Few documents in history have caused as much destruction as the Last Will and Testament of Lord Fargways. With a single reading, one respected nobleman managed to turn an entire kingdom against itself, leaving the Iridium Kingdom fractured, vulnerable, and ultimately ripe for conquest by its neighboring nations.
Lord Fargways was one of the most influential and respected lords of his era. Nobles from nearly every great house attended his funeral, where each family received a sealed copy of his final will.
What they expected was the distribution of his fortune.
What they received instead was a lifetime of carefully gathered secrets.
Each noble house was given a dossier containing evidence, records, correspondence, and observations detailing that family's hidden dealings. The version read aloud during the funeral was merely a summary of the far more detailed reports sent to every noble household.
The Reading
The reading itself became legendary.
Lord Fargways' loyal butler, Mason, stood before the gathered nobles and calmly read the will aloud. Knowing exactly what would happen once its contents became public, Lord Fargways had spared no expense to ensure the reading could not be interrupted. Two renowned adventuring parties had been hired at an enormous cost—consuming most of his remaining fortune—to protect Mason and guarantee that every word was heard before anyone could silence him.
When the reading finally ended, the damage had already been done.
Aftermath
The first response from nearly every noble house was to immediately disinherit the House of Fargways. However, Lord Fargways had anticipated this.
Long before his death, he had arranged political marriages for each of his children in neighboring kingdoms, removing them from the kingdom entirely. Though many expected one of his heirs to eventually return and reclaim the family estate, none ever did.
His servants and household staff had already been transferred into the care of his children before his passing, while Mason quietly disappeared to live among the Elders, leaving behind the chaos that followed.
Meanwhile, every noble house rushed to examine the documents they had received.
Secret alliances.
Hidden negotiations.
Bribes.
Affairs.
Political betrayals.
Illegal dealings.
Nothing seemed safe from Lord Fargways' observations.
Trust between the nobles collapsed almost overnight. Lords accused ladies, allies turned on one another, and even the king found himself suspected by those who had once sworn unwavering loyalty to the crown.
What began as political paranoia soon erupted into open conflict.
The great noble houses waged war against one another, while others openly challenged the authority of the crown itself. As armies marched across the kingdom, vast regions were neglected. Farms went untended, roads fell into disrepair, and border defenses weakened.
The common people, abandoned by their rulers, began to revolt.
Neighboring kingdoms soon intervened—some claiming to restore order, others simply seizing the opportunity to expand their own territories.
In only a few years, the once-powerful Iridium Kingdom had ceased to exist.
All because of a single man's final will.
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