War of Feathers

Wha? You wanna know about this tattoo here? Well, there’s a short answer and a long one. Since this rain don't seem to be letting up, we'll go with the long.

You know who founded the thieves guild, right? Migrants. Now you might be sayin ‘oh my, what terribleness these immigrants brought to our fair city!’ But pounder this, imagine what thieving was like before there was rules, before common folk became off limits. Think on that.

Anyway, to the west is a great valley that was once home to a great kingdom. We call it the Evening Valley now but ages ago it was the Pontifur Kingdom ruled by King Harold VI.

Now, Harold got the crown by turning the nobles against his older brother and having the poor sod locked up. Something about his brother contracting lunacy, whatever that means. Harolds father came to power after discrediting the then sitting Queen and leading a civil war that last 15 years. And before that, the Queen lead an uprising and before that, well, you get the idea. Civil strife seemed to be the favorite pass time of Pontifur nobles, no matter the feeling of the exhausted common folk.

Harold had twin children, a girl and a boy. Laws of succession get fuzzy when the kids are born at the same time so no one knew who the heir apparent was. Given the treacherous nature of Pontifur ruling folks, Harold decreed that no heir would be named until his death bed in case them kids get any funny ideas about filling the role early.

And here we have the source of all their woes, for Harold never saw a death bed. While inspecting the construction of a new castle tower, a rope broke and poor Harold was laid to rest by 11 tons of granite building stone.

Supporters of both children sprang to action and within a day there were two coronations, a king and a queen. Half the folk supported the Peacock King and the other the Chickadee Queen.

Supporters of the Peacock called him that on account of his born beauty and right to rule. His opponents pointed to it as an example of his vanity and loss of touch.

Chickadees named her after the common bird not afraid to battle with hawks as she was steadfast and martial. Her opponents pointed to her hypocrisy, ‘that chickadee was born in the palace and is as in touch with the common folk as a golden toilet’.

Regardless, all the common folk were roused to fight under the Green and Yellow or the Brown and Black. More blood and more death just to see which ingrate got to live in luxury and spend their taxes.

2 years of fighting and once again the common folk became exhausted and lost in sorrow.

Then, one autumn morning, the two sides met on Fletchers field. But unlike all previous battles, both the King and Queen would lead their birds into battle. The vanguards clashed, arrows volleyed and blood was spilt. In the midst of the fighting the Chickadee found the Peacock. She ran him through with ease, but he stuck her through the neck. By the time the Sisters of the Lily got there they had both bled out in the mud.

With them lying there dead, the banners the armies came in with didn’t matter anymore. Suddenly every cousin, aunt or uncle started shouting their claim. The nobles on the field all started rushing to different sides, but the common folk all threw down their weapons, the people of Pontifur had had enough. Enough of the nobles, enough of the fighting, enough of death.

They made their way back to their farms and within a day, all of the Pontifur folk packed up and left. Whats a kingdom without its people? Not much it turns out, such was the end of the Pontifur kingdom.

Now, half of the folk went north to found a new city, ever heard of Brentford? That town known for its master bakers? Yeah thats them. They live peacefully enough, though it didn’t take long before a noble laid claim.

The other half headed East to our fair Capital. Such a large influx of refugees weren't permitted into the city mind you, so they set up outside the Weeping Wall. First tents, but before long a whole new borough of the city had been established. They was eventually granted rights of citizens and the Prince ordered new walls to protect them. What was just a dusty field had become the borough of New Dawn.

Now, finally, to your question about the tattoo. Familied folk from the Pontifur settled well enough, but all them men and women who was veterans of Fletchers Field with nothing to tie them down, they figured the nobles still owed ‘em. One night they got together outside Borrowtown and the thieves guild was born. A group working together to take all that wealth the nobles claimed a birth rite to and put it back to the people, one way or another. And whats the first rule of the guild? No killing.

They marked the rule with this tattoo, the last decree of the Chickadee and Peacock. Their whole lives they'd seen nothing but killing for no good reason, no one can find peace that way. They made sure everyone knew, violence begets violence and nothing else.

Some of these new gangs outside the guild don’t hold to that law, which is why the Watch have started hangings again instead of just locking ‘em up. The sins of the old forgotten by the young. So I say this to you now, violence begets violence, and don't you forget it.