14th-Century Europe

Some say we're living in the end of days.

At the moment, almost all of Europe is being ravaged by the great plague – an unstoppable and merciless pestilence that wipes out entire towns and villages. Meanwhile, two great powers, France and England, are warring over the French throne, possibly willing to set the entire continent on fire to get what they want. And any day now, the Mongols or the Turks may come from the East, burning and pillaging. Nothing is certain anymore, the world seems to be crumbling beyond repair.

But even without any of these things, our lives would be far from easy. We work for our lords, who feed off us like leeches. Most of what we produce, we're forced to hand over to our masters, who have little to no sympathy for our suffering. It doesn't matter how smart or hardworking we are – if we were born peasants, we'll die as peasants.

It's hard to wonder that in such a world, the new order Brencis has established in Vale Sangora might seem like a blessing, even if it's just a clever lie.