The Greedy Lord

Once upon a time, there was a Lord who lived in a castle by the sea. He had sworn fealty to a King, but the duties of a Lord were not enough for him. He was greedy and hungry for power, so wanted to become the King.

As it happened, the old King fell ill and died, and the King's son was crowned. As custom demands, it was time for the Lords in the kingdom to swear fealty to the newly crowned King. The Lord saw his chance and sailed to the King's city. Under the guise of coming to pledge to the new King, he entered the castle with a few of his best fighting men.

There, the Lord demanded the crown from the King, and when he did not offer it up freely, took it by force. In the fight that followed, several of the King's guards lost their lives. The King himself was injured as well, but he survived. He was furious at the Lord and what he had done.

While the Lord sailed back to his home and declared himself King, the former King regained his strength. He led his men to the Lord's city, after three days of marching, they arrived. The Lord's forces were the strongest on the sea, but on land, they could not measure up to the King's.

Taken by surprise, the Lord's army had to surrender. The King marched up to the Lord's keep and took back the crown. After returning to his home, he was crowned King a second time. The Lord was angry that the power of being King had been taken away from him so soon. Still, he learned his lesson and never attempted to steal the crown again.

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"The Greedy Lord" is a story detailing the true events of the Ten-Day War in 825 CE. In it, a Lord of Selenia took the Eleonian Crown from a newly crowned King from House Angeleos, who immediately took it back. This attempt of taking the crown resulted in the shortest reign in eleonian history, which lasted a grand total of four days from coronation to the loss of the crown.

The story is told to children as a cautionary tale, warning them not to be greedy and not to strive for things that are not for them to have. It is a tale that is frequently put into stories and songs. This iteration is probably the shortest and plainest version of the story.

Other versions go into more detail, and the characterization of the main figures varies depending on where the version originates. In Selenia, the Lord is often seen as the wronged hero of the story, while angelean versions tend to mock the selenian Lord or characterize him as a villain. The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle.