"Kings are not made by crowns, but by the blood they spill to claim them." — Old Vel'Kaarn Proverb
The Pale Sovereign collapsed into a broken heap, his black fire flickering and dying.
Vel'Kaarn itself trembled as if waking from a nightmare.
Yet the throne—the black throne of fireless iron—remained.
Leo's breath came fast. Scorch circled his feet, snuffling the dust.
Fang and Coal, freed from amber, blinked back to the present.
A Crown Forged in Blood
The Sovereign's final words echoed in Leo's mind: "You have not yet bound yourself."
What did it mean?
Leo's hands clenched.
His blood.
His past.
His failures.
He could feel the weight of unseen chains—the price of survival and power.
And now, the throne called to him.
A dark pulse, cold and commanding.
Leo approached.
The Crown's Choice
The throne's surface rippled like liquid night.
A crown, forged from blood and bone, hovered above it.
It beckoned.
To place it on was to claim everything.
Power.
Pain.
Sacrifice.
But also the curse.
Fang growled low.
"You don't have to."
Leo's fingers brushed the crown's edge.
Visions flooded him—
His parents, screaming as the plague took hold.
Mira's fading smile.
Scorch trapped behind a mirror.
Faces of kings and queens who lost everything for power.
The Price of Ascendance
To wear the crown meant more than ruling.
It meant giving up.
Giving in to the endless hunger for control.
Leo's mind screamed to resist.
But a voice inside whispered:
"You can save them. You can save yourself."
Blood on the Throne
Leo's hand trembled as the crown lowered.
But before it touched his head, a sharp crack split the air.
Coal burst forward, knocking the crown away.
"Don't," he said, voice low and fierce.
"Power like this destroys you."
Leo pulled back.
The throne rumbled.
The Sovereign's ghost appeared, a twisted smile on his cracked face.
"Then you will fall... broken."
The True Trial Begins
The Court exploded into flames once more.
But this time, it was not destruction.
It was a challenge.
The true test of a king.
Would Leo accept the crown and rule, or find another path?