Asterios and the Labyrinth
A tale from the Minoan Bronze-Age, when the deeds of heroes outmatch the gods’ intercession.
A crown contested.
A kingdom on the brink.
A love unyielding ‘gainst strife.
UPON KING MINOS’S DEATH, ASTERIOS, HIS SON, MUST ASCEND THE THRONE of the Kingdom of the Labrys, willing or nilling. Elsewise, Krete shall sink into chaos under the rebel lords’ sway. His kin’s lives would be forfeit or cast into thralldom. His fellow, Prince Phaistos of Archanes, he that leads his great host, would be lost to him without hope. ‘Twould be the end of the House of the Divine Bull
The sorcery of his mother, elder sister, and mighty aunt yields him vantage o’er his enemies. Theirs is a dreadsome ally from Tartaros, the Mother of All Monsters. Yet he must prove his worth by leading his men in the sieges of Kydonia and Zakro. And ere lords Koronos and Lykosander spill further blood, he must rescue his captive beloved and those he cherishes.
To make matters worse, Argives from the mainland have set foot upon his isle, sworn in covenant with Lykosander. Shall the wedlock of him and Phaistos with Pharaoh Thutmose’s daughters bind the alliance he needs to shield his kingdom? May the princesses beget them sons, that their lineages endure? As men and women contend each in their own sphere, only the Fates may tell what shall betide.