I Read Books: Merynthia's Master
Merynthia’s Master Merynthia, city of crab and cod, crown jewel of the Western Trynacrian Empire, gateway to the Dreaming East, groans under the tyranny of the occupiers. The sons of Sicania cry out for freedom. The sorcerer Barixes Crab-eye seeks an amulet, the Eye of Al-Kahpish, that he can use to make himself master of the city. Unfortunately his tool for acquiring it is his apprentice Worm, who manages to lose it to a handsome guardsman, Marcus Posna of the 113 th Legion, originally of another occupied province, one who good-heartedly wants to make a friend. The Eye ends up with the rich and powerful merchant Lord al-Thari, an Amunajan who, following the traditions of his people, keeps a seraglio. Barixes decides to send an agent into the household, uses his magic to make Worm into a woman. Worm, now Wren, finds this suits her well, eyes, skin, and hair clearing up, the company of the other women in the seraglio a balm after the hard life in the city*. Strange events...
