A tale about the crimes of murder, infidelity, greed and the much more serious crime of sacrilige against the Gods.  Murder can be atoned for, the wages of sarcilege is death.

According to ancient Baltic custom, when a person of standing died, most of his wealth had to be distributed.

The Gods received a share through sacrifices and funerary feasts, a large part was offered as prizes in the contests held in honor of the deceased, and only a third was passed on to his heirs. This ensured that no family acquired too much power, and a rough equality was preserved.

But the incessant wars against Christian Europe impose a harsher reality. Wealth is not personal anymore; it is necessary for fortification of strongholds, for the acquisition of mounts and weapons and the maintenance of armed men.

The death of the powerful now no longer means a new beginning. It is merely a change of military leaders.

When traditions change confusion is certain to follow.  It is a time to tempt the greedy, a time that gives hope to the ruthless.  

At the time of Thane Algimantas death this becomes especially apparent.  There are two claimants to his title and estate and the issue of succession has not been settled. The situation is further complicated by the local pagan priest’s divination of omens sent from the netherworld, and murder follows attempted assassination. The Council of Elders is called to sit in judgment, and its most far-sighted member is a blind man.  It is a strange and tangled thread the Laimos, fate-weavers for the Baltic lands, have spun.  It is unraveled in this tale by the harsh light of flaring funerary pyres.

At the time this story takes place funerary races were still held though the prizes were not as grand as in earlier times.  Now it became more a matter of honor, but this made the racers  even more determined