LITMIR.BIZ

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      Never before had the Lydian Empire known such splendor. Throughout the Emperor Croesus’s citadel, lavish cloths of silken brilliance hung from marbled walls, gems of intricate design adorned palace women and delicacies able to entice even the palates of foreign ambassadors could be summoned from the kitchens with a solitary command. Riches of gold and silver from Ophu and Abni and every corner of the continent lay scattered about palace chambers, given no greater significance than fine fabrics from Syria, incense from Baghdad, spices and ornate treasures from the East, or merchant wares having undergone exchange or not-so-friendly barter. Pearls from the Gulf found their way to the city as readily as imported gems, spices from Ceylon, or the polished ivory of India. Croesus’s iron rule guided the empire with fervor and unquenchable zeal.

      Treasure stores were continuously replenished by the steep one-quarter duty imposed upon all merchants trading within the city’s borders. The moneys assured merchants safe passage through a desert filled with thieving nomads and vicious marauders just waiting to ambush unsuspecting caravans. However, some believed that the majority of murdering nomads were, in fact, Croesus’s own mercenary patrols making certain the payment of duty remained a necessity. The kingdom was one of opposites, where the glamour of wealth comfortably ignored dark alleyways and unspeakable crimes of lack. Life was rewarding for those who received the emperor’s favor. Those who lacked value or had managed to outlive it simply disappeared

      And within the idle luxury of the fortified palace, there arose a school for the palace maidens, which included Croesus’s daughter, Lila, and Serena, the emperor’s beautiful niece.