Night of the Winking Rose (concept)
The Night of the Winking Rose was a Champion Era Gisredde uprising in 889 IS against self-proclaimed King Karth Illurdian. The famous Peti Gisreddean brothel, the Winking Rose, named the event after its beginnings inside the establishment and its employees.
After Illurdian's army violated the Gisreddepact and besieged Peti Gisredde, the Council of Gisredde opened the gates to his armies in to ensure fair treatment. Following the occupation, Illurdian extorted and then disbanded the Council, granting the city to his cousin. Ruling from the sewers, the Council decreed that all of Illurdian's soldiers were to enjoy the city's brothels for free. When they flocked to the many houses of passion, the courtesans opened the doors, their legs, and then the soldier's throats with concealed knives. In hours, the whores slaughtered hundreds of Illurdian's soldiers, and even more fell when the rest of the citizenry rose in a great mob led by blood-covered whores.
The Winking Rose claimed the lives of not only many soldiers but also Illurdian cousin, and soon his armies retreated. Illurdian agreed to a peace, restoring the Gisreddepact but losing so many men that his realm soon collapsed. In return for losing his realm, Illurdian received a yearly tithe of ten silver Gisreddean coins. The event has since become a cornerstone of Gisreddean folk-lore, and local law soon mandates the Winking Rose remain open for perpetuity as a 'cultural landmark' (and a dangerously good time).