xerxes oristina is an intensely unpleasant child. he is the son of the queen of sen mor, larmina oristina, and by law the heir of the ocean crown, but he is as arrogant as a crow. he is not yet acquainted with fear, and is convinced he knows everything worth knowing, simply because he is the prince. he takes pride in his bloodline, takes pride in his mother and how she is not only the queen, but the strongest warrior of sen mor, as well. he does not take his lessons of politics and such seriously, because he believes his mother to almost be immortal. at least, he believes she will not die until he is much older. 

it is a month after xerxes' twentieth birthday when his mother falls in battle and he takes the blue veils of mourning for the second time in his life. the elders had encouraged him to take the name of king formally, through six months of separation from his life before and go into the mountains, where the monks would properly train him. however, the others of the court suggested otherwise — that having the queen's only heir head off alone would be putting a giant target on his back, since sen mor's traditions were no secret to leasta. not to mention nobody else had the same talent for seeing what the gardens needed. sometimes traditions must be sacrificed during war, and so xerxes does not proceed with the trials of the crown, and is immediately named king. 

for half his life, sen mor, a kingdom that sits near the sea, has been at war with leasta, a larger kingdom swallowing the continent of eudaes under its banner. they covet sen mor for their military prowess, but they are defiant and insist on remaining independent. leasta had abandoned bargaining, and move on with force: invasions just outside their border, attempting to scare them into surrender. even after the death of their queen, sen mor is too proud to concede. 

shortly after the crown is unceremoniously passed to xerxes, a self-proclaimed diplomat from leasta shows up at his door, eager to make peace between the two kingdoms. he knows his ultimate plan is for sen mor to give their fealty to leasta, and he does not believe there is an avenue to peace, but he finds himself charmed by his naivety — and allows him to stay.