A Queen and A Rook

It is the thaw of 493 BC. The tragic death of Crown Prince Ach’ti, mysteriously drowned at sea on route to a diplomatic posting to Archaeopolis, plunges the Orch’tai succession into crisis. The Orch’tai King (Tagar) has sired no sons, and of his daughters, only Sychoria has the guile and ruthlessness to navigate a safe course in an increasingly dangerous, even treacherous, world. Her eldest daughter (Mikhouri) is proposed as a future bride for the heir to the Argata crown (Disch’al), a match reputedly favoured by the Persian King in Susa. Yet, all is not quite as it seems… Sychoria is last in the line and has borne only daughters. The Orch’tai and Argata are historic enemies, and the all-powerful Royal Army is deeply untrusting of deeper ties with the hated Queen of the Plains (Lezika). The guiding hand of Persia, intent on bringing the Pontic region into satrapy, earth and water, spurs Lezika to an ingenious ploy; the marriage of her youngest son (Sea’gir) to Sychoria’s youngest child, the tempestuous Princess Alicharia. Any sons sired of their union would surely strengthen Sychoria’s claim to the crown, and secure the destiny of the Argata race… In the east, in the vast expanse of desolate and sparsely populated plains, the Sauromatae are stirring. Acts of aggression and slights to their honour may forge a confederacy of nations. A group of recalcitrant Generals, opposed to the union of the young Princesses, hostile to the machinations of Persia against Athens and the western Scythia, and deeply distrustful of both King and Counsel, poise to strike. As Sychoria and Price Voskar venture to Archaeopolis to cement the unions, their daughters are sent north for the summer to their Grandparents in the Sar’kta Plains… In an unexpected twist of fate, a young Disch’al has his heart strings plucked by fair Avielle, a slave girl, recently arrived in Archaeopolis. When news of this affection reaches the Palace, it stings the Queen to fury, and Disch’al faces a mortal dilemma. Lezika’s ruthlessness shocks the city, and invites scorn fro a most unlikely source, a visiting troupe of actors. Sychoria is deeply shaken and questions the entire endeavour, yet her own newfound lust for power leads her to lock horns with the Queen of the Plains in a dangerous folly. When stakes are this high, there are no rules… As Sychoria unsheathes her claws, the Generals resolve to settle the matter once and for all. A daring scheme is conceived to pressure the King to disavow the unions. Voskar’s father, the old Count of Sar’kta, learns of the troubles in the east, and sends a trusted hand to Mamy’eva to discover the truth. When his retainer is brutally murdered, a young apprentice holds a key to a graver mystery, an ugly truth of a distant crime. The killing threatens the Generals carefully laid plans, prompting a reckless gambit. When all goes horribly wrong, the hunters become the hunted…