Arsam tried to burn the book, but the pages were cold as iron. He tried to throw it from the tower, but it floated back into his hands.
He opened the book. The first page read: "To rule the swarm, first unmake the individual." thmyl ktab shr astratyjyat llthkm balshwb
Arsam had once commanded a thousand men, but his arrogance lost them in a foolish battle. Now he wanted revenge — not just on the king who dismissed him, but on the entire kingdom that had forgotten his name. Arsam tried to burn the book, but the
In the ancient, crumbling city of Qaraz, there was a legend whispered only in the dark corners of taverns and the back rooms of libraries: a book existed without a true name, but scholars called it "The Strategy of Ruling the Swarm." The first page read: "To rule the swarm,
For centuries, the book was locked in a vault beneath the Sunken Mosque. But one night, a disgraced general named Arsam stole it.
Its author was unknown. Some said he was a vizier who had lost his mind after being betrayed by a king. Others whispered he was a demon wearing a scholar’s robe. What was known: whoever read the book from cover to cover would gain the power to control the will of any crowd — to turn peace into riot, loyalty into rebellion, and love into blind obedience.
The book had ruled through him all along. And now the swarm wanted a new hand to turn its pages.