| Krispos Rising | |
|---|---|
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| Cover artist | Romas |
| Series | The Tale of Krispos |
| Genre(s) | Fantasy |
| Publisher | Del Rey |
| Publication date | 1991 |
| Followed by | Krispos of Videssos |
Krispos Rising (Del Rey, 1991) is the first novel of The Tale of Krispos cycle of the Videssos Series. It details Krispos' rise from mere peasant to indispensible political insider to Avtokrator of the Empire of Videssos.
The novel depicts the early years of Krispos' childhood, as his village was raided by the Kubratoi and taken back to Kubrat to work for them. There, at the ceremony where he and his fellow villagers are freed, he gets the the magic coin that destines him to become the leader of his people.
It also shows the cholera outbreak in his village and how his village is practically robbed by Anthimos III's tax collector, the events that made Krispos leave for the imperial capital, Videssos the city.
There, he becomes the groom of a homosexual nobleman, Iakovitzes, and fends off the latter's attempts to seduce him. During his master's expeditions to the east lands, to deal with the nomads Kubratoi over border disputes, he meets a noblewomen, Tanilis, who is also a seer and realizes Krispos' destiny as emperor. She gives him money and advice for such an position, along with sexual pleasure, in exchange for power and wealth for herself and her son Mavros. Mavros also becomes Krispos' foster brother.
Both of them leave for Videssos, where soon Krispos becomes the imperial groom and later vestiarios (chamberlain), due to the political struggles between Petronas and the Emperor Anthimos III. This paves the way for Krispos to become emperor.
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