The Moonlit Chessboard
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"This is the dream of spies, the move and countermove that controls the politics of the Surface – and sometimes of the Neath. Sometimes you are a pawn or a knight. Sometimes you are the player."
The Moonlit Chessboard is the Parabolan representation of politics, mostly of the Surface, but sometimes the Neath. It is made of the dreams of those who play the Great Game.[1]
The Factions
As befits a chess game set in unreality, this game has three players rather than the usual two: the White, the Black, and the Red. The Black seeks to cause the Liberation of Night; the White works against it; and the Red is neutral, wishing instead to advance its own cause.[1]
The Players
The Red-Handed Queen is the leader of the Red faction. She is ruthless, powerful, and self-serving above all else.[2] However, she rewards her followers with great wealth and power.[3]
The Beleagured King is the leader of the White faction. He believes in order, honor, and natural law above all else.[4]
The Black faction, being anarchists, do not have a single leader, but October is a powerful Black player.[5]
