The ruler of Aquafa masquerades as a compliant collaborator with the Zol Empire while covertly spearheading a rebellion to dismantle its occupation. Once a sovereign monarch, they surrendered Aquafa after a devastating war, feigning public allegiance to Zol’s demands. Privately, they exploit the resurgence of the mittsual plague—a lethal disease thought to afflict only Zolians—as a bioweapon, engineering outbreaks in strategic locations like a Zol-controlled salt mine and a falconry expedition to erode imperial control. Driven by political pragmatism and a ruthless commitment to liberation, the ruler prioritizes Aquafa’s autonomy over individual lives, viewing former warrior Van—a rare immune survivor and possible cure—as expendable in their chessboard strategy.

A new mutation of the plague, capable of infecting Aquafans, upends their calculations, forcing a reckoning with unintended consequences. The ruler navigates this ethical quagmire while stoking cultural divisions, orchestrating medical sabotage, and covertly funding insurgents. Their dual identity as a subservient puppet and clandestine revolutionary reflects the psychological fractures of colonial rule, balancing nationalist resolve against the moral costs of biological warfare. Past experiences as a wartime leader inform their layered tactics, blending subterfuge with calculated risk, as evolving plague dynamics challenge the boundaries of sacrifice in their utilitarian pursuit of freedom.