The origin of Widow’s Palace lies some 200 years ago. The position of Master of the Ganador City Council, the most powerful man in the city and arguably in the known world, was about to be opened up for election, after one of the longest reigns in history. Political factions in the city had started campaigning vigorously, but one man was clearly the most popular candidate. His name was Lord Askild Braen, a young man still, only in his late twenties and just recently married. Despite his age he was a decorated navy officer with many victories to his name, and immensely popular with the poorer masses. He was charismatic, strong, always kind, born rich but giving plenty to charity, and most importantly, his new wife was as charming and beautiful as he was. The masses loved him, but they worshipped Lady Iraena. And she used that fact to his advantage. She addressed the crowds almost as often as he did, from balconies and wagons and platforms, and they came to hear her speak in droves. She only had to whisper her husband’s name to have the crowds chant it with a thousand voices over and over again, and when she raised her voice, it sounded like the silver bells of Kestwyn Tower had started ringing. The Braen Couple were a magnificent force, and they would surely have won… if Lord Askild hadn’t disappeared.
He had left their marital home early one morning to get some work done before they went off campaigning again together, and just never returned home again. In the investigation that followed, his manservant turned out to be the last one that ever saw him, rowing away in the house dinghy to the Parliament on the next island, a quick 5 minute row away, although a misty one that particular morning. No one had ever seen him land on the other island. The investigation showed four possible explanations: he had drowned, been taken away on a strange current and swept off to the open sea, he had been kidnapped by a political opponent to be released after the elections, or he had been murdered. There was no lead, no official suspect, nothing. The waters he would have crossed were dredged, but nothing of interest was found. Police searched the surrounding bay, but all they found was the dinghy, floating upside down several miles from land. Lady Iraena addressed the crowds again, visibly distressed, and promised a massive reward for any news, just any news at all, and a just staggering amount of money if someone returned her husband back to her, but all she got was a storm of fake clues, and silence. Election day came, and the crowds stormed the Parliament to demand being able to vote for the absentee, or for his wife instead, but by that time Lord Braen had officially been declared missing (rendering his candidacy for Master invalid), and his wife, being a woman, was not eligible to such high a rank, and she hadn’t even applied. Riots broke out all over the City’s islands, government buildings were besieged by the masses and some were even set on fire, so enormous was their rage, but eventually they had to accept that their beloved candidate had just… gone.
In the end, another candidate was chosen, and the investigation into Lord Braen’s disappearance was quietly closed. He was never returned to her, even after she promised to give whatever they owned and whatever she could collect from their supporters, and never press charges.
Lady Iraena sold the house in the city centre she had bought with her husband, and pooled all the funds she had, all of it, in the construction of a secluded palace on the northern tip of Ganador’s northernmost island, so she could keep vigil, praying for his return. She became known as the Widow-without-a-Corpse, and spent the rest of her life away from public life. She never took part in any politics again, not even when the position of Master became available for women too (thanks to the tireless work of her husband’s old political allies). The masses of Ganador came to her door, begged and pleaded for her to take up her husband’s role, promising to keep her safe, knowing she would have won the next election with a landslide. But she never applied. She kept waiting for her husband, the Late Lord Braen, and eventually faded into Ganador's rich mythology.
Originally Posted by QED42
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