674 Abdullah, Venezia, Piazza San Marco

"They are as sick that surfeit with too much, as they that starve with nothing. It is no mean happiness, therefore, to be seated in the mean; superfluity comes sooner by white hairs, but competency lives longer."

- Nerissa, scene ii, the Merchant of Venice, William Shakespeare

Early spring, February of year 1470, Republic of Venice.

Under constant, careful watch, a galley navigated through the Canal della Giudecca and docked at the Docks of Venezia beside the Arsenale. Three Venetian warships trailed behind, their cannons exposed, seemingly ready to fire at any moment.