Grace of Kings

The first book in the Dandelion Dynasty series is set in the Islands of Dara, an archipelago once ruled by independent Tiro states, sovereign feudal kingdoms. A generation before the story begins, the conqueror who became Emperor Mapidéré used powerful airships to subdue the six rival states. He unified the islands under a centralized empire, abolishing noble hierarchies, standardizing writing, and drafting millions into vast construction projects.

The novel opens in the 14th year of Mapidéré's reign, as his Imperial Procession passes through the city of Zudi. Two 14-year-old boys, Kuni Garu, a stocky, irreverent student, and his anxious friend Rin Coda, push to the front of the crowd. An assassin on a gliding kite attacks the emperor with firebombs. Kuni shields Rin from burning oil and glimpses the assassin, a young man whose passionate intensity thrills him. On the Tunoa Islands, another 14-year-old, Mata Zyndu, watches with cold fury. Mata is the last heir of the Zyndu Clan, a legendary Cocru military dynasty exterminated by the emperor. His uncle Phin survived and raised Mata in exile, filling him with dreams of vengeance and devotion to the old feudal order.

Seven years later, Kuni has become a charming drifter, expelled from school and thrown out by his family. He occasionally performs acts of generosity, such as forging a note to save an old woman from a corvée administrator; corvée is the empire's compulsory labor system. Jia Matiza, a young herbalist and rancher's daughter, witnesses his generosity and is drawn to him. During their courtship, Jia introduces Kuni to the dandelion, the hardy flower she most admires. They marry, and at Jia's urging Kuni takes a job as a prison guard, using it to build connections in Zudi's civil service.

Emperor Mapidéré dies on tour. Chatelain Goran Pira, a senior court officer who secretly harbors a vendetta against the throne, conspires with Prime Minister Lügo Crupo to forge an order causing Crown Prince Pulo to commit suicide. Twelve-year-old Prince Loshi is installed as Emperor Erishi, with Crupo as regent. Throughout, the gods of Dara, patron deities of the Tiro states, debate the upheaval in scenes woven between mortal events.

Rebellion begins when Huno Krima and Zopa Shigin, cocaptains of a corvée team facing punishment for lateness, stage a revolt in the town of Napi, legitimized by a fake prophecy planted inside a fish. Dafiro and Ratho Miro, two teenage orphans, kill their guards and join the uprising, which spreads as conquered states re-emerge. On Tunoa, Mata kills the Xana garrison commander, reclaims his grandfather's legendary weapons, and raises an army. When Kuni's prisoners desert, he flees into the mountains as a bandit. After losing a follower in a botched raid, Kuni learns hard lessons about leadership, then incites the citizens of Zudi to revolt. They open the gates, proclaiming him Duke of Zudi.

The rebellion fractures when Krima declares himself king and murders Shigin. Kindo Marana, the empire's chief tax collector, is appointed marshal and methodically rebuilds the Imperial military. General Tanno Namen routs Krima's army. Kuni loses Zudi when his lieutenant switches allegiance. On the road to Çaruza, the rebel capital, he encounters Luan Zya, the former kite assassin who received a magical book during exile among the Adüan people. In Çaruza, Kuni meets Mata for the first time. Despite contrasting origins, they feel immediate respect. Assigned to defend Zudi, they develop complementary roles: Kuni deploys guerrilla tactics and deception while Mata fights aerial duels on battle kites. At nightly gatherings, Kuni compares himself to the dandelion and Mata to the chrysanthemum.

Marana defeats the fleet of restored Amu and forces Princess Kikomi into a bargain: She will divide the rebel leadership as his agent, or he will destroy her people. Kikomi cultivates relationships with both Mata and Phin, assassinates Phin with a bone dagger called Cruben's Thorn, then frames herself as Marana's lovesick assassin rather than a patriot to prevent suspicion between Cocru and Amu.

King Thufi, the restored king of Cocru and princeps (first among equals), promises that whoever captures Emperor Erishi will be made king of a new Tiro state, catalyzing rivalry between Kuni and Mata. Luan Zya devises a plan to transport soldiers on the backs of crubens, great one-horned scaled whales. Kuni seizes airships on the Xana home island and flies to Pan, the imperial capital. Dafiro Miro kills Prime Minister Pira, and Kuni captures Emperor Erishi.

At the peninsula battlefield of Wolf's Paw, Marana bribes the allied Tiro states of Faça and Gan into neutrality and tunnels under rebel fortifications. Mata, arriving with only 2,000 men, burns all ships and charges 40,000 Imperial troops, whose lines break under his soldiers' ferocity. Afterward, Mata sacrifices 20,000 prisoners to destroy the blockading fleet.

Mata reaches Pan to find Kuni's men have fortified the pass against him. At a tense banquet, Mata's strategist Torulu Pering attempts assassination, but Ratho Miro and Mün Çakri, one of Kuni's officers, intervene. Kuni escapes. Mata burns Pan, seals Erishi inside the flaming palace, and destroys Mapidéré's Mausoleum.

As self-proclaimed Hegemon, Mata redraws the map of Dara, exiling Kuni to tiny Dasu while keeping Jia and the children as hostages. In exile, Kuni secretly visits Jia and they reconcile. At Jia's suggestion, he takes Risana, a smokecrafter (an illusionist who uses herbal smoke) from Amu, as his second wife to project complacency. Cogo Yelu, Kuni's prime minister, discovers Gin Mazoti, a woman who lived disguised as a man after surviving an indigo house (a brothel), a thief gang, and military service. Her tactical genius earns her the title of Marshal of Dasu. Mazoti revolutionizes the military through merit-based promotion and the recruitment of women.

Mazoti completes an undersea tunnel for a surprise invasion, then transports Kuni's army aboard mechanical crubens, underwater boats powered by volcanic steam. Mazoti conquers Haan, North Géfica, and the Big Island's northern territories. Kuni isolates Mata from his adviser Pering, who is dismissed and killed. Mata counterattacks with an airborne assault on Zudi; Kuni barely escapes while Jia is captured.

After a stalemate, Kuni signs a peace treaty but breaks it on Luan Zya's counsel. Mazoti's forces converge on Mata at Rana Kida. Kuni sends unarmed women from the auxiliary corps to sing mourning songs, breaking the spirit of Mata's soldiers. Mira, a Tunoa woman whom Mata had taken under his protection as his companion after her brother died in his service, plunges Cruben's Thorn into her own heart rather than use it against Mata, whom she has grown to love.

Soto Zyndu, Mata's aunt who secretly served in the Garu household, reveals herself to Mata and blocks his attempt to harm Jia and the children. Mata breaks through the encirclement but is misdirected into a swamp by a farmer whose sons died in his wars. Reduced to 28 men, he makes a final stand and cuts his own throat. Ratho Miro follows him in death while Dafiro, fighting for Kuni, watches his brother die. Kuni buries Mata with honors; the animal aspects of multiple gods carry away the body. Kuni takes the throne as Emperor Ragin, beginning the Reign of Four Placid Seas. At a final banquet, he sings about the brevity of peace. Luan Zya resolves to withdraw from court, while Gin Mazoti accepts Kuni's rewards, confident in the bond between them.