Shattered Kingdom

The world was broken long time ago with the class of powerful magic. There once stood a king who ruled over his subjects with a gentle heart and steadfast power. The many that looked up to him also vouched their lives for the kingdom, to protect it with body and soul. Of course, this kindness was only a façade created by the king. His son, who had desire of such power, wished to usurp the throne from the king.

​The prince was a cruel man and the people could see it. He showed no attempts at hiding his true nature like his father did. He would walk amongst the people one day, abusing them and ordering them to do all that he pleased for no reason other than cruel amusement. The king could not do anything to stop the young prince with breaking his porcelain mask, but he ordered many trusted servants to break into the prince’s chambers and beat him.
Once the deed was done the prince would be locked away till his wounds healed. The prince would leave the kingdom no kinder, but a lot more hesitant. Much like a crow with a soft beak and clipped claws, but in time they would return to their deadly self and once more the prince would wreak havoc amongst the streets, laughing with terrifying malice.
Eventually the day came where the prince would get his wish and become king, but it was not of the kingdom he expected. A wizard to the North heard of the prince’s plight and made him an offer to rule over a kingdom that needed a powerful leader. It was a kingdom that had its king murdered by the same wizard. The prince accepted greedily and made his way to the kingdom. A six days journey later and the prince ruled over a kingdom of bandits and mercenaries. The prince’s displeasure in such lowly citizens infuriated him.
To top of his shoddy kingdom he was unable to harass the lowlife. Everyone had a certain measure of aggression that was similar to the princes. He could not beat or abuse them in any way without them countering back. To avoid such injuries he decided to take a page out of his father’s book and rule benevolently. He groomed his people and grew his army, the wizard by his side all the way.
When asked one day what the prince’s next move was he replied to the wizard saying this kingdom was not for him and it was time to make moves against his father. The wizard reminded the prince that the king had loyal subjects and a magnificent army, but the prince knew the greatest weakness of the king. The prince knew about the torture chambers, the espionage towards other kingdoms and, of course; the assassinations.
All that the prince needed was enough proof against the king and his people would abandon him. The wizard listened thoughtfully and soon concocted a plan with the prince to enchant the king and have him tell his subjects all his darkest thoughts and secrets. The plan was a great one and worked beautifully. The conniving prince met his father in the palace gardens and discussed the politics of the world while the wizard enchanted the king’s wine. The king downed the last drops and went off to address his people for this month.
It was a catastrophe. The king revealed all that he kept from the people, naming the peasants he murdered and the money he stole. He told the people of the beatings he ordered upon the prince which only aided the prince in convincing the people of his terrible behaviour. The king was taken away by his own guards while the prince stood in his place and explained how the king had enchanted him to act so badly towards the people. With what the king had just admitted the people immediately fell to their knees begging the prince for leadership. He smiled kindly on the people and accepted graciously, promising the people the love and compassion that the king gave, but this time it would be sincere and just.
The prince was now king of two kingdoms. With such power in his hands and the cruel wizard by his side the proceeded to make the worst decision for the people. In effort to bolster the size of his city and army the prince ordered that his new kingdom to be expanded to contain his first kingdom. The construction when well, but the people that the prince ruled over first could not adapt to the innocent people. There were cases of thievery and assault in the street, the prince stopped it with kind words and hidden magic. Still, there was corruption in the city and the anger of the old king only grew in the dungeons. There was such darkness and deceit through the kingdom that the evil began to manifest in the blackened vines which grew rapidly.
The king began to curse his son and the kingdom above his cell. The evil within the wizard laughed with a terrifying power and wizard aided the destruction. As the people clashed the vines grew until it was too late. The land was churned and broken by the vines and earth as if it were a piece of paper crumbled into a ball, or in this case, a mountain. The majority of people were killed in the disaster, but the strongest remained. Unfortunately, that included the snake prince, the bloody king and the dark wizard. The kingdom that once was the shining jewel of the lands was no more and in its place there stood a labyrinth, a shattered kingdom of monsters and cruelty.
The prince and the wizard driven mad, but made strong by the disaster. The prince stood atop in the throne room, staring out at his ‘kingdom’ and grinned with blackened teeth. The wizard, dwelling in his chambers festered madly, yet happily in his experiments and laughter. Finally, the king, he waits below it all, staring up at broken stone as his body grew large and tough. He desires revenge, but his own darkness over the world would be so much more than that of the prince if he was to succeed. The porcelain mask broken on his face, no longer hiding the white eyes and deathly skin.
Beware the shattered kingdom, traveler, there is only death and misery there.