THE CROWN OF ELOORA
"What do you all suggest I do now?" Prince Samlee asked his ministers.
"Your highness must surrender to the barbarians and extract the most benefit from your abdication", a servant told the prince.
"What should we do about the Conjurer Court's offer for mediations?" a minister asked.
"I believe the King is in no position to discuss with the conjurers now. I suggest that Prince Samlee represent the Royal family of Drachia to the negotiation", another traitorous minister replied to the ministers in the court.
"Gladly", Prince Samlee replied.
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"Welcome to the King's Court in Eloora", Prince Samlee welcomed the guests as they walked into the great hall of the city.
"Prince Samlee, we came on behalf of the Church of All-seeing and the Nyx Empire to negotiate with King Lavrentios about your surrender", Conjurer Iras addressed and told the court of Eloora.
"I'm afraid the King will not be able to receive you", Prince Samlee replied to the conjurers.
"Is the King serious about negotiation to end this war if he wouldn't attend it?" Anitor asked the prince angrily.
"You have mistaken us, great conjurers. The King couldn't be here because he just passed away. I will be discussing with you on the terms of peace", Prince Samlee told the conjurers.
The conjurers looked at each other in surprise.
"What happened to the King? Why did he pass away so suddenly?" Epius asked.
"The king was murdered by a treacherous servant a night ago. The whole court here witnessed it", Prince Samlee told the conjurers as the court ministers kept their heads low and remained silent.
"Well then, as a term of your surrender, the royal family of Drachia shall relinquish their claim to the throne of Drachia and all her land shall be ceded to the kingdom of Nyx-Nymera", Conjurer Iras proposed.
"What is there for us? There is no need to ask for our surrender if you can just take our land", Prince Samlee protested.
"The royal family of the deceased king shall be bestowed the title of Duke of Eloora and shall hold this city as their fiefdom, provided they swear loyalty to the King and Queen of Nyx-Nymera. Eloora City must be demilitarized though", Conjurer Iras added.
The ministers quickly debated on the proposal by the conjurers from the Conjurer Court.
"This is a reasonable proposal. We can keep our ancestral land even if we lose our kingdom", a minister opined.
"Yes, there is no point in useless fighting if this can be resolved peacefully", another minister added.
"But we will lose our army", another minister queried.
"The Nyx Empire will protect us", was the reply to him.
The ministers of the king's court were all in favor of surrender because they could probably save their lives and also keep their job.
They would also avoid a devastating war with the barbarians.
Only the king loses the crown to the kingdom. But even the king himself is gone now and couldn't complain about it. Even the crown itself disappeared.
"I will agree and accept the title of Duke of Eloora on behalf of my family, the royal family of Drachia", Prince Samlee agreed with the conjurers suddenly.
That was an expected decision.
Prince Samlee would keep his family's riches and become the next head of his family. That was much better than losing everything if Eloora City fell to the barbarians.
"So, you agree to handover the land of Drachia kingdom to the Nyx-Nymera Empire?" Conjurer Iras asked the prince.
"I agree to handover the kingdom but there is one condition, it would be without the crown of the king", Prince Samlee replied to him.
"I don't understand, what is the difference?", Anitor asked.
"The Crown of Eloora has since the founding of the kingdom been inherited by the descendants of the royal family in an elaborate magic ceremony. The former king passed away unexpectedly and couldn't perform the ceremony, so the crown dissipated and was lost", a wizened minister told them.
"It's just a bloody crown. We can replace it", Epius said.
"As you wish. Then we have a deal", Prince Samlee replied to him with a smile.
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[Back at Istiopolis City]
"Eloora surrendered without a fight? That is too easy", I said to them.
"Yes, Prince Samlee even killed his father, the king, to make the deal with us. He would gain the land of his family but lose his kingdom", Bommurs told me.
"That prince is wicked, we shouldn't allow him to take over Eloora city", Raven told us.
"Let him be, he is not a threat to us anymore", Queen Mistral said.
"So, will the other cities surrender to us now after the fall of the king?" I asked.
"We have a problem. Although we obtained the surrender of Eloora city, we didn't get the old king's enchanted crown. It dissipated on the death of the king. The noble families would not support us without the crown", Raven told us.
"Its just a crown, we can make a hundred of those", I told them.
"The Crown of Eloora is special. It is a magic artifact obtained from the Temple of Eloora, the ancestral temple of the Drachia royalty", Asterix explained to us.
"Is the crown a powerful weapon? I don't see King Lavrentios use it in battle", I asked.
"The Crown of Eloora isn't a magic weapon. Its significance is symbolic and contractual. The Crown of Eloora is the contract between the king and the noble families of Drachia kingdom during its formation", Prince Geoffraie explained to us.
"So, the cities in the kingdom are not surrendering to us because of their contract with the Crown of Eloora?" I asked.
"Yes, most cities remain loyal to the king because of their ancestral contract, not because of their benevolence or their military strength", Prince Geoffraie added.
"I don't understand. What is so special about a contract?" I asked.
"To understand that we have to return to the history of the formation of Drachia kingdom. The first king of Drachia, King Drach I, found a magic source in this kingdom many years ago. King Drach I agreed to share the magic source with his trusted generals who later became the founders of the Noble families in the kingdom. To ensure the nobles would forever support the king, they entered into a magic contract and the Crown of Eloora is that contract", Prince Geoffraie explained to us.