Prince's End and The Memorial of Pinezano

During the reign of Prince Talmandrius, 30-40 years ago, the village of Pinezano was razed to the ground. The population was marked as traitors, accused of harbouring the rebel Duke Valefinazzio and burnt inside their homes; anyone trying to exit the buildings was shot by crossbowmen.

Today a new village is located on the same spot and all that remains of Pinezano is a memorial raised by Duke Valefinazzio himself after he dethroned the black hearted Prince. The memorial is a large statue of a mother bravely holding her child which is crying fearfully. The defiance and strength of will evident in the mothers face and eyes have been praised by artists nationwide and the memorial sees a lot of aspiring young stonecutters come to study the masterpiece. On the base of the statue are inscribed the names of all that lost their lives that night, including the Duke's youngest son.

An old man can sometimes be seen by the memorial, bowing down and weeping. He is always crying and lamenting with a shaking voice. Everyone supposes that this must be the last relative of the villagers, but as a matter of fact it is the former Villager Giali Canezzo. He is a handsome old man with closely shaven beard and always favouring black clothing. He was an agent of the Prince during his dark reign and by Giali's hands was the letter informing the Prince of the Duke's presence written. Giali had not expected the resulting massacre as the Prince collectively punished the entire village. Giali had to watch his childhood friends and family burn. When given the option to live as a reward for Giali's service to the crown, his mother spat, turned around and entered her cottage. Giali watched all those he cared for die that day.

For three decades he spent his time drunk in the capital, for his role as the Prince's agent was not discovered by the authorities. Now he regularly comes to the memorial and there he regrets his youthful credulousness.

Nowadays the Village is called 'Prince's End' and is a non-descript place populated by farmers. Local production is limited to wheat, barley and flour as well as some dairy products. The farmers have a thick accent and they are not related to the former inhabitants of Pinezano in any way. Their buildings are cottages with thatched roofs and small to medium sized gardens. They value these gardens and often small orchards surround a farmer's home. However the fruit produced in these orchards is primarily for local consumption and the two local Inns sport some renowned fruit delicacies.

Any visit to Prince's End is bound to be somewhat dull as nothing is ever happening in town, aside from old man Canezzo and his grief. The smell of pie is ever present and the Duke's patrols are frequent. The Duke does own a mansion in the nearby Duke's Forest but due to the pain of the memory of his son, the Duke never visit.

The village is at a crossroads between three larger towns and thus the two local Inns see quite some traffic. Caravans usually have all the manpower they need when they reach Prince's End, but recruitment in the local Inns is not unheard of. Aside from the memorial, the farms, the Duke's Mansion and the Inns, there is a marble quarry three miles southeast of town. This quarry is the second location of note to stonecutters come to study and improve their art. Indeed several workshops can be found alongside the three mile road from Prince's End to the quarry.

There are a couple of local legends of note. The first legend tells of a mass grave in which the former villagers were thrown after the village was burnt to the ground. No one remember, or wants to remember, where it is and it is told that the Duke spent several months scouring the region, looking for the remains of his son. The tale has grown with the passing of the years and now it is said that the young prince still wears the Ring of the Heir with the royal insignia. More than once drunken patrons have whispered about the treasures that is buried with the young heir and sometimes drunkards have been observed digging in various locations. Nothing has ever been found though and if the grave was to be found, the contents would probably be nothing less than horrifying.

The second local legend is about the the lover of the Black Heart. It is said that within one of the myriad groves in the region, the former mistress of the Black Prince can be found. Whenever nationalism surge throughout the nation posses have been formed, searching for the unknown and ageing traitor. According to the legend she was impregnated by the Prince and thus her children are of royal blood and possible future pretenders to the crown. Given the bleak and harsh lives of the citizens under the rule of the black Prince, any such heirs is undesired by the local population. The hatred of the black prince and his mistress runs so deep that 'The Prince's Whore' is the worst insult the locals can ever deliver.