Beloved of the Gods

As King Ashoka leads his army and elephant cavalry to war, he leaves behind a gilded Palace on India’s Ganges River, a beleaguered Prime Minister to cope with monsoons and a devious princess in the harem plotting to become queen. Instead of being awakened each morning by the High Priest and twenty beautiful women with trumpets, he will be greeted by savage tribesmen in surprise attacks. The young scribe assigned to record glorious victories observes in dismay the King’s excessive wrath in battle. Unexpectedly, however, the King’s love for the tall, blonde leader of the Royal Women Guards and regrets over a village chieftain cause him to question his war of conquest. Back at the Palace, intrigue at court and illicit trysts in the harem threaten the King’s power. The Dwarf, a Palace spy, watches all—from a concubine’s erotic seduction of the Prince to violence on the King’s sacred white elephant. Alarmed citizens of Pataliputra from highest to lowest castes wonder when their warrior King will return. Has Ashoka fallen under the influence of a Buddhist holy man in the forest? Will the gods that favored him with two rare, white elephants bless his empire with peace and prosperity?