Hawland is a world in conflict. All the nations are desperately grasping for more land and power for themselves. Families are locked in power struggles behind the thrones, trying to gain more influence, glory and stations in the court. Plots inside plots, scheme behind schemes. Underneath the underneath, even the most honorable lord has skeletons in his closet. Underneath, even the most innocent maiden has her ulterior motives. No one is pure, no one is guileless. The hawthorns grow in the lands, nourished by all the conflicts and bloodshed. While their berries are bland, their thorns are sharp. The birds that eat their berries are mostly trushes, intelligent birds, unaware of the dangers.