Since the fall of Hartla, the coastal city of Castydociana, capital of Castydocia, had become the unofficial command center for the Athacean League. The small republic of Castydocia was larger than most Mythaean city-states. Its people were dairy farmers, and their cheese was traded for as far off as Lundholm away in the west.

Gunnar looked out across the city. Its primary fortress was situated upon a rocky promontory jutting into the ocean. Castydocia's characteristic ...