Working Title: Prospero's Father

Chapter One:  The Eligible Bachelor In the heart of Ushorp, a burgeoning port city ruled by the wealth of its trade, lived Rogero, the heir to a legacy of commerce and power. His father, Antonio, was the mastermind behind the thriving port, a crucial hub owned in name by Lord Ushorp, the city's mayor, but in truth controlled by Antonio's shrewd management. Rogero's world was one of logistics and tariffs, his days spent orchestrating the flow of goods to Riverton's bustling market. With carriage journeys spanning two days, the roads were guarded by a cadre of professional swordsmen and archers, their protection a costly but necessary service, payable in halves – one at the journey's start, the other upon safe arrival. At seventeen, Rogero stood on the cusp of adulthood, his future a tapestry of expectations and unspoken rules. Noble birth brought its own rituals of marriage, a strategic game of alliances and dowries. For Rogero, marriage loomed, a decision not his to...