JackSGreyson Says

When the king of Alzeida dies, he does not leave behind any wife, siblings, or legitimate children as his heir. The throne is empty for three months war nearly breaking out before one of the nobles, always reaching, always grasping for power, suggests:

“Why not an illegitimate child?”

The question is asked with a specific illegitimate child in mind–one Tarkin Delano, whose uncle by his mother would then become his Regent–but while fortune may favor the bold, it also favors those who aren’t unrepentant skeeze balls reviled by all of the other noble families. Which is saying quite a lot.

Because while Tarkin Delano may be the only noble-born bastard son of the deceased king of Alzeida (which would in normal scenarios make him a shoe-in for the throne) given the reputation of the other half of his heritage, some families consider war a preferable option. Luckily, he is not the only noble-born bastard or even the only bastard son, and he is definitely not the oldest.

And so the political race begins.

Four other bastard children are found and backed by different families to be the next monarch of Alzeida.

—

Of the five bastards in contention, only two are of noble birth on both sides: Tarkin Delano, whose family is only considered noble because their well established history prevents any of the other families from disregarding them entirely, and Harriet Stowe, of Mhyrnon Nation. Which, as opponents of Harriet Stowe’s bid for the throne, has not been a part of Alzeida for at least a century.

The next likeliest candidate would be Sir Elyan of the Hidden Rivers. Which is a very impressive sounding title indeed, except for the fact that he only was elevated from squire to knight three years before his training was complete because news of his claim. Anything to turn the Hidden Rivers from a minor territory with little to no points of interest into the home of the next king.

Unlike Elyan–whose mother was, if not nobility, then at least of a class that was not too far off–the remaining two would not even merit a mention were it not for a single, important fact: Poppy the kitchen servent and Zed, who is only known as such, both have magic.

—

Centuries ago, the kingdom of Alzeida was known for having powerful magicians amongst the upper echelons of court. Of course, the most powerful were the royalty themselves. Back then, marriages and alliances were based around magical bloodlines; power grabs were far more literal.

And yet, time passes, magic declines, and so does the power if not the prestige of the monarchy and nobility. Occasionally, there will be traces–a child who survives a great fall, or a territory whose harvests do not suffer as much as the rest of the kingdom during lean years–but nothing as the legends say.

Still, Poppy can maintain the fires of the castle’s kitchen oven with less than half of the fuel others would require–no small feat considering the castle feeds over two hundred people every day–and Zed. Well, Zed is a special case.

~

A/N: Here’s this uncomplete-ish thing I tried to write+post yesterday but couldn’t because no internet. Basically, political machinations are on my mind so…

I kept bouncing between wanting to make it really informal or vaguely historical fantasy-ish. Still not sure what style I want.