Chapter Text
“King Mogar,” it sounded bitter and strange on the young knight’s tongue, like taboo almost. He wanted to coil it back in and never say it again; to pretend that it was still months prior when the idea of being King was just a thought to them both. A thought that they laughed and joked about, a thought that was now suddenly a nightmare. Ray had been their friend too, he hadn’t let the power go to his head…he had been a great king…the Best King. But Mich—No—Mogar had cut him down when the tournament had ended. He had removed the golden crown from the man’s head and placed it upon his own without a second thought. Sir Gavino had watched the whole thing in silence, in shock…in terror. One second they were doing as they were told with jokes, following after every step, and then the next the warrior was staining the throne with blood.
Gavin blamed the Mad King for it. Ever since Ryan’s reign as King nothing had been the same with Mich—Mogar. With Mogar. It was Mogar, not Michael.
“Goddammit,” Gavin’s accent rang out in the small barracks, head falling into his leather gloved hands. He couldn’t sort out his own thoughts, he couldn’t come to terms with any of it. And now he’d have to face the very man he’d grown close to over the years, a man now changed by staining his family’s sword. He didn’t think he could do it; it was one thing to see Ray on the throne, but Mogar…it was so different.
“You okay there?” Gavin lifted his head to see who had spoken and he had to do everything in his power not to wince at the sight of the once great king.
Geoffrey, the First King, the drunkard; the man who had been the first to lead the tournaments lost his glory years ago after the Mad King dethroned him. Now he was nothing more than a mortal drunk with a certain shadow about him; but that wasn’t what made the young knight flinch. No. It was his face. The ruggedly looking knight stood before him in his worn dark green armor with a bandage wrapped around the top of his head to cover his left eye; the white fabric stained red from a wound that seemed to never heal correctly despite the high court’s healer mending to it for weeks after his fall. Sir Geoffrey had fallen the most out of the three Kings and it showed greatly with each passing day…almost as if without the crown he was turning into a soulless being.
He was staring at the knight now, his solemn look still waiting for a response. He didn’t get to hear it from him though because another answered instead, “He’s despising the idea of seeing his precious friend as our new king.”
Gavin looked over at the knight who had spoken, his brows knitting together with a frown, “That’s not true.”
The kilted knight turned to face the two; hands working to attach the red and black cape to his shoulder, “Yes it is, kid. You know for a fact that while he sits on that throne your friendship means nothing.”
“No!” Gavin stood quickly with his words; the force of his movements tossing his green hood back while scarf tails whipped about. He barred his teeth with a glare and curled his hands into fists, “His new status has nothing to do with it! He’s still Michael!”
“He’s King Mogar, Sir Gavino,” the new voice came from the entrance of the barracks and the group turned to see the heaviest set of the knights with a pickaxe in hand resting over his one armored shoulder, “and you two better stop bickering before we enter the throne room. Rules state that—”
“That all knights are to enter the throne room in good terms and without argument,” Ryan clipped his belt into place then grabbed his battle axe from off the wall, “I know the rules.” He turned the instrument of murder over in his hands then slipped it onto his back before moving towards the door, he stopped next to Jack with eyes directed outside, “I’m the one who made them.” He slammed his shoulder into the other’s then left the small building not bothering to look back at them.
There was a long silence amongst the three standing there, but finally Gavin spoke up, “I don’t get it. What the hell happened to him?”
The two exchanged a look, but Jack turned to walk off leaving the ruined knight to respond with a grim tone, “The crown changes you in more ways than you could ever imagine.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Gavin frowned, but Geoff lifted a hand to drop onto the younger’s shoulder to give it a squeeze before grabbing his sword from off the table.
“Come on, it’s time,” Geoff sheathed his weapon and left the barracks.
Gavin stayed frozen in his spot with fists still clenched and teeth showing with a bit back growl. Ryan was right and there was no way to deny it truly either. Gavin had noticed the change in his friend two years ago when the Mad King was on the thrown, but now…now it was even more so. Sure they hadn’t really seen the ruler since he took the throne; the rules stating that the King had eleven months to reign and prepare without the bothered presence of the sons of Royals. Which in other words means that the kingdom goes through many drastic changes in that span of time…nothing had been worse than when Ryan had the crown though, but nothing had been better when Ray was King. Geoff had been focused on his tournament setup that the kingdom went into its own state of survival; Ray had focused greatly on the crops and trading with other kingdoms; Ryan had practically destroyed this kingdom…it was something many had tried to forget. Now with Mogar on the throne it seemed there was always a war on the brink of coming. He was a good King, but he was a bad negotiator.
