The year is 1621 of the Yakobinian Calendar. For over five centuries, the Sons of Yakob chafed under the dominion of distant Tionghoa. The Governor Generals of the Tionghoa Southern Holdings maintain control of the archipelago from Khmer, the colonial capital. Their base of power lies in the west where imported Tionghoa populace had greatly intermingled with the natives throughout the generations. In the east, puppet kings ruled under the suzerainty of Tionghoa. They paid fealty to the Dragon Emperor, but the Yakobins are a proud people. The Sultanate of Paloe, the most powerful of the eastern states conspired with the Kingdom of Dun-a-Din, ruled by the last of the Borromeans, to form the Padri. Their aim was simple: freedom. But there’s more to this war than meets the eye.