The complexities and storms of the Telnarian Histories are brought to
their unexpected and rousing climax.
Following a palace coup, in the midst of intrigue and turmoil, Otto, the
blond barbarian giant, King of the Otungs, a tribe of the Vandal Nation,
has set aside the boy emperor, Aesilesius, and seized the throne of the
vast, unstable, threatened Telnarian Empire. A raging torrent of
complex, perilous events ensues. Can the throne be held? Can the empire
survive?
In The Emperor, we meet again fierce Abrogastes, the Far Grasper, lord
of the Drisriaks, hegemonic tribe of the dreaded Aatii Nation, enemy to
the Vandal Nation; his envious, treacherous son, Ingeld, aspirer to the
High Seat of the Drisriaks; Sidonicus, devious, unscrupulous exarch of
Telnar, seeker of power through the perversion of religion; envious
Fulvius, his ambitious subordinate; a corrupt senate, an unruly
citizenry, and private armies; Atalana, superstitious and cunning
Empress Mother; her son, the reclusive boy emperor, Aesilesius; his
lovely sisters, Alacida and Viviana, one of whom will learn chains and
the whip; Julian, of the Aureliani, scion of an embittered and divided
aristocracy; and many other players in the games of betrayal, blood, and
power.
