May, 1836. Lahore, Sikh Empire

The summer is perhaps the worst time for any traveler to visit the Punjab; the dry, searing heat of late May baked the mighty walls of the Lahore fortress. Within the halls of the Summer Palace, the court of the Lion of Lahore, Ranjit Singh, did their best to get away from the heat. At the center of the palace was a small man who sat cross-legged on a small golden throne. His long white beard reached long down his chest, and while he was the center of the court he was clearly a man showing his age. Men from the West who had encountered the maharaja remarked of his small stature, but noted that he was a charismatic and shrewd leader. As he gazed over the Lahore Durbar, his court, he had a great deal to feel pride over. He had taken the confederation of the Sikh tribes and forged an empire, he had many victories in battle, over the Indians of the subcontinent and the Afghans and he had accumulated a vast treasury of plunder. Not far from where he sat, a small marble pavilion had been built for an especially prized piece of the maharaja's treasure, the Koh-i-noor diamond.

The old man's slower pace was not missed by the members of the court. The question of succession was not far from many lips, though only when safely out of earshot. The current campaign against the Afghans was going well, and ambitious men saw it as a way to advance their ambition and their candidate for the throne. The question remained, would the old tiger be able to put his empire on firm footing or would it crumble upon his death?