THE TRAGEDY OF LYSANDER, PRINCE OF SCYTHIA

Inspired by THE TRAGEDY OF JULIUS CAESAR by William Shakespeare


THE TRAGEDY OF LYSANDER, PRINCE OF SCYTHIA

A Tragedy in Five Acts

Dramatis Personae

  • Lysander – Prince of Scythia, noble and proud

  • King Terenius – His father, a weary ruler

  • Cassia – A Roman envoy and Lysander’s secret love

  • Decima – Handmaid and spy for the Roman Senate

  • Callimachus – General of Scythia, Lysander’s rival

  • Eris – A prophetic beggar woman

  • Various Courtiers, Soldiers, Messengers

ACT I – The Ambition Awakens

Scene I: The royal palace of Scythia. A balcony overlooking the city. Thunder rolls in the distance.

Enter LYSANDER.

LYSANDER:
This land of iron breeds but iron men;
Yet I am tempered finer than the rest.
My father's breath grows shallow in his bed,
And I do wait, not for his death, but throne.
Why should an empire rust beneath old hands?
Let youth ascend where age declines in dust.

Enter ERIS, a beggar woman.

ERIS:
Lo, prince, beware the lion's golden mane,
For wolves in wool oft feast when sheep are slain.

LYSANDER:
What riddled rot dost thou disturb my peace?

ERIS:
The rose that beds the eagle shall be torn.
Sleep not with fire, lest flame become thy bride.

LYSANDER (aside):
Strange words from lips like cracked old urns do fall.
Yet oft do fools wear wisdom in disguise.

ACT II – Love and Discord

Scene I: A moonlit garden within the palace walls. Enter CASSIA and LYSANDER.

CASSIA:
Though Rome sent me to barter treaties cold,
My heart hath melted 'neath thy northern skies.

LYSANDER:
If thou be frost, then gladly I shall burn.
But tell me true—dost come with hidden blade?

CASSIA:
Not steel, but secret. Rome doth watch thee close.
Yet here I lie, not envoy, but thy own.

They embrace. Enter DECIMA, concealed.

DECIMA (aside):
Two hearts entwined shall bring an empire low.
This kiss shall birth the war Rome dares not name.

ACT III – The Betrayal

Scene I: A tent of war. CALLIMACHUS addresses the king.

CALLIMACHUS:
Your son, my lord, doth pledge to Rome his trust.
By pillow's pact, he lets their whispers in.

TERENIUS:
Lysander? Nay! He is my Scythian blood.
Yet doubts do curl like smoke around a pyre.

Scene II: The palace garden. ERIS speaks to the stars.

ERIS:
One seed of Rome grows strong within the gate,
Another burns to ripen war too soon.
When love turns spear, the harvest shall be red.

ACT IV – The Fall Begins

Scene I: The Scythian throne room. LYSANDER confronts CASSIA.

LYSANDER:
Art thou the sea, to kiss and crush the shore?
Or hast thy lips no truth beneath their wine?

CASSIA:
I loved thee more than Caesar or the sun.
But Rome commands what hearts must disobey.

LYSANDER:
Then love is war, and I its latest loss.

Scene II: A council of Scythian lords. CALLIMACHUS declares Lysander a traitor.

CALLIMACHUS:
The prince consorts with spies and foreign lust.
What loyalty hath lips that lie with Rome?

LYSANDER (entering):
Lies, spoken loud, do not become the truth.

ACT V – The Reckoning

Scene I: A battlefield outside the palace. Thunder. Bodies lie strewn.

Enter LYSANDER, wounded, dragging a sword. CALLIMACHUS lies dying.

CALLIMACHUS:
Too late thou see, ambition kills its kin.

LYSANDER:
I sought to guard a kingdom, not a grave.
Yet here we lie—Scythia's hopes in dust.

Enter CASSIA.

CASSIA:
Forgive me, love. I was the match and flame.

LYSANDER:
You were the dawn, and I, the night grown bold.

He dies. CASSIA weeps. Enter ERIS, standing over them.

ERIS:
So end all tales where power courts the heart.
The rose is gone, the eagle cannot fly.
Scythia weeps, and Rome shall soon forget.

[Exeunt omnes.]

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