Stephen Brust continues the Khaavren Romances, his remix of Alexandre Dumas' d'Artagnan Romances, with Five Hundred Years Later , extending his a fantasy twist to the original The Three Musketeers sequel. The heroes of The Phoenix Guards are reunited a mere five centuries later...just in time for an uprising that threatens to destroy the Imperial Orb itself! This is the story of the conspiracy against the Empire that begins in the mean streets of the Underside and flourishes in the courtly politics of the Palace where Khaavren has loyally served in the Guards this past half-millennium. It is the tale of the Dragonlord Adron's overweening schemes, of his brilliant daughter Aliera, and of the eldritch Sethra Lavode. And it is the tale of four boon companions, of love, and of revenge...a tale from the history of Dragaera, of the events that changed the world. The Khaavren Romances, set in the world of Vlad Taltos's Dragaera: 1. The Phoenix Guards 2. Five Hundred Years After 3. The Paths of the Dead (The Viscount of Adrilankha, Vol. 1) 4. The Lord of Castle Black (The Viscount of Adrilankha, Vol. 2) 5. Sethra Lavode (The Viscount of Adrilankha, Vol. 3) The Baron of Magister Valley [standalone] "A rollicking good read....A first-rank addition to Brust's works!"--"Publishers Weekly" "Steven Brust might just be America's best fantasy writer!"--Tad Williams, N"ew York Times "bestselling author if T"o Green Angel Tower" "Brust is an indubitable master of swashbuckling high fantasy...Highly recommended, even for those who have not been following the saga of the Dragaeran Empire."--"Booklist" STEVEN BRUST is the author of a number of bestselling fantasy novels, including the New York Times bestselling entries in the Vlad Taltos series, Dzur and Tiassa. He lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Five Hundred Years After By Brust, Steven Orb Books Copyright © 2009 Brust, Steven All right reserved. ISBN: 9780765319661 Chapter the First     Which Treats of Matters Relating to the State of the Empire And Introduces the Reader to The Emperor and Certain of His Court     Upon the first day of autumn, that is, the ninth day of the month of the Vallista in the five hundred and thirty-second year of the reign of His Imperial Majesty, Tortaalik I, of the House of the Phoenix, a messenger arrived at the Imperial Wing of the Palace and begged an audience with the Emperor. Before delving into the source and content of the message, we trust we will be allowed to say two words about the messenger herself, because this will provide an opportunity to set before the reader some of the conditions which prevailed at this time and in this place, and will thus equip him to better understand the history we propose to unfold. The messenger was a young woman of perhaps four hundred years, whose roundish face, stocky build, and straight, short brown hair without noble’s point, all indicated unmistakably the House of the Teckla—a diagnosis easily confirmed by the roughness of her skin and the calluses on her hands. But far more interesting than her fallow state (if we may be permitted such a word to refer to her appearance as provided by nature) is her cultivated state, or the woman as she presented herself to those who guarded the Imperial Wing. She was dressed in the yellow, green, and brown of her House, but the yellow was the pure, bright color of those flowers that grow in the lower valleys of Tursk, and took the form of a silk blouse embroidered with russet needlework of an exceptionally fine character. Her leather riding pants were also russet, and flared widely around her boots, which were dyed the bright green of new grass and had wide extensions in the form of wings emerging from the heels. She wore, as well, a woolen cloak of a tan color, with a clasp in the form of a dzur, wrought with fine silver wire. These details now having been placed before the reader, let us make haste to follow her progress, which has not halted for our indulgences; while we have been describing her dress, the Teckla, whose name is Seb, after stating her mission, has been granted admission into the presence of His Majesty the Emperor, and we can, therefore, follow her and hear the delivery of this message ourselves. Because, being a Teckla, she could not be given a safe-conduct badge, Seb was escorted by one of the guardsmen on duty, a certain Dragonlord called Tummelis e’Terics, who brought her to the officer on duty, who looked the Teckla over briefly but thoroughly before signifying, with an almost imperceptible nod of his head, that she could pass. This was all taking place, be it well understood, in the First Antechamber (or the Last Antechamber, as some have it, but we will hold to the usage of the historians of the period of which we write, and hope that our readers’ perspicacity will surmount any confusion this causes), which connected to the First Lower Level Imperial Audience Chamber, to