A whispered prayer on a holy mountain: "Give me the life I was meant to live." She understood the passions and the cruelty of men; she knew the despair and the strength of women. She was born in the gutter, raised on the sands of the Hippodrome arena, grew up with the gritty, grim world of chariot racers, and animal keepers, and courtesans. Step by step she clawed her way into the halls of power, and ruled an empire of chaos and triumph and tragedy at the side of the only man who truly appreciated her for what she was. Empress.