Ever wondered why A Crown of Chains is different from the Esther story you may have grown up hearing? Check out the research that inspired this “darker” retelling of the Biblical story…

References located at the bottom of page

Here's what we know about Esther, and how I reimagined those facts into my protagonist, Roxana:

  • Esther was a young teenager. We don't know her exact age for certain (fourteen is the speculated age), but she was young enough to not be married and to still be reliant on her uncle. [1] (Esther 2:7)

    • Roxana is eighteen. While she is likely older than Esther was, to a modern audience she is in a relative stage of life - done with education and ready to be married off, but still under her uncle's authority.

      • Xerxes was at least 40, and he is nearly as old in my retelling. There would no doubt have been an inherient fear of him, not only because of his age, but also because of his reputation as a warlord. (more on that in the post on Xerxes...)

    • Roxana being single but of a marriable age gave inspiration to the character of "Omid Skyburrow", her crush before she is taken to the palace. What eighteen-year-old girl doesn't want a boy she fancies? So that felt like a realistic and relatable choice. And it adds some delicious and terrible tension to the story.

  • Esther was an orphan, raised by her uncle. We don't know for certain what happened to her parents. (Esther 2:7)

    • Roxana is an orphan, raised by her uncle. Her parents caught an illness and passed shortly after Roxana was born, leaving her in that care of her uncle, to be brought up in his way of thinking.

  • Esther had two names: Esther & Hadassah. There are speculations as to why she had two names, that either she just had two names, or that she was given a second name to conceal her heritage. (Esther 2:7)

    • Roxana sticks with the one name throughout, although she keeps her surname a secret to hide her relationship with her uncle, who works in the palace.

  • Esther hid her heritage as a Jew for years in obedience to her uncle. This would have meant not only not acting like a Jew, but also doing things that went against God's commands (such as dietary commands). [3] (Esther 2:10)

    • Roxana hides her heritage as a fairy as a promise to her uncle, including negletting to fulfill the fairy traditions and not associating with the other fairies in the harem. She is told to do this for her protection, but her uncle also believes it will help her chances at being chosen as queen.

      • This entire verse is such a huge foundation for Roxana's lie. (When we dig into Mordecai, you'll see why...)

  • Esther found favor with everyone, including the eunuch in charge of the harem. (Esther 2:9 & 15)

    • Roxana's ability to read minds allows her support and encourage the other virgins, quietly in her own way, and gains her respect from Chozen (in charge of the harem), Chary (palace stylist), and Clement (palace servant).

  • Esther asks for advice about what to wear when she is sent to the king. (Esther 2:15)

    • Roxana asks for advice from Chozen about how to act when she is sent to the king, as well as asking for Chary to decide for her what she should wear.

  • Esther was a victim of sexual assault. [4] (Esther 2:14)

    • This is a biggie. Esther didn't go to the king to have dinner or a conversation. It wasn't a date. It was a sexual interview, a "test drive" before the purchase. Xerxes chose his queen from these sexual encounters.

    • Roxana is raped when she is sent to the king (although it is a fade to black and nothing explicit is described). There is no room to reject the king and there is equally not a shred of consent or willingness on Roxana's behalf. But that doesn't matter to the king.

      • This is foundational for their entire relationship and the anxiety that Roxana carries for the remainder of the story.

    • I've said it once and I'll say it again: This is not a love story between Esther and Xerxes.

  • Esther was the most *loved* and favored by Xerxes out of all the virgins; *aheb*, the Hebrew word for "strong attachment or erotic desire". [2] (Esther 2:17)

    • Roxana gains the king's favor because of her supernatural gift to read minds, which makes her stand out from the others. This allows her to be used by the king, to feel like a posession, but free her from being solely of sexual use to the king in the story.

    • Roxana is fully aware that she is "loved" with a selfish love by the king, and since the previous queen could not avoid his wrath, she fears that her place within his favor is fickle at best. This also paves the way for later on in the story, giving her very real reasons to fear that the king will execute her if she steps out of line.

