His queen took a deep breath and blurted, "I want to go with the revelers when the gates open, King."

His bored facade shattered and his hands went to grip the arms of his throne. "No." But he held up a hand before she could voice a protest. "Why? You plan on sticking that black blade of yours into Wolf's eye?"

"I... I want to see my family." She shifted nervously, flattening out a ruffle in her dress.

"No you don't. You want to cause yourself pain." When her expression caved in on itself and he almost heard the resignation squeezing the life from her heart, he grit his teeth and waved a dismissive hand, conceding, "But that is your right." Her face brightened and the trepid smile that graced his gaze made his heart skip a beat. He rested his chin back on a fist and mumbled, "Just be back by midnight, Bastard Queen. And don't part from your queensguard."

Rowena, proud to die, is offered to her village's seasonal deity, The Spice King, so that the god can be reborn and herald in the Spring... only to discover that her sacrifice is completely unnecessary, machined into import through the schemes of the power-hungry shaman, Wolf.

But her Lucky Star convinces the King Himself to bring her back to life to aid Him (and his poorly equipped pantheon) in The Great Game of cosmic politics unseen and untenable to the rest of Mankind.

Prepare yourself for a far-flung tale of theology, romance, and fantasy - based in part on the Hades/Persephone myth!

NEXT UPDATE: TBA