Ecbatana,the golden jewel of the Parthian Empire,slept under the soft light of the moon.Its imposing walls,once plated with precious metals,seemed to guard centuries-old secrets.In the torch-lit squares,merchants gathered their wares,and a few soldiers patrolled the stone alleys.Only the moving shadows of the night knew that,that evening,the fate of the city would be touched by the hand of a thief.On the top of a roof,with his gaze fixed on the royal palace,a young man regulated his breathing.Arsames was no ordinary thief.He was a shadow,a myth whispered among the dark streets,a name spoken only with fear or admiration.He had grown up in the poor quarters of the city,among deceitful merchants and unscrupulous usurers.He had learned to steal first from hunger,then from necessity,and ultimately for his own pleasure.But that night was unlike any other.That night,Arsames ventured into the heart of danger, the palace of King Antiochus.The palace of Ecbatana was a marvel of architecture.Its white walls shone under the starlight,and its gardens,filled with exotic flowers,stretched out like an ocean of color and scent.Inside,the halls decorated with mosaics and golden statues held the treasures of the kingdom,but Arsames had not come for gold or precious stones.He had come for something more precious:a legendary necklace,worn by none other than Callidora,the king's daughter.No one had ever seen the princess up close,but rumors described her as a being of rare beauty,with long hair like black silk and green eyes like emeralds hidden in the distant mountains of the empire.It was said that she was a free spirit,that she refused the strict rules imposed by her father,and that she often wandered He wandered through the palace gardens,dreaming of a life beyond the gilded walls of his royal prison.Arsames nimbly descended from the roof,slipping through an open window.He knew he didn't have much time.