Back then, the tides of the Chrysos War,
Had not yet engulfed the city-state of Talanton…

And the young princess inside the gates,
Once loved to roam without worries.

She snuck into forbidden grounds while the servants were away,
But was shocked by what she saw on that day.

A chessboard,
A stack of pieces,
And a strange woman.

The board dissected by daylight and shadow,
The pieces polished from rough stones uneven.

“Fancy a game? If you are my match,
Then I'll call you my friend.”
The stranger's voice was husky and coarse.

“If you can beat me, then I'll call you my teacher.”
The princess proudly retorted.

Despite the bravado,
The princess had never touched chess.
The defeat made her study in earnest, acknowledging the other as a teacher…

First she learned the knights, bishops, rooks, and queen.
Then how to defend, attack, capture, and checkmate.

“I have learned all there is to learn.”
Barely out of childhood,
The princess raced into games of chess.
Those who looked down on her faced many losses.
Those who glorified themselves forfeited in a mess.
At her prime, none could rival her at all.

But she still recalled what the stranger said:
“… My origins bring dark omens,
So never tell others where your teacher is from.”^[1]

Then the waves of the Chrysos War,
Washed over the world…

The Okhemans welcomed a ruler.
She was deemed Imperator, and loved to play chess with herself.
She regarded all things as “pieces,”
Whether Chrysos Heirs or Titans magnificent.

Before every god-slaying campaign,
She thought of the stranger from her childhood,
As if that woman had always lived in her mind.

“Isn't it lonely to play chess against yourself?”^[2]
The princess did not understand at the time.

But now,
She who bore the crown finally realized,
The Flame-Chase's beginning was like fuel being tossed onto the fire,
And in the unending road of marching banners and war cries,
She finally had the time to meditate.

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