Prologue: The Iron March

They say that when the queen's army swarms the sky above you, it blots out the stars, and the noise of it is like thousands of tiny insects eating away at something.

You've heard that, if your lookouts are vigilant, they may spot the telltale hint of smoke over the horizon, or the sunset gleaming off the burnished iron carapaces of the queen's behemoths as they approach. But by then, it will be too late.

When Queen Nidana wants something, she takes it.

You've heard the stories about her ever since you were a child, and they've always made you feel…

While other children would cower in fear as they heard the stories of the queen's wrath, you would listen enraptured. There was something so thrilling about someone willing to take whatever she wanted, to shape the world to her own will.

There was one story that intrigued you most of all. You would ask to hear it again and again, imagining what feats you could achieve if only you had the indomitable will of the queen. It was the tale of how the queen…