Revenge
To avenge the death of their father, Styliane and his two brothers plot to attack Emperor Valerius. The empress goes to visit Lecanus, Styliane’s brother that was burned beyond recognition during the assassination of his father. He is imprisoned on an island, and she tries to seek his thoughts on the rumors about the coming war. Little does she know that the plan is already set in motion. Crispin through insights tells the empress about what he knows of the war, and that is when she realizes that there is a plan to assassinate the emperor. Styliane and Lecanus bribed the emperor’s guards and that is how they get him. They killed him and burned his body together with his guards. Lecanus takes all the blame by also burning in the fire. When Crispins visits Styliane where she is imprisoned, she affirms how avenging his father’s death is worth it and has nothing left to live for. They waited for a perfect opportunity to execute this revenge. The fact that the brother did not care about him burning in the fire showed how much they have waited to see that day. They wanted the emperor to face what his father had gone through exactly, and they were at peace with themselves when it happened.
New Beginning
A new beginning sets in motion when Leontes is made the new Emperor after the death of Emperor Valerius. There is also a new coalition that is formed between Sancratium and Batiara when Gisel convinces Leontes to marry her and take over Batiara. Alixana strips herself of her royal garments, cuts her hair, and disguises herself to avoid being captured as she was being looked for. It is only through doing all this that she manages to give herself a new start without being found. Rustem makes plans together with his family to travel to Peninsula and settle there since he had defied the King’s orders to kill Gisel. He knew he was no longer safe in Sancratium because King Shirvan would find out sooner and have him murdered. Crispin, after finishing his work, tells himself that it is now time to return home and start anew. He is convinced that by immortalizing his wife and daughters in that mosaic, he has had closure and can therefore move on with his life. Crispin and Alixana are seen talking of a new beginning when they talk about having kids as the end draws near. Crispin starts on a new mosaic without pictures of Jad under the orders of the new Emperor, Leontes. At the end of it all, every character has something new to look forward to.
Women's Roles
Kay portrays his women characters as vengeful, tempting, and good schemers as shown through Styliane. She tempts Crispin who falls for her charms the second time. She follows through with her plan to avenge his father’s death and ensures its completion when the emperor is dead. She bribes the emperor’s guards and even has Leonte’s secretary help her, which alludes to her good scheming skills. Alixana is the picture of conniving women who would do anything to protect themselves. She blackmails Rustem to hide her. Women are also pictured as loving and full of emotions. Shirin, Zoticus’ daughter expresses her love to Crispin. When Gisel takes refuge in Sancratium as an attempt on her life is underway, this paints a picture of how women were considered weak to rule a kingdom. When she makes moves on Leontes, who eventually marries her, and together they take over Batiara, an image of a tactful woman is drawn, contradicting the former picture as being weak. These women collectively contributed to the change of things that were seen in Santium, although each of them had their own motive.
