The Mushinek Uprising takes place more than 200 years before Hile begins to document the Vidoran Crisis. Hile’s prologue gives a very brief summary of the uprising. Herte, a contemporary of Mushinek, documents his unique perspective of the uprising in this book.
Teaser
They say it began with a glance.
Not a sword. Not a throne.
Just a boy—watching a girl who would one day be queen.
He was no one. A merchant’s son.
She was Ta’arah of Hireotha, born to light and lineage.
He told no one what he felt that day. He simply decided.
He would have her. He would make it so.
Years passed. Kingdoms prospered.
But beneath the laughter of courts and the clamor of guilds, something stirred.
A whisper here. A favor there. A missing record. A vanished witness.
No armies moved. Not yet. But something was building.
Then the heir to Hireotha vanished at sea.
The wind turned cold.
And the fires began.
Borders sealed. Allegiances shifted.
Neighbors became strangers. Strangers became enemies.
No one could say who struck first—only that the world fell apart with terrifying precision.
Some say it was politics. Others, fate.
But the oldest voices—those who remember the war not through books, but through stories—
they speak of one name, always with caution, never with certainty.
Mushinek.
Not a conqueror. Not a king.
Just a boy who wanted a queen.
And built a rebellion so quiet, so vast, that by the time the world noticed…
it was already too late.
Main Characters
This story has few main characters because it is written by an eye witness and reluctant biographer. The following characters are the central figures who drive the story forward. They are deeply involved in the major conflicts, themes, and emotional arcs of the narrative. Most chapters will follow or reference them directly, and their choices often shape the world around them.
Herte
Herte was an only child, born to modest means in the city of Maadigan. His father, a soldier, died when Herte was still very young. Left to support them both, his mother took on work as a housekeeper and seamstress. Despite hardship, Herte was a curious and intelligent boy. He taught himself to read in the private library of one of his mother’s clients. When he was caught reading at the age of seven, the client—rather than scolding him—was impressed by the boy’s aptitude and became his benefactor, nurturing Herte’s intellectual growth.
His early exposure to rare books and noble ideas sparked a lifelong fascination with history. Herte eventually earned admission to the Royal University at Maadigan, first as a student of classical history, then as a professor. Over the years, his studies revealed a troubling pattern woven through Cendomvitian history: cycles of war, followed by reconstruction and prosperity, then selfishness and inequality, rising unrest, and eventually full-scale uprisings engulfing the seven kingdoms.
Determined to understand these cycles, Herte spent years combing the libraries and archives of every kingdom, seeking records from the years leading up to each collapse. His seminal work, Unity or Slavery: An Explanation of the Failure of Rebellion in Cendomvita, was the product of fifteen years of exhaustive research. It remains one of the most widely debated texts in the University’s canon.
Then, without warning, Herte vanished.
On the night of his twentieth anniversary at the University, he left for a quiet celebration and never returned. Some believe he drank too much and drowned in the Mulcour River. But not all are convinced. Fragments of scrolls and a partial biography suggest Herte may have survived—perhaps even gone into hiding—to document the most recent and most devastating uprising of all: the Mushinek Rebellion.
Mushinek
Mushinek was the son of a modest merchant, born into unremarkable circumstances in the city of Maadigan. His mother, stricken by illness, suffered a slow decline over six years and died when Mushinek was just twelve. But four years earlier, the family’s fortunes had taken a dramatic turn: Mushinek’s father secured a prestigious contract during preparations for Prince Noam’s twelfth birthday. That day changed the course of Mushinek’s life—not just economically, but personally.
While wandering the palace grounds, eight-year-old Mushinek saw a girl two years his junior across the courtyard. She was radiant, composed, and out of reach. They never spoke, but she looked at him—just once—and he made a vow: one day, he would marry her. Learning later that she was Princess Ta’arah only deepened his resolve. He committed himself to excellence—in business, athletics, and academics—determined to rise above his station. Realizing that he would never be able to rise to be Ta’arah’s equal, Mushinek turned to to crime–not petty theft, but darker…more purposeful…more sinister. He dragged his friends and acquaintances in, but those who refused didn’t live to tell why.
Thanks to his father’s new wealth and connections, Mushinek was permitted access to the library at the Royal University at Maadigan, where he studied medical texts until his mother’s death. Afterward, his interests shifted. He began devouring works on politics, history, geography, and military theory—then, in secret, texts on crime, sedition, and treason. He was known to sneak into restricted sections of the library. Somewhere in those hidden shelves, he discovered the writings of Herte—most notably Unity or Slavery—which left a lasting impression on his strategic thinking.
By his early twenties, Mushinek had become a force few could ignore. Charismatic, brilliant, and disciplined, he wielded influence far beyond what his background would suggest. The name Mushinek, adopted sometime after his mother’s death obscured his true origins—a detail never widely uncovered.
Through meticulous planning and subtle infiltration, Mushinek embedded agents in nearly every major court and government across the Seven Kingdoms. He cultivated alliances with both the Thieves’ Guild and the Pirate’s Guild, drawing on their resources to destabilize trade and governance. The rebellion he launched—now known as the Mushinek Uprising—shook Cendomvita to its core.
Though ultimately unsuccessful, his campaign left the kingdoms weakened for decades. Half a millennium later, the Mushinek Uprising remains the gold standard by which would-be revolutionaries and villains alike measure their own ambitions. His life and legacy stand as both a warning and a fascination: the clearest modern proof of how a single individual, driven by obsession and vision, can bend the world toward chaos.
Secondary Characters
Characters Mentioned
Garron Velic
Herte’s benefactor. An employer of his mother who found Herte using his private library without permission.