The Elethian Kingdoms

67 EC

The Elethian Kingdoms were once a singular empire of the same name, ruled by the benevolent emperor Elethis Alleinar, famed for his just rule, prowess as a commander, and sheer devastating power as a War Mage. It is still in living memory for the very eldest that he united all the nations under his rule within a few years, bringing long decades of peace and prosperity for all, until his death. For while he was a brilliant man, he had not sought the seed of greed in his own children, and this would be the undoing of his empire of peace; his life's work.   For he had married seven wifes, daughters of the last seven High Lords to resist him, in order to assuage them, and sired a child on each of them. And he took his eldest son, his firstborn, Elethar, and taught him all the things that he believed a good, just, emperor should know, so that there would be one to follow after him, to continue his work after he, inevitably, left this world behind. And Elethar was a bright student, and he was a kind, caring young man, who took to the task laid before him with vigor, and all believed that he would one day become the next Great Emperor.   However, it was not meant to be. The youngest son, Syntas, felt cheated - his mother and other caretakers doted on him as a child; for he, too, was gifted in the ways of his elder brother, and was kind, and caring, and wise for his age. In time he came to wonder: why was his brother always the one receive the accolades and gifts and power for free, while he had to work for every scrap? Why should he, and his other siblings, forever stand in his shadow? And so, once the Emperor fell ill, he worked the long years until Elethis' death to forge a pact together with the other siblings, behind Elethar's back. The latter was too busy taking over the matters of state from their father, who was slowly slipping further and further into the clutches of his mysterious, debilitating disease.   The younger siblings reasoned thus: our father believed that all should share freely what privileges they have, according to their station. And so our father, the highest of stations, should share equally his empire among his wise and capable children, so that they should not be left bereft of the destiny that is rightfully theirs by birthright: the right to rule. And so they divided the land in seven - and, they must be commended, they did so quite fairly. After all, they believed they were performing an act of good, not evil, and their brother, too, was their father's son, and thus had a right to rule. Simply not the right to rule it all.   And so it came to be that on the eve of Elethis' death, the six siblings declared their father's true will thus: that his children were to be considered equals, and thus there would be ruling on equal footing. Elethar was stunned, and furious, but the deed had been done - and right under his nose, too. And so he was left with a measely corner of what he had already begun to perceive as 'his' empire, and now spends his days bitter, though still ruling best as he can.   While for a few years the new Seven Kingdoms held the peace they implicitly brokered, soon that greed, that desire to reign dominant over all, roared its head - after all, they were their father's children... and had their father been content to see the world ruled by someone else? And so the siblings took to fighting slow, protracted wars amongst themselves. This is how it has been for the last fifteen years, and the times are hard on all, though still better than they once were.   Still, now that the Teeth are being found once more, all hangs in the balance. The fate of the Elethian Kingdoms may well be on its way to change course dramatically.