Xir’ul, the Shattered Crown
Xir’ul, the Shattered Crown
Aliases: The Broken King, The Mad Sovereign, Lord of the Fractured Court
Status: Missing; Last Seen Wandering the Fractured Dream-Realms
Domain: Madness of Authority, Ruined Monarchies, Sovereignty Unbound
Location of Last Known Activity: The Fractured Dream-Realms
Among the Harbingers, Xir’ul, the Shattered Crown, is remembered with a peculiar and unsettling pity—a king without a throne, a ruler without a realm, a mind cracked beyond repair. He is the embodiment of what happens when sovereignty becomes a cage, and ambition devours itself.
Origins and the Madness of Kingship
Once a being of staggering dignity and purpose, Xir’ul was shaped by a universe where law and order reigned supreme. He rose not through violence, but by decree and tradition, believing utterly in the divine right of kingship—until Voidaris came, until law itself was unmade.
Stripped of his kingdom, his people, and even his own purpose, Xir’ul's mind collapsed inward. Rather than relinquish his crown, he shattered it—binding its shards to himself—and vowed to rebuild a dominion across all worlds, even if it must be made of ashes and broken dreams.
When the Harbingers came to Alathor, Xir’ul saw not a world to destroy—but a new throne to seize.
The Fractured Crown
Xir’ul’s powers are a reflection of his broken majesty:
- Crown of Splinters: His mind is fractured into countless personas, each vying for control, each embodying different aspects of rulership—tyrant, reformer, zealot, despot.
- Sovereign's Mandate: Xir’ul can enforce his "will" upon reality itself, rewriting local rules of authority and hierarchy, making others believe—however briefly—that he is their rightful king.
- Court of Madness: He manifests phantasmal courts and parliaments from the Dreaming, false advisors and armies loyal only to the chaos of his fractured mind.
Legends and Folklore
Across Alathor, the name of the Shattered Crown lingers wherever power curdles into madness:
- The Threefold Throne: In Yeorian folklore, it is said that tyrants who hear whispers from unseen counselors are visited by Xir’ul’s fractured spirit, dooming their reigns to end in ruin.
- The Broken Oaths: In Aurorum, priests warn that ambitious lords who forsake their sacred duties will find their names erased and replaced by false titles whispered by Xir’ul.
- The Masquerade of Dust: Helvanian scholars tell of a cursed ballroom in the ruins of the First Compact, where dancers endlessly waltz to the broken music of a crownless king.
Current Status
Xir’ul is believed to have vanished into the Fractured Dream-Realms—a shattered landscape of broken thrones, endless empty cities, and phantom courtiers that feed upon ambition and pride.
Some claim he seeks to assemble a final, perfect court—a gathering of mortal rulers bound by stolen crowns and false oaths. Others say he is already here, hidden behind the madness that afflicts despots and tyrants across the world.
And it is whispered that if ever enough thrones across Alathor fall vacant at once, Xir’ul will rise again, a king at last… crowned by ruin.
Children
