"Regis?"                           The Crown Prince of Thaddeus of Lydia didn't hesitate to respond to his prearranged code name. "Yes?"                       "Have you seen the news?"                    "Always."                         "Then you know---?"                "Yes." Thaddeus didn't need his friend Kirk, the sole person on earth who knew how to reach him, to elaborate any more over the phone. Yes, he knew that the tiny kingdom of Lydia had been nearly overtaken by insurgent forces ten days before. He also knew who was behind the forces---a man who went by the code name 8, short for Octavian, an egomaniac would-be despot, who'd stop at nothing to achieve the power he desired. What Thad didn't know was how to stop him from taking over the tiny kingdom.