Jay Morse

Blade and Chain Jay Morse

379BCE - With the help of Sparta's army, three wealthy men murder their way to power in Thebes. Now Alexis doesn't know whether his father is alive or dead. For three years Alexis has lived in the shadows, hiding his identity, hoping to learn of his father's fate. His own life is safe only because he is a slave and a talented scribe. But Alexis wants more than safety. He wants freedom and someone will have to die for him to get it. When chaos erupts, Alexis' life is tangled with the family of the city's ruthless leader. He must choose where his loyalties lie and be ready to defend them. It's the choice between the blade and the chain. Blade and Chain is a rich portrait of life in ancient Greece after the Peloponnesian War. It is the story of a boy's coming of age amidst the political and military conflicts that allowed Thebes to become the most powerful city-state of its time. We follow Alexis' story as true historical events rage around him, threatening to crush everyone he cares for. This is the ancient world as few know it. Citizens rely on slaves to do their work and to allow them to devote time to making war upon neighboring city-states. Among the Greeks some masters use beatings, branding, and mutilation to keep their human property under control. But slaves with talent can live well, and some are treated as members of their masters' families. The lives of women are even more deeply hidden--in a tightly-defined existence that begins and ends in the shadows.