellows. The importance of Summer's End as a trade hub has forced the Grand Merchants of Ocean's meeting into an uneasy alliance with Summer's End. Short of sending troops, Ocean's Meeting has pledged safe passage for all ships passing between Summer's End and the Free Coast breaking any chance of a blockade by the King's Navy. Ravenna has also quietly pledged financial assistance to Summer's End, and hopes to force their age old enemy King Molkain into exile.

Conversely, the King maintains a strong alliance with King's Port on the Bay of Needles, which has placed thousands of mercenary Northern troops under King Molkain's command. While Densport has never formally pledged support for King Molkain, a number of the noble houses have privately funded Molkain's forces. After ten years of fighting most native troops have abandoned Molkain's army, and now its ranks are almost entirely filled with mercenaries and foreign troops. The political symbolism of the King's army is hardly lost on the people of Summer's End, and many believe he has lost all popular support at this point. Rather the war is being fought now in proxy between the merchant republics to the south, and the autocratic monarchies of the north.