No one saw it coming. How could they? The war had been over for nearly a decade. Everyone thought the King was safe. However, it was not so.

Having just arrived at his country estate the King rushed to his wife’s bedside. She had recently delivered their third child, a stillborn baby boy and was in she was in a fevered state. Her body, the priests said, was poisoned from the long dead infant. They bled her daily in an effort to get rid of the poisons and still her health failed. The king in his desperation prayed day and night in the

But none were forthcoming. On the third day of her confinement, the Queen gave into her sickness and was gone before the sunset.

The King was inconsolable over losing not only his wife and infant, but also weeks earlier their only living child who had succumbed to sickness.

Making his way to the chapel he ordered all to leave him in his solitude.

It was there they found him, hands still clasped in prayer, tears making streaks through the sweat and grime on his face, A blade protruding from his chest.

The entire Royal family had been wiped out within weeks.

News of the Royal family’s demise quickly spread throughout the countryside. A messenger was immediately dispatched to the Kings cousin, Elmer Duke of Aethelmaer who was next in line for the throne. The Duke; having recently recovered from a hunting accident, immediately rescinded his rights to the throne. He was a known coward and had never had any desire to become king. Still, within a fortnight he was found dead in his chamber, a poisoned fruit clasped in his hand. Since the Duke had no wife or legitimate children, the royal priest sought the next in line for the throne…