House Zahir Granted Shadow District Charter

Wed Feb 27 18:56:33 2008

FASTHELD KEEP - Revelations from the Royal Palace claim that House Zahir has been given an Imperial Charter to assume territorial control over the Shadow District in an attempt to first blunt and then entirely quell the numerous issues that plague that forsaken region of Fastheld. While the presence of the Imperial Watch within the Shadow District have given the Imperial Law a foothold there over the last year, the social problems that corrupt the very core of the already tainted lands are still a severe cause for concern for the Imperial Government. Reports of slavery, forced prostitution, murder, looting, civil dissent, attacks against Imperial property, and numerous calls for peasant uprising, top the list of the maelstrom of troubles that threaten to eat away at the rest of the Empire. While the Shadow District has always been a dangerous region, the presence of the Church of True Light served as a vanguard against the worst of the worst, with the Scourges finding a sufficient outlet for their militant bloodlust and a focus for their crusade against the Shadow. Since the collapse of Halo and the subsequent fragmenting of the Church of True Light, the criminal elements within Shadow District saw fit to take advantage of the situation, and the gaps in the Church's previous custody of the area became all-too apparent. It is hoped that House Zahir's experience with criminal elements, added to the their somewhat ruthless and no-nonsense approach to administration and politics will do much to first blunt and then ultimately destroy many of the gangs and organizations that use the Shadow District as a base of operations. If nothing else, it is assumed that House Zahir will tax such operations into oblivion if the combined elements of the Ravenguard and the Imperial Watch cannot bring some degree of order to the region. That the Imperial Charter was granted to House Zahir has been decried by a number of Nobles are favoritism from the Crown Regent. However, supporters of the charter point out that House Zahir territory rests just to the south of the Shadow District itself, and that the Fetters - the sprawling city within the Shadow District itself - has been under unofficial Zahir control for many decades now, with relative successes.