Goldenbird

On a nightly raid

They wear an assortment of gear and uniforms inspired by Ducal whims of the moment. They are young war veterans, mostly from the poorer parts of Italy, hungry for adventure and dissatisfied after an inglorious and mundane war.

Some of them are foreign mercenaries, like the Southern Gentleman – “il capo” – that Lou fought at the osteria.

But many of them are genuinely dreaming of a Greater Fatherland, perhaps even a new world, not ruled by secular or spiritual authorities in Rome, but something entirely new… Something only the Dux can express in his poetry.

But nothing happens, and the frustration boils down to everyday brutality and paranoia.