His Majesty, King Florian Ver Aernorius, Father of the People, Guardian of the Sacred Trust, Keeper of Justice, etc., etc.. A bastard son of King Versenia, Florian was rumored to have poisoned his brother, the true heir to the throne, and was spared under suspicious circumstances when the king’s entourage was attacked and slaughtered by masked bandits on the road to Sarkanian.
After the death of the king, Florian assumed the throne at the age of twenty and immediately pursued a life of drinking, debauchery and vice. It was swift and sudden death to use the name of the king anywhere in the kingdom at any time. He insisted on being referred to only with the august title of, “His Majesty”.
After an unsuccessful uprising had nearly removed him from the throne, His Majesty had removed the tongues from the conspirators and had them mounted on the palace walls. “Let them speak their treason to my walls”, His Majesty had said, laughing as he danced about, wagging one of the tongues in his hand. It was no secret that, after years of defiling himself with drink, women, men and even young children, His Majesty was known to be growing mad.
Varigan, one of His Majesty’s personal guards, and the general responsible for quelling the rebellion, had been chosen to form a new, ruthless contingent of enforcers known as “The Hand of the Throne”. They were chosen to obey without question, to go to the ends of the empire if necessary, to find and punish those His Majesty deemed to be “traitors”.
His Majesty used “The Hand of the Throne” not only to kill, but to set an example by killing, as he called it, “artistically”. Sometimes, “traitors” were crucified in various positions, with their fingers and toes removed and laying at what remained of their feet. Sometimes, the guilty were set aflame and dragged through the streets, burning their own villages as they died. His Majesty would tolerate no weakness of will, no emotion, no notions of mercy. His men were selected for their willingness to do His Majesty’s will regardless of the cost.
Fantasy
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