The Walled Menagerie of Bussar

History

After a long, but inconclusive, war between the Barturi and the Opani, the respective kingdoms agree to a mutually-beneficial peace treaty. To seal the nascent alliance, Sanumubol, King of Bartura, wed Negari, the favored daughter of the Opani king, Kayukavas The coupling was amicable at first, and Sanumubol became smitten with his lovely foreign queen. Negari felt homesick for her more verdant homeland, rather than the blistering plains of Bartura. To please the woman he loved so much, Sanamubol ordered the construction of a massive garden and menagerie that would remind her of Opana.
First, the Barturi built a ringed wall on the outskirts of Bussar, followed by a series of elevated platforms and enclosures. Tons of soil was acquired for the empire's lands at great expense and transported to Bussar. Pathways were laid out in stone and canals were dug, the latter of which to be supplied with water from nearby rivers by elaborate pumps and screws. The garden section was filled with plants from throughout Barturi-controlled territories. Examples of trees planted in the garden included: pears (of which Negari was particularly fond), olives, quinces, apples, lemons, dates, plums, pomegranates, pistachios, figs, firs, cedars, willows, oaks, tamarisks, and cypresses. Vines supplied grapes to produce wine for the queen's table, while numerous the loveliest flowers were planted in the shade of her trees. Negari's favorite blossom is that of the nightshade, and she devoted much gold and time to collect as many different varieties as she could get her hands on. Once the plants were established, Sanamubol imported a large number of beasts to populate the enclosures. A pride of lions was Negari's favorite addition. The king procured tigers, cheetahs, leopards, giraffes, ostriches, elephants, rhinos, and even a child-aged giant orphaned by his armies.
Unsurprisingly, the lavish menagerie cost the Barturi Empire a sizable fortune. Although Sanamubol happily indulged his wife's capricious whims, Negari's motive for requesting the menagerie's construction is more nefarious than the king imagined. The Opani princess' goal is to convince her husband to spend excessive weights of gold to weaken the empire. She bore him several sons, one of which she hoped would succeed their father, instead of his sons from his other wives. A half-Opani king would behave more favorably toward his mother's home kingdom, Negari reasoned, so why not maneuver herself and her children into a more favorable position?

Type

Garden