Rook in Alignment

Returning indoors from the garden perimeter, I ascended to the low side table where a wooden chessboard lay arrayed under the lamplight. A carved boxwood rook stood askew, displaced halfway across the boundary line of a dark walnut square. Disorder within a defensive formation invites compromise. Stepping onto the checkered grid, I planted my boots firmly into the lacquered wood. I grasped the crenellated battlements of the tower with both gauntlets, testing its center of gravity. With deliberate, measured torque, I shifted the heavy bastion until its circular base aligned flush within the square. The rank is restored. Order governs the field once more.