These excerpts from the novel "Lord of Emperors" by Guy Gavriel Kay reveal a complex narrative world, primarily focusing on two distinct characters: Rustem, a Bassanid physician, and Crispin, a Rhodian mosaicist, both drawn into the political turmoil of the city of Sarantium. The text details Rustem’s professional life, including the high-stakes dangers of treating royalty and his unexpected entanglement in Sarantine society following the murder of his servant, while also exploring his personal life with his wives and son. Simultaneously, the passages chronicle Crispin’s work on a grand mosaic in a Sarantine sanctuary, his complicated relationships with figures like the dancer Shirin and the Antae Queen Gisel, and the shocking assassination of Emperor Valerius II, which rapidly leads to Leontes and Styliane ascending the throne. Amidst the professional rivalries, romantic entanglements, and military threats from Bassania, the sources emphasize themes of power, art, memory, and the volatile nature of life in

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