Crown of the Cursed King

> "When peace withers, it leaves behind not silence—but scavengers."

After the Grand Assembly dissolved and Vaidantha disappeared into exile, the world did not collapse immediately.

No, it crumbled slowly—like a temple eaten by termites beneath its polished stone.

The Five Supreme Kingdoms, once united by a dream of shared power, became victims of their own compromise.

The Silent Rot: The Aftermath of the Accord

In the first decade after the Accord, things appeared calm on the surface. The rotating leadership system was implemented. Svarlokh ruled the first ten years, followed by Zing Yu, then Karthalis, and so on.

But beneath the ceremonial elegance, cracks deepened. The central council that was meant to ensure balance became a theater of blame. Every ruling decade saw increasing bias toward the sitting kingdom. Trade privileges tilted. Border negotiations faltered. And beneath it all—Vaidantha's whispered curse simmered, unseen but never still.

Former soldiers, once protectors of their flags, found themselves unemployed in the absence of prolonged wars. Fortresses downsized, border posts merged, garrisons disbanded.

Honor gave way to hunger.

Small groups of ex-soldiers began banding together—first as mercenaries, then as marauders. These were not simple bandits. They were skilled, trained, and ruthless. They knew the terrain. They knew the routes. They knew how kingdoms bled.

Birth of the Broken Clans

Over the next twenty years, Broken Clans emerged across trade routes and border villages—small warrior tribes formed by dismissed soldiers, deserters, and disillusioned patriots.

The Thornblade Clan preyed on Karthalis caravans.

The Iron Maws established toll tax stations—mocking royal taxes.

The Dravarn Rift Wolves controlled sea coves, demanding tribute from merchant fleets.

Villages near borders suffered most. Once protected by royal forces, they were now caught between indifferent kings and predatory clans. Trade dried up. Markets closed. Temples turned to fortresses. The people stopped seeing kings as protectors—and started seeing them as puppets of dead promises.

Fall of the Five Kingdoms

One by one, the Five Kingdoms fell—not in grand battles, but in slow, tragic decline:

Karthalis, proud and wealthy, was the first to collapse. A civil conflict between merchant lords and military command broke out over control of gold reserves. The royal palace was burned in a peasant uprising. Queen Soraya died defending her chamber.

Myraquel disintegrated next. Its economy was poisoned by corrupted trade treaties. Famine followed. When the Black Plague swept through its capital, over half the population died within months. The king disappeared without a trace. His throne remains buried in ivy.

Dravarn, strong by sea but weak on land, lost control of its harbors to the Rift Wolves. The royal fleet turned into pirate crews. King Helros was assassinated by his own admiral.

Zing Yu, the most spiritual of all, tried to hold on. But their monks became divided—half supporting peace, half calling for war. Master Shulin was killed in a coup staged by younger monks. King Yao Zhen, old and broken, retired into the mountains. No one saw him again.

Only Svarlokh remained.

The Old Lion's Last Breath: King Paras's Legacy

By the time the last kingdom stood, King Paras Vajramitra had crossed seventy winters. His body weakened, but his spirit remained sharp. He had outlived most of the other monarchs—but not without scars.

His people were tired, his council fractured, and his lands surrounded by bandit territories.

In his final years, King Paras decided to pass on the legacy of Svarlokh—not to a single heir, but divided among his three sons, hoping they would rule together and rebuild what the world had lost.

But peace, once broken, rarely returns.

The Three Sons and the Birth of Conflict

Crown Prince Adityan (Eldest): Given the capital city and fertile central lands. Bold, charismatic, but obsessed with control.

Prince Revansh (Second-born): Given the western frontiers, mainly border towns and agricultural regions. Stern, practical, but often overlooked.

Prince Vivaraj (Youngest): Assigned the northern lands—vast but barren hills, trade route passes, and mining zones. Intelligent, brooding, and fiercely independent.

The moment the Scrolls of Succession were signed, discontent brewed. Revansh and Vivaraj protested silently. Their regions were strategically weaker. They were expected to support Adityan's crown without equivalent power.

> "We are not stewards—we are sons," Vivaraj had said in court. "Why should we bow to Adityan when you named us kings?"

King Paras tried to maintain harmony, holding council after council. But age caught up to him.

One moonless night, he passed away in his sleep.

> "The Lion of Svarlokh has fallen," the kingdom wept.

But behind veiled curtains, ambition sharpened its swords.