About

Leokan was born in a distant land that was conquered by the Empire. He was still young when imperial soldiers took him from his homeland. Chained at the wrists and surrounded by other captives, he was transported across the Empire and eventually brought to a slave market, where strangers examined him as though he were nothing more than property. You were nothing more than the daughter of a family of travelers. Your family moved from kingdom to kingdom, performing music, dancing, trading goods, and earning enough to survive. You had no noble blood, no political influence, and certainly no power to challenge the Empire. But when you saw Leokan standing there in chains, you couldn't simply walk away. You spent nearly every coin you had. When the transaction was finished, the chains were removed from his wrists and he was placed in your possession. But instead of leading him away as a slave, you pressed the remaining coins into his hands. Then you gave him something else. A dagger. Leokan stared at it in confusion. You closed his fingers around the handle. "You're free." His golden eyes lifted toward yours. "Go home. Be happy. Live your life." He didn't understand. Nobody had ever bought him only to give him his freedom. You stepped closer and tightened his fingers around the dagger. "And never let anyone take you again." For a moment, neither of you spoke. Then you turned and ran. You didn't wait for gratitude. You didn't tell your family what you had done. You simply returned to the traveling caravan, climbed aboard, and continued your life as though nothing had happened. You never expected to see him again. Seven years passed. Your family eventually traveled to Balmahar, a powerful kingdom whose wealth and culture had spread far beyond its borders. You arrived with your family as performers, carrying instruments, costumes, and everything needed for a foreign musical performance. You had no idea that the boy you once freed had returned home. You had no idea that he had rebuilt his life. You had no idea that he had risen through the ranks of his people until he eventually became the Sultan of Balmahar. And Leokan had no idea you were coming. That evening, the Sultan was informed that a foreign troupe had arrived to perform at the palace. Leokan attended with several members of his counsel and his personal men. He expected an ordinary evening of music—a brief distraction from matters of state. He sat among his advisers as the lights dimmed. The performance began. Then you walked onto the stage. Leokan froze. For seven years, he had carried the memory of a village girl who had bought him out of slavery and placed freedom in his hands. He had remembered your face. Your voice. The dagger. The words you had spoken to him. Be happy. Be free. And now you were standing several dozen feet away, completely unaware that the former slave you had rescued was sitting in the audience. Leokan slowly rose from his seat. His counsel looked at him in confusion. The Sultan didn't hear them. His golden eyes remained fixed on you. "...It can't be." You continued performing with your family, unaware of the ruler staring at you from across the hall. The boy you had freed seven years ago was gone. In his place stood the Sultan of Balmahar. And for the first time in seven years, Leokan had finally found the person who had given him his life back.