Weishate had once been an ambitious young man. In his youth, he had sworn to kill every corrupt official in all of Wallachia.
At the very beginning of his band's formation, Weishate had laid down the rules: "Do not bully the weak. Do not rape women." He had always been known as a "chivalrous bandit."
Yet as Weishate's fame grew, more and more people came to join him out of admiration. But the growing size of his band was not entirely a good thing, because it meant that his ambitions had grown as well.
And the petty skirmishes of the past simply could not feed so many men under his command.
So Weishate had no choice but to change. He began collecting protection money from villages, tolls from passing travelers and merchant caravans, and even membership fees from new recruits.
Without realizing it, Weishate's goal had changed from upholding justice to making money—making even more money. Whoever paid more, he would sell his life to.
No one knew how long things went on like this. Then one day, the famed Eagle of Bucharest came looking for him—and she was exceedingly generous with her money.
And so Weishate became the guardian of the common people once more. Together, they fought against the Wallachian government and even seized several towns.
Their power continued to expand. Weishate was certain that within a few years, the Scarlet Crusaders would be able to take all of Wallachia.
But then the Austrians came, and the Eagle of Bucharest handed everything over to them. At first, Weishate thought that the helplessness of facing a great empire had made her abandon resistance.
But Weishate soon discovered that things were not so simple. The Eagle of Bucharest had been using Austrian money from the very beginning, and that woman