And I have to stop there or we are going to start giving away some spoilers! But you get an idea of how I broke-down Esther's character throughout the book to recreate her for a fresh look at the story. We'll find out more about her no doubt as we dig into the other characters in this story.

Roxana Willows

TW: rape, sexual manipulation

Let’s dive into the character of King Ahasuerus (Hebrew name for King Xerxes I), and how I reimagined those facts into my contagonist, Frederick Lindholm.

One thing I love about Xerxes is that we have information about him outside of the book of Esther, which allows us to possibly know more about his character than any other character in the story. An important part of his character, for me, is (and you probably aren't surprised by this) that I didn't want to present him as a compassionate and loving husband, or even as the tropey bad boy lover. While he isn't the final villian of the story, he is certainly a villian.

  • Xerxes was the son of King Darius (as in the Darius from Daniel and the Lion's Den).

    • Frederick was the second son of the previous king, Aleksander Lindholm, but become king after his older brother and heir died.

    • Frederick also knew Jadon Greenlock (read: Daniel), a fairy that was well-regarded by his father.

  • Xerxes became king while there was an active war against Greece, an attempt to conquer it. Xerxes was also the king that opposed Leonidis and the 300 Spartans.

    • Frederick is continuing his father's legacy of imperialism, seeking to conquer Hute, the land of the giants. When the story begins, his army is actively hunting the king of the giants.

  • Xerxes was the most powerful man in the world at the time, with the most powerful army, and was known for burning cities (including Athens) to the ground for rebellion. [2]

    • Frederick is ruthless and does not stand for any act of defiance or rebellion, whether in the palace or on the warfront.

    • Frederick is also known for his mood swings and temper tantrums, so people never know if he will be amused or enraged.

  • Xerxes loved to flaunt his wealth and power. (Esther 1:1-8)

    • Frederick has an equal love of grand parties, especially to show off. He throws several extravagant parties throughout the story.

    • Frederick views people, especially women, as posessions, viewing his will as far surperior to the wants of others.

  • Xerxes was gullible, easily pursuaded, and hardly ever makes decisions for himself. (Esther 1:13-21, 2:1-4, 3:8-11, 6:4-6, 8:8)

    • Frederick also relies heavily on the advice of others for almost every decision. This largely comes from insecurity he has due to not being the original heir to the throne, and a desire to stay in power. He also has a tendency toward willing ignorance.

    • Frederick avoids guilt by shifting the blame on the people who persuaded him to take certain actions.

      • There is underlying guilt and regret that he carries (and avoids) throughout the story as a result of exiling his previous queen, Mirabella, whom he had married out of love before he was made heir to the throne.

  • Xerxes was a pervert, an abuser, and a rapist. [3, 4] (Esther 1:10-11, 2:14, 2:19)

    • Many historians believe that when Xerxes commanded that Vashti come to his party "wearing her crown and showing her beauty", that it is implied that he wanted her to wear only her crown. So her refusal to come was not prideful or rude, but out of offense that he would ask her to do something so crude and degrading.

    • Frederick is equally sex-obsessed (often as a result of his hunger for power and control).

    • Frederick not only forces himself upon the virgins in the harem, but his only qualifications qualifications for finding a queen are appearance and performance in bed. This is sexual manipulation to falsify willingness from the concubines.

    • Frederick is unfaithful to his queen throughout the story, having no respect for his marriage.

      • As mentioned in the Esther post...Xerxes (and Frederick by extension) *loved* and favored Esther above of all the virgins; *aheb*, the Hebrew word for "strong attachment or erotic desire". [1] (Esther 2:17)

Well, we're ending on kinda a sad note here, but now you can probably see why Frederick is a villian for certain. He gives so much context to Roxana's fear throughout the story, as the threat of death is very real and constant.

