life at first gold. the empress of thailand, empress ทอง, before its death, left behind a final wish: that its story, in all its sorrow and beauty, be passed down by words of mouth only, never written in history. it had once been sent on a mission: to use its beauty, wit, and body to win the heart of the king of ayutthaya. not for love. but for vengeance. its people had been slaughtered. families enslaved. its homeland left in ruins by the king’s brutal hand. it believed, mi