The Council of Crowns was always a spectacle of pageantry, gilded whispers, and veiled power. It wasn't merely a gathering of rulers but a sacred meeting of those chosen by the gods themselves: the Crowns, elites born into royal bloodlines and marked by divine favor to guide the masses. Beneath the surface of diplomatic exchanges and political alliances lay an intricate dance of tradition, duty, and fear.
For the Crowns, the weight of leadership was more than mortal ambition—it was the burden of divine judgment.
The Crowns: Chosen by the Gods
The Crowns were not merely rulers; they were avatars of divine will, handpicked by the gods to uphold order in the mortal realm. Each royal family carried a legacy rooted in ancient pacts, their bloodlines intertwined with the gods' favor. The gods did not choose arbitrarily—Crowns were born under rare celestial signs, their births marked by omens that foretold their roles in shaping the world.
To the outside world, Crowns were symbols of stability and prosperity. They were revered, obeyed, and feared in equal measure. Yet, within their gilded halls, they bore the weight of expectation, knowing that any failure in their duty would mean not just the loss of their kingdom, but also the gods' wrath upon their bloodline.
The Crowns were tasked with overseeing the rituals of naming and maintaining the delicate balance of power between the Keepers, Seekers, Healers, and Hunters. But this divine favor came at a cost: Crowns were forbidden to undergo the naming ritual themselves. The gods decreed that their True Names would remain hidden, locked away from mortal comprehension. To uncover their Names would risk shattering the delicate order the gods had built, for a Crown with a Name could reshape reality itself.
The Keepers and the Ritual of Naming
The Keepers, endowed with amulets and tasked with enforcing the gods' laws, were the Crowns' enforcers. While the Crowns ruled, the Keepers kept the peace, ensuring that the ritual of naming remained sacred and untainted. They hunted rogue rituals, suppressed Unbound, and maintained the balance between mortal ambition and divine decree.
The naming ritual was a rite of passage for those who sought to wield power responsibly. Conducted under the watchful eyes of both Keepers and Crowns, the ritual unveiled a person's True Name in a controlled environment, anchoring their abilities to their amulet. But the ritual was not without risk. Even the slightest misstep could lead to corruption, creating an Unbound—a being consumed by its Name, driven mad by its own power.
The Hunters: Shadows of Rebellion
For every Keeper, there was a Hunter, lurking in the shadows and challenging the authority of the Crowns. The Hunters were a rogue faction, born from the belief that the gods' laws were shackles meant to oppress mortals. They rejected the Crowns' divine mandate, viewing the ritual of naming as a means to control rather than empower.
Hunters conducted their own rituals, often in secrecy and defiance. These rogue rituals were dangerous, lacking the safeguards of the Keepers' tradition. While some Hunters sought only freedom, many succumbed to their greed for power, becoming Unbound in the process.
The Rose of Truth: A Forbidden Knowledge
The Crowns' greatest fear was the rise of the Rose of Truth, a symbol whispered in forbidden circles among Seekers and Hunters. The Rose represented humanity's desire to uncover the secrets of the gods, to wield their True Names without constraint. Legends told of a time when mortals would rise up, their Names fully awakened, and challenge the gods themselves.
This fear was not unfounded. Throughout history, there had been moments of rebellion, brief flashes of mortal defiance against divine rule. The fall of the First Crown, who sought to uncover their True Name and became an Unbound of godlike power, was a chilling reminder of what could happen when mortals defied the gods' will.
The Beginning of the Ritual
The grand hall of the Council of Crowns was a study in opulence, with its gilded arches and towering stained glass windows casting rainbow patterns on the polished marble floors. The Crowns gathered in their ceremonial attire, each one a living symbol of their kingdom's glory.
Among them were the heirs: young princes and princesses, scions of divine bloodlines, who would one day inherit the mantle of leadership. Yet even here, the weight of the gods' gaze was palpable. No Crown could escape the ritual of judgment—the moment when their divine mandate would be tested, and their worthiness confirmed.
Lore Intertwined with Tension
Coal lounged near a table piled high with delicacies, his irreverent demeanor a sharp contrast to the tense formality of the gathering. Beside him, Silver maintained a stiff posture, his expression betraying his unease.
"You'd think the gods themselves were about to walk through those doors," Coal murmured, taking a sip from his goblet.
"They might as well," Silver replied, his voice tight. "This isn't just a council—it's a ritual. A test."
Coal raised an eyebrow. "A test for what? How well we can fake smiles and play nice?"
Silver didn't answer, his gaze fixed on the center of the hall, where the ritual altar stood.