The castle was pristine, it was erected on a rocky hill, with violent waters under it. A very thin bridge went from the isolated hill to the mainland. Clearly the King had always been paranoid, so he isolated himself, making his place of hiding impossible to invade with a large army.
He ran the whole kingdom at the comfort of his castle, occasionally sending soldiers to forcibly restore order. Although it was rare, he also on occasion showed himself, just to reignited the fear his people had for him.
He was someone who believed in ruling with fear and gaining respect through those means, instead of being admired. He deemed the latter a stain only the weak wore as a badge of honour. He believed a ruler was above his subjects, and that they were just chess pieces he could knock off the board as he pleased.