“Going to just stand there with that angry look or are we actually going to go see the King?”
Gavin shook out his head and looked over to where a hall branched off from the left of the room, “What?”
The most charming of the knights stepped forward with a grin that never seemed to vanish even in the darkest of times, “I said: Are you just going to stand there looking—”
“Oh, no, yeah,” Gavin turned to grab his leather sheath from off the bench and strapped it to his back; it was the heaviest of his equipment as he chose to not wear armor in favor of light fabrics to move faster. He finished with the strap and looked over at the most recent King, “I was just thinking is all.”
“Thinking about how Mogar is a different man?” Ray tipped his head with the question, but then fixed the sleeves to pull out more from the armor on his forearms. He looked up to see a nod and he smiled gently, “Don’t.”
“What do you mean don’t?” Gavin’s face scrunched together, “He clearly is. Have you seen how he’s been ruling?”
“No,” Ray answered calmly and held up a white gloved hand to silence his friend, “And neither have you.” He stepped closer, a hand resting on the handle of his sword, “We’ve only heard about how he rules and have been living with it…none of us have actually seen it with our own eyes.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Gavin stated.
Ray snorted softly and turned to walk towards the exit, “And you’ve already said that today. Now let’s go.”
Gavin hesitated, but then followed after to catch up quickly, his bright eyes flicking to view the movement of the black cape connected by gold chains to Ray’s armor; the red underneath showing every so often with each step. He was definitely the nicest dressed of the knights, but it fit his personality the most and it amazed Gavin that he could still be so charming. Why hadn’t he been affected by the time as king?
“Don’t listen to Ryan, Gav,” Ray’s voice brought him out of his thoughts again, “He’s just trying to get to you before the tournament.”
Gavin nodded, eyes slowly drifting from his friend to the large walled off castle in the distance with its blue flags waving gracefully in the wind, “He did a good job of it…”
Ray stepped a few feet off from him, grabbing a rose from the basket of a maiden who made no protest at the smile given in exchange, “Try not to think about it too much.” He moved closer again and held the flower up above his head to squint at it against the sun’s light, “If you do then you’ll lose and you’ll never be king.”
“I’m starting to think it’s not really worth it,” Gavin sniffed in, eyes casting downward as he kicked a small stone out of his path.
Ray glanced at him and let out a sigh before carefully placing the rose between his belt and hip, “Look, years ago you would’ve done anything to gain the crown, but ever since Mi—Mogar took over…you’ve changed.” “He cut you down without a second thought, Ray!” Gavin’s voice pitched slightly and it drew the attention of some of those passing by, but as quickly as they looked they were turning away. The sons of Royals were not to be stared at...no matter how loud they were.
Ray put a hand on Gavin’s shoulder and stepped closer to him, dipping his head to speak in a quiet tone, “And I struck Ryan down without blinking my eye—”
“Yes, but he was mad! He went mental with the power! You saved this kingdom!” Gavin was hissing with each word now, trying to keep his voice down as well.
The knight smiled gently, the action alone calming his friend slightly, “I saved it only to rebuild it and Mogar took my place to rebuild the armies. To place us back on the map as a kingdom which could fight if threatened. I may have fixed what Ryan destroyed, but Mogar has made it better.”
Gavin licked his lips then shrugged the hand from his shoulder to pick up his pace slightly, “Come on, we’re going to be late.”
Ray trailed behind a second in delay, thoughts running with what he knew to be true and a lie…but how could he tell the purest souls of the knights?...it was too soon to even consider it.
Stadt der Errungenschaften, like the rest of the world, had fallen greatly from what life used to be; a place once full of striving technology and minds that baffled the nations, but when the century turned over to three thousand those same nations fell apart. A war like no other ripped across the oceans and destroyed most of the population along with all that had been created. Civilization fell back into a world of rulers, a world of Kings. It wasn’t until two hundred years later in Urbem Gesits when Royal Elders changed the laws of ruling by saying that the sons of Royals would be granted a chance at the crown every eleven months.
