by Faeriemage

"It is within each of us to ascent the peak to that Crystal Throne. Who among you dares?"
His Imperial Majesty, Raoul Steven Andrew Southerland
Fifth Emperor of the Crystaline Empire.

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Author's note: I hesitate to add this story here, not due to content, but because it is my white whale. I first began writing this story in 2000. I was well on my way to completion with 118 pages done, and about half of the problems resolved. A quick jaunt to earth and back home, the final conflict, and that would be it. Three separately stored copies of the document ceased to exist. One on floppy disk, and two on two distinct computer systems (one an intentional format, the other a failed drive)

Since that time I have started to write this story on three separate occasions, once getting up to 50 pages before disaster again struck. This story is cursed, and yet I truly want to tell it. I hope I don't destroy BCs servers by writing it here :). It isn't TG, but I like it. Hope you do too.

This isn't the story I originally wrote, but the characters are the same, and it will follow the same plot points. It isn't the same story because I realized a couple of years ago, that this is the third book in a trilogy. The first two books To sit upon the Throne and Heavy weighs the Crown come earlier chronologically, but have a much different meaning to me than this one does. I like these characters, and would like to see the tragedy from the beginning of the book resolved one of these days. We have a couple of chapters yet before that tragedy really strikes.

Those of your who have been reading my Gateway to Life story know that I am not daisies and sunshine all of the time. Heck, I'm not sure if any of my stories ever really achieve that. I do believe in happy endings, however, and this one will have one of those, the book and the story, eventually.

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