The Thirteen Thrones
A fictional short story
“I Halifax, do hereby accept my coronation to the throne. I name as my heir and successor Dethro, son of Elric.”
The ceremony complete, the newly crowned King Halifax rose from his crouch in front of the throne. Bright, multicolored light rushed out from the seat of power, suffusing Halifax and making him glow from within. His hair stood straight up, and as more of the throne’s stored energies flew into his body, the king slowly rose up into the air, suspended by the strange magicks.
Those in the crowd not old enough to witness the last transfer of power nearly forty years ago audibly gasped. They knew, of course, that the thrones of Khelthes Dominion had eldritch properties, but to see the process in person still took their breath away.
As the throne continued to pass it’s stored energies into King Halifax, the court lorekeepers began the traditional stories recounting the legendary history and properties of the Kheltesian thrones.
Millennia ago, a supremely powerful wizard named Khelthas fled into our world from a distant plane. His homeland had been destroyed by a demonic invasion, when one king decided to open a rift to the demons, making a deal with them to share power after all the other worldly powers had been defeated.
Predictably, the demons decided not to honor their end of the bargain.
Khelthas, having already lived many centuries and accruing much power, barely manged to escape with his close compatriots and favored servants. They set up here, in Errasia, and swore not to allow such chaos to swallow their new home.
After many years of discussion, they settled on a solution. You see, the demon-destroyed realm had a major problem with succession crises. King after king would be toppled by a knife in the back, a courtly coup, or a more traditional bloody conquest. Stability came occasionally, but more often power would shift hands every few years.
Over time, this led to upstarts playing deadlier and deadlier games. Stronger and stronger defense started to be employed by reigning monarchs, requiring dark magicks in order to break through. The cycle of escalation continued for centuries, until finally the demons came through and put an end to the squabbles, permanently.
The wise wizard and his compatriots, however, wanted to preempt this cycle before it began. In order to do so, they decided to craft thirteen thrones for Errasia, each bound by a powerful enchantment.
Whoever sat on these thrones must name a successor before beginning their reign. Once that was done, they were imbued with all sorts of powers and abilities. The ruler became nigh-impervious to poison, and gained remarkable healing abilities. They gained access to powerful defensive spells built into the capital city of their domains, allowing them to bring the city to life to defend its people. Some kings, depending on arcane and unpredictable factors, gained various other powers. These thrones were so powerful they even preserved key memories of each monarch, passing them down to their successors in an endless chain.
Most importantly, nobody could take the throne by force.
If a king did manage to fall to an assassination attempt, or a palace coup, the throne’s powers would automatically move to his or her named heir. If the heir happened to be dead or indisposed, a new heir would be chosen from one of the king’s relatives, or in special cases a particularly notable and noble citizen would gain the throne.
This allowed the Khelthas dominion to grow in peace, and stability. Their rulers gained wisdom over the ages, as memories of their predecessors successes and failures added up, allowing them to rule with more wisdom than any other monarchs.
Over time the thirteen thrones grew to dominate the entire land, growing mostly by economic might, marriage alliances, or other non-violent means. Though of course, violence was sometimes necessary in their expansion.
Until today of course, when the Thirteen Thrones reign supreme and unchallenged across the land.