King Xerxes

I think Mordecai is the second most misrepresented character (besides Xerxes) in this story. While many stories show him to be pious and deeply devot to his faith, that stems from a lot of presumptions, and I wanted to lean into those unanswered motivations we see for Mordecai within the text.

Mordecai has a great lack of motivation in the book of Esther, so I was really excited to explode all of those mysteries into a full-blown, 3-d character. I really wanted to lean darker with these motivations, as it makes his redemption in the 3rd act so much more powerful if he is repenting for his own personal sin and lack of faith.

Here's what we know about Mordecai, and how I reimagined those facts into the character of Arsin Willows:

  • Mordecai was an official in the king's court. (Sitting at the gate was a place of authority and privilege) (Esther 2:9)

    • Arsin is a scribe to a city viceroy.

    • Arsin is extremely ambitious in all areas of life, from his political career to his goals for Roxana.

    • He is also not as keen on associating with other fairies, as Florencia is a very human-dominated empire and he wants more advantagous connections.

  • Mordecai did not return to Jerusalem with many other jews after they were freed. [2] (Book of Ezra)

    • It should be noted that most scholars agree that the 'Mordecai' mentioned in the book of Ezra was not the same Mordecai from the book of Esther.

    • Arsin stays in Florencia when other fairies return to their homeland because of the advantages and opportunities in Florencia.

    • Arsin is not very concerned with the traditional fairy way of doing things, and is more eager to imitate Florencian/human culture.

  • Mordecai was alive at the same time as Daniel. (Esther 2:5-6) This is a BIG clue to his character for me - if we was alive in Susa at the same time as Daniel, Mordecai - as a Jew in the palace - would have no doubt been aware of who Daniel was, and how God honored his faithfulness and protected him.

    • Jadon Greenlock was a fairy in the previous king's court who was thrown into the wyvern caverns for his faith, but miraculously survived.

    • Arsin is aware of Jadon, but doesn't share this story with Roxana until he has found his faith.

  • Mordecai may or may not have sent Esther to the palace willingly - we don't know. (Esther 2:5-11)

    • Arsin prevents Roxana from trying to escape - as they both know if she was caught, she would be punished - and instead insists that she goes willingly. He knows she is beautiful and smart, and is hopeful that she may become queen.

    • Arsin does try to find out how Roxana is doing in the harem, but it is mostly to ease the guilt he has for sending her in the first place.

  • Mordecai tells Esther to hide her heritage. This would have been DESPITE knowing about Daniel, and would have meant not only not acting like a Jew, but also doing things that went against God's commands (such as dietary commands). [1] (Ester 2:10)

    • Arsin is not religious, publicly or privately, and is often condesending of fairies who are. He has a huge lack of faith in Ehyen (God) at the beginning of the story, encouring Roxana to be more like the Florencians and less like a fairy, which is heightened when she is sent to the palace.

    • Arsin tells Roxana to hide her heritage partially to protect her, but also because he believes it increases her chances to be chosen as queen. He is not concerned with her refraining from performing the religious rites, because they have never been a priority.

  • And the big one - the Aggigites and the Israelites were extremely bigoted against each other. Scholars argue that when Mordecai refused to bow to Haman, it was out of a bigoted pride to disrespect his enemy and not a desire to honor God. [1, 2, 3, 4] This is reaffirmed by the fact that Mordecai's refusal is what triggers Haman to issue the edict to eradicate the jews, as God often used enemies to punish Israelites for sin. God honors Mordecai (in a hilarious scene) and humbles Haman after Mordecai repents. (Esther 3:2)

    • Arsin is racist against satyrs (the Aggigites), and refuses to bow to Haman purely out of spite.

    • Arsin argues that he cannot bow for religious reasons, but given his lack of faith, Roxana sees his actions as they really are: taking God’s name in vain, hypocrisy.

So that's where we will stop for now because there is seriously so much under the surface with Mordecai that I know I won't do it all justice.

