At the King's Side

The first in the A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains, a Game of Chess series

…

At first, it was only a whim: she disguised herself as a man and went to school in her younger brother's place.

But fate played its tricks, and she came to know the emperor.

From then on,

At the ruler's side, she witnessed greed, anger, delusion, resentment, life and death, love and hate.

With delicate hands, she could turn the tides.

At the ruler's side, who coveted the realm, and who kept a hand on their sword, unable to draw it?

In this struggle for supremacy among four kingdoms, whose hands would the realm fall into?

…

May I stand ever at the ruler's side, gazing down upon countless layers of mountains and rivers.