Synopsis

A prince must climb thirty-two ancient steps that test his character, and learns leadership is earned, not inherited.

Table of Contents

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  1.
  The Staircase of Trials
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  In the old kingdom of Kaaf, no prince inherited the throne by birth alone. Each had to climb the palace's thirty-two ancient steps, and at certain steps, the stones themselves…

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  2.
  The Step of Listening
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  At the fifteenth step, an old beggar sat blocking the path, asking only to be heard, not fed. Other princes before him had stepped around the old man impatiently and…

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  3.
  The Thirty-Second Step
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  By the thirty-second step, Faraz was tired but had learned patience, honesty, and humility along the climb. At the top, the old minister waiting there smiled. "The throne was never…