—Now what needs to be understood about Urbem Gesits is that the kingdom stood alone when the nations waged war and it had governed in a way that no other did by having a circle of Elders decide laws. Its way of governing was frowned upon greatly by those who allied with them; saying that it was reckless and foolish. That is why they made their new law to give the chance to each royal family.—
At first when the law was passed there was only two sons for the royals to offer up in the tournament and therefore it was overlooked and passed by; the Elders deciding that once a son was bared to each of the royal families the tournament would then be initiated. So they waited and continued to rule with what they had deemed best at the time.
It took another sixty years before enough of the royals had sons around the same age, but even still a First King was selected by the Elders to rule in the first eleven months. That royal knight was Sir Geoffrey of the family Ramsey due to his elders having being the first founders of Stadt der Errungenschaften when the war broke out. His reign as high ruler was deemed as almost a “trial run”—a term no longer used in such a time—because of his focus on preparing for the tournament, but mostly due to his love for drink. King Geoffrey Ramsey was the drunkard king who made a mess of things despite his time to prepare and ready.
King Ramsey was struck down by the son of the Haywood Royals. Many had thought it would be for the best; perhaps this sober son would lead Stadt der Errungenschaften into a better year. How very wrong they were. Ryan was deemed the Mad King after his first month on the throne when he placed all those sick in the dungeons of the castle; calling it instead ‘The Hole’. The worst part about it was that those who went into this “hole” never came out again; there were rumors that he experimented on them or had them killed, but no one ever knew for certain. It wasn’t until his third month that the Elders finally stepped in to stop him from his reign…it did no good. The Mad King cut down all but one Elder from each of the Royal Families, placing those still alive into the hole until his reign would be over. Many, many people died during his rule and many more went missing. King Haywood had almost destroyed this kingdom with his madness and the only thing which he respected was the tournament. No one could explain why he still would have it with no Elders to stop him, but some would say it was to watch his once fellow knights run around in death matches to amuse him. He had made plenty of rules for it though, rules that would stay for the following year…but not by his choosing.
The Mad King was dethroned by the only son of the Narvaez Royals and in doing so the kingdom of Stadt der Errungenschaften was changed once again, but this time for the better. Ray released the Elders from their shackles and in return placed the wounded Mad King below for his actions. Ray was immediately thrown into the shambles of cleaning up a mess that had placed the Kingdom on almost complete destruction; all the while making sure to work out a fate for the Haywood Royal with the Elders. As the months passed and Stadt der Errungenschaften began to return to its once beautiful state; crops growing once more, livestock reproducing, and people no longer hiding within their homes. Ray had been their golden light that saved this Kingdom, but he had never recovered a crucial part of it: The armies. All he had was a small handful of foot soldiers, Calvary men, several archers, and…his four remaining knights of the Royal families. That small amount was one of the reason he released Ryan back into the Kingdom; making the man promise he’d fight in the name of Narvaez and stay true to his knighthood. When the tournament came about he chose his challenges carefully and placed them more into favor where the previous King could not win…he however did not see the animalistic rising of Mogar.
The son of the Jones Royals, being named Michael, gave himself a new name when his sword was stained with the blood of the Best King. He rose amongst the other knights and in front of the Elders, shouting to the heavens, “I am King Mogar and you shall all kneel before me.” And so they did. They knelt before their new King as he retrieved the crown from the pool of blood and all but one of them kept their eyes on the floor. Sir Gavino of the Free Royals had watched with horror as the man he fought alongside for years placed that bleeding crown upon his head and he had watched as the ravenous warrior licked away the specs on his face. That day, that moment of when the crown touched his head…Sir Michael had died and King Mogar had been born. Or at least that’s what they had all thought. Mogar’s reign as King proved to be useful in rebuilding of their armies and though he was posed with the offer from the Elders to place the Haywood son into the dungeons, he refused. He stated that the armies needed him to lead despite his madness. Mogar was no King Raymond, but he was also no Mad King. He was what they needed at that time, but yet he was still not Michael. He was what the crown wanted him to be. He was the Warrior King and his time to fall had come.