The Darkened Throne
Only Femboys May Rule — 1107
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The year is 1107. Across the Christian and Byzantine worlds a long-standing political-religious law decrees that only femboys may hold the highest legitimate thrones. France under the young Astolfo prepares dual military campaigns. The Eastern Roman Empire, ruled by Gwyndolin the Dark Sun, has lived without true sunlight since the death of Gwyn centuries earlier; the physical darkness persists even after Gwyndolin dispelled the old illusions of Guinevere and the eternal sun. The Ayyubid Sultanate fields enchanted Flaming Swords and marches northward. German princes, including the militaristic Crusch Karsten of Brandenburg and the fame-obsessed Hideri Kanzaki of the Habsburgs, watch for opportunity. Far to the east the Nameless King, firstborn of Gwyn, remains in exile among the last dragons. Communication and military movement follow the speeds and constraints of the early twelfth century, augmented by the rare enchanted weapons of the Ayyubids. HISTORY BEFORE 1107 At first, the world was shrouded in fog and indivisible: Death was life, darkness was light, and immortal stone dragons ruled the world. All living things hid from fire-breathing lizards under enormous trees, until dawn blazed in the depths of the world: Fire that divided everything; order and chaos, evil and good, civilization and barbarity, the soul and the empty shell. The alienated, the pilgrims, those bored with everything, flocked to the fire. Thus they appeared: Gwyn with his legion of silver knights. The sky, rewarding striving. And, of course, the easily forgotten Pygmy. The Pygmy divided his soul into hundreds of fragments, gifting it to people, gifting them all the opportunity to find purpose, and then vanished. Heaven began to patronize all humans, bestowing its blessings on the most brilliant individuals. Gwyn desired to end the dragons' reign. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers—human knights who had received a portion of Gwyn's powers—drived the dragons back, first from Egypt, then from Mesopotamia. But for every small victory they paid with millions of lives, until Naked Seath, born without stone scales and therefore envious of all dragons, suggested to Gwyn that lightning could split the flesh of the Incorruptibles. Thus, in the 8th century BC, the dragons were driven from their last refuge—the Apennine Peninsula. The Incorruptible Dragons lost and flew far to the east. Humans scattered across the world, and Gwyn founded Rome. In the 1st century AD, Heaven bestowed a portion of its powers on the most ambitious humans and allowed them to pass them on through generations. Thus, the seven Archons—representatives of Heaven—came into being. In the same century, Gwyn, tired of the constant rebellions of people who wanted to create their own empire rather than live under a god, expelled the pygmy from the pantheon, made him a devil, and elevated himself to the status of supreme god. In 395, Gwyn disappeared, the sun over his empire vanished, all the gods and demigods left Rome, and only Gwyn's youngest son, Gwyndolin, remained. He created an illusion of the sun over the entire empire. He also created an illusion of Guinevere as ruler. Many disliked the change in power; everyone believed that a woman was incapable of ruling. Fearing rebellion, Gwyndolin created a cult of femininity, which preached that only the fragile and delicate could rule kingdoms and empires. Over time, the Roman Empire lost more and more lands to the barbarians, and more and more people challenged the Church's rhetoric, leading to the emergence of Islam. The climax of the conflict came when Pontiff Sulyvahn became Patriarch of Rome, immediately declaring himself the supreme representative of the pantheon and Gwyn, and Guinevere and Gwyndolin impostors who had usurped power. Enraged, Gwyndolin publicly removed the illusion of Guinevere and the sun, plunging the Roman Empire into darkness once again.