Maltese incident

The Maltese incident was the name given to the effects of a ritual performed by agents of the Star Chamber on Malta in September 1809. It was a major contributing factor to Lord Byron's defection to Faction Paradox.

At the time, the Mal'akh were growing in the East, with an increasing number of grotesque sightings in Africa and Britain's Indian territories, and Mal'akh influence spreading to the courts of the Turkish empire and Ali Pascha. To investigate these rumours at Ali Tebelen's court in Janina, the Star Chamber sent their agents Fletcher, Hobhouse, and Lord Byron. However, their real purpose was to act as bait for the Chamber to lure the Mal'akh into the open.

In September 1809, Fletcher and Hobhouse performed the ritual, and the alter-time walls between the Mal'akh "other-world" and the normal universe momentarily vanished. The travellers' accounts describe finding themselves lost on the fringes of a horrifying landscape, assaulted by giants. They eventually fought their way clear and fled the island.

Byron later described the monsters as humanoid, but with wings and animal faces. However, since the bat-like Mal'akh hybrids used by Faction Paradox for their armour were unknown to the Star Chamber and Earth mythology alike, scholars often considered this description as a later addition.

The experience haunted Byron for years to come; understanding how he was used as bait rather than diplomat, he began to resent the Chamber, which eventually culminated in his defection to Faction Paradox. (PROSE: The Book of the War)