Even before the discovery of the Wellsprings, Einar ruled with an unshakable belief in obedience. Deserters from his ranks were rare and punished severely. His inner circle remained steadfastly loyal, save for one. He would never admit how much it troubled him that even just one had dared to reject a place among the Golden Palace's select few.

Several years into the Alliance, Einar’s visions turned to Earth’s South China Sea, revealing a new path for his ambitions: ports along the Durgeth River granting Lindesfarme access to the ocean—and the shores of neighboring lands. To command this expansion, he summoned a woman of legend, a fierce pirate and fearless captain, the daughter of a renowned pirate queen. He pulled her from the brink of death during a raid, offering her not just survival but praise, wealth, and an honored place at his court. In return, she would trade the life of a pirate for that of a regal commander, leading a fleet of golden sails in his name.

Within a fortnight, she vanished. The finery from her quarters was gone, and so was she, drifting downriver on a raft, gold in hand. Once a pirate, always a pirate.

Years passed. But when a Crimson Fleet began harassing his attempts to expand into Valhalla’s waters, Einar knew at once who was responsible. Why, he wondered, was she not grateful? He had plucked her from the same cruel fate that had claimed her mother and her wretched kin. He had given her everything she could have dreamed of under his empire.

She answered with poison—administered to Einar’s Wellspring by her own hand…

Crimson Widow is available in the Crimson Widow and Dreadnoughts of Caraway Cavern Army Expansion!