Star of Cursrah

Star of Cursrah by Clayton Emery is the third novel in the Lost Empires series. It tells two parallel tales about three rebellious teenagers, each group living thousands of years apart from the other, in the Calim Desert. The book details the fall of one of the last cities of the Calim Empire, before the rise of Calimshan. "Lurking in the ruins is a horrific tale of greed, power, and revenge. The Protector crawls forth, the shade of a dead city whose rulers refuse to die, and young companions in two distant epochs learn of a dreadful destiny they cannot escape… …and a deadly threat to all they hold dear."

The 1752 Anniversary of the Great Arrival
In the year, the 1752 Anniversary of the Great Arrival, a young princess of the city-state of Cursrah in the Calim Caliphates named Amenstar, or Star, has sneaked out of her palace home and is with her two male friends Tafir and Gheqet. When leaving a tavern, they are attacked by assassins from the hatori who had recognized the princess. They are rescued by Star's bodyguards.

After receiving a lecture from her mother that night, the sama, about the importance of her duties as princess and being forbidden to leave the royal compound again, Star immediately disobeys, using a secret passage to sneak away. She steals three horses and finds her two friends in the necropolis, and the three of them ride off to explore the countryside.

In the grassy hills surrounding Cursrah, the three youths go hunting the next morning with bow and arrow, when suddenly, they are attacked by a pride of lions. They escape, but two of their stolen horses are lost and Star's leg is slashed.

The three ride on the surviving horse back toward Cursrah. On the way, they are met and escorted by Star's bodyguards again. As they travel, they admire the marvel of Cursrah's aqueduct and other features and discuss how much the city relies on the protection of the enslaved genies Bitrabi and Jassan. Bitrabi, a marid, pumps their water, while Jassan, a djinni protects the sky above from dragons.

The vizars treat Star's wounds and then rush her off to be fitted for a dress for her gala. Another argument with her mother occurs about the proper role of women, particularly princesses, in Cursrahn society. She is presented with a silver tiara with a moonstone as a gift for her sixteenth birthday. The magic stone records everything that she sees while she wears it.

The Year of the Gauntlet
In the Year of the Gauntlet, 1369 DR, a young woman named Amber and a young man named Hakiim are at the docks in Memnon when they see their friend Reiver being chased by sailors and marines of the Nallojal. They follow him, to see what trouble he has gotten into. After escaping through a khanduq, Reiver describes how he is quitting the navy after three days and has stolen a compass. Reiver needing a place to lie low for awhile, it is suggested to him that he hide out in the desert, and his two friends agree to help him. First, they steal a small boat to sail up the River Agis.

Errata

 * When Yuzah Anhur is first introduced, the pronoun "her" is used in reference to the captain; however, after that point, he is treated as a male.
 * Within the novel, citizens of Cursrah repeatedly refer to themselves as part of Calimshan, but Calimshan is not founded for another thousand years.
 * The novel accidentally names Calim's nemesis as Memnonnar instead of Memnon a couple times, though it correctly calls him Memnon at other mentions.
 * Several times in the novel, "Calimshan" and "Coramshan" are misspelled "Calimsham" and "Coramsham", respectively.
 * After sailing upstream overnight with very little wind, the three young adventurers are said to pass Fort Tufenk on the River Agis, but that fort is approximately 80 miles from Memnon!
 * The book describes the same fort holding 200 Calishite troops; in fact, the fort was on the Tethyr side and was known to hold 200 Tethyrian troops.