Mordecia

The Second Favorite is one of my favorites if only because I have never seen her in any adaptation of the book of Esther! If you aren't familiar with this character, she appears only very briefly and very vaguely after Esther is crowned as queen.

Now when the virgins were gathered together the second time...

Esther 2:19

Here's what we know about the Second Favorite, and how I reimagined those facts into the character of Lilith Lange:

  • The Second Favorite was chosen from the harem. Some scholars believe that this was a second harem gathered from the people, however others to believe it was the same harem that Esther was chosen from. [1]

    • Lilith is in the harem with Roxana, gathered at the same time as Roxana.

    • Lilith is determined to become queen, and envies the favor Roxana receives from the palace staff.

  • The Second Favorite was chosen after the king's marriage to Esther. We don't know how much time passed, but it was no longer than five years. Also, scholars believe that the mention of this "second gathering" was a well-known event, providing the time stamp to Jews, even though modern readers do not recognize this reference. [1]

    • Lilith is called to the king's bed literally the same day that he marries Roxana. Yikes.

    • Lilith's position as the king's mistress is not well disguised, and palace gossip quickly spreads about her constant companionship with the king, instead of Roxana.

  • The Second Favorite was chosen to be the king's head mistress, or secondary wife. [1]

    • Lilith is very confident with her body, and is very self-assured that she will be able to seduce the king and be crowned as queen.

    • Roxana is chosen by the king because of her ability to read minds, not because of sexual attractions. Thus, Lilith is chosen to be the king's mistress as she pleased him most in bed.

      • This further emphasises the relationship between the king and Roxana, that it was not true marriage.

And the rest of her character came entirely from my imagination! She is rather villianous, especially when she isn't chosen as queen. She was a very fun character to unravel and explore, although she also causes quite a bit of trouble and I wouldn't be surprised if she was one of the more hated characters in the story.

The Second Favorite

Haman and Zaresh are the diabolical husband and wife duo in the story of Esther. While Esther's story has several characters who are villainistic, Haman (and Zaresh by proxy) is the primary antagonist when the final conflict arises, and the character with the most malicious intent.

While we only see Zaresh twice in Esther's story, I wanted her reimagined character to be much more prominent in my retelling.

Here's what we know about Haman & Zaresh, and how I reimagined those facts into the characters of Torgen & Kissa Moghdam:

  • Haman was an Agagite, longtime enemies of and bigoted to the Jews. [1] (Esther 3)

    • Torgen is a satyr, and satyrs and fairies are known to have racial tension between them. While he has politics motives beyond his bigotry, he leverages his power to suppress and insult fairies whenever he can.

  • Haman was elevated to a position of high honor by Xerxes after the plot to assassinate the king was uncovered. (Esther 3:1)

    • Torgen is present and bold in the king's court throughout the story, but he is the king's right hand man from at least the king Esther is chosen as queen (or leveraging himself to that place. I changed this for simplicity, and so that we get to see Torgen more throughout the story.

    • Frederick gives his signet ring (total authority) to Torgen after Roxana has been banished from court, which allows him to inact his plan against the fairies.

  • Haman was insecure and easily upset. (Esther 3:5, 5:9-14, 6:6)

    • Torgen's insecurity is covered up with ego, always wanting to appear above everyone else.

    • Torgen doesn't put up with disrespect, and manipulates Frederick to target his enemies.

  • Zaresh was the real brains. (Esther 5:9-14, 6:12-13)

    • Kissa is the mastermind behind all of the Moghdam schemes, thinking about the big picture and directing her husband in their endevours. (While Torgen may be the head of the family, Kissa is certainly the neck! *did you get that reference?*)

    • Kissa is much more malicious and subtle than Torgen. She uses her wit and words as weapons when in public, but is more abusive and blunt privately.

This is largely where I started with these characters and then just kept expanding them. It was a struggle to give them dimension and motivation beyond "super evil villains", but it's hard to build sympathy for psychotic racists so...

Haman and Zaresh

The Book of Esther

References