The Lost Crown of Kaldaria

The Missing Crown Of Marcius Lesnar Is Said To Show Itself To The True King of Kaldaria.

A myth that began circulating almost immediately after the end of The Inheritance War, The Lost Crown of Kaldaria is said to represent the true heir to the Kaldari throne, and long lost descendants of The Traitor King, Marcius Lesnar, who is believed to have fathered many bastard children. A source of pride for Kaldari Nationalists, it is technically banned through The Kaldari Highlands by King Dimitri Romonov.

Historical Basis

As famine, disease, and desertion ravaged the rebellion lead by The Traitor King, Marcius Lesnar, it become increasingly clear that The Inheritance War was at long last reaching its bloody end. With the death toll in the millions, with nearly a thousand Alvain missing or killed the world of Alwaus could not allow Marcius' aggresion go unpunished. Marcius had lost both of his sons in battle, but his wife was rumored to be pregnant with another child. With Kaldari law & custom clear that the royal lineage would continue with Maricus' unborn child - plans were put into play to appoint a new monarch in the newly conquered capital of Kaldari; serving both as a way to control the region and show the other human nobles that violence against the alvain will not go unpunished. Rumors quickly spread of the Alvain Assembly's plans to dethrone the Lesnar Royal Lineage, and instead install a new royal line in Kaldaria that would be more amiable to Alvain influence. It was around this time that Marcius was no longer seen wearing his crown while holding court. Early rumors suggested it was merely a sign that the ending days of the war were at long last weighing the warrior king down, while others suggested he had sold the crown in a last ditch effort to fund his shattered military forces. When Marcius was at long last killed in the final battle of the war, his crown was never recovered - nor was any verifiable information of it's location. As the crown had been worn by generations of kaldari kings, it's value was of immense importance to newly appointment Romonov royal line, with the years following showing a potentially reckless amount of resources spent in fruitless effort to locate the missing crown. The Romonov family's embarassment and desperation only grew as each month passed by with still no sign of the missing crown. With the first seeds of the myth that crown had simply vanished because the Romonovs were unworthy to lead Kaldaria. After over two years of searching the Romonov family suddenly announced that they had uncovered proof that the crown had been melted down for silver in the final months of the war in order to fund the war effort; a claim that even the common populace of Kaldaria failed to believe. Instead, the Romonov family commissioned a new crown; a crown that still sits upon the head of the reigning monarch to this day. The failure to recover the crown was an unfortunate start for the Romonovs, and began a longstanding mistrust between the Kaldari commoners and the royal family that persists to this day. The story of the unfrutiful search for the crown was put into verse by the bard Neytaleia who wrote about the failed search for the crown in her song "Bloody Sons of Freedom." The song struck a cord with the warsick and humiliated kaldari commoners, and the song was soon sung in taverns and inns across the country, ensuring the embarrassment of the Romonov family would never be forgotten.

Spread

While seeds of the myth were already gaining root in the kaldari cultural zeitgeist before the Romonov's even took the throne, the myth didnt' take on it's mythical and ubiquetous form until the spread of "Bloody Sons of Freedom" by Neytaleia. The song spread through Kaldaria at an unprecedented pace, and soon there wasn't a man, woman, or child who had not heard the song - and it's claims of Romonov Inadequacy.

Betrayed by the snakes
A heart beat of aches
The last king could only despair.
His heirs were all dead
Their blood had been bled
At long last the battle was lost
But the king would not yield
so he journeyed upfield
and buried his prize by a tree
"One day my new son
This may all be undone
And you can come claim this crown for your own"
But the crown was not worn
As the child went unborn
and now who reigns on the throne ?
Not a king.

Verses 45-50 of "Bloody Sons of Freedom" by Neytaleia of Kaldross

Cultural Reception

With the kaldari populace both devastated and humiliated by the end of the The Inheritance War, they looked for a new outlet for their frustration and anger, and soon found it with their new royal family. The song "Bloody Sons of Freedom" was quickly made illegal by the reigning Romonov King, however it continued to be played in taverns across the country - it's ruling nobles either unwilling to anger their populace by enforcing the ban - or perhaps refusing enforcement in an effort to destabilize the new royal family. In present day the song is taught to children at a very young age, and it is common to hear many a kaldari commoner hum the tune abscent mindedly while doing mundane tasks. There are those who take the song to heart however, and hold it close as an anthem against imperial domination and for kaldari independence. There is a widespread belief in Kaldaria that when the rightful heir of the Lesnar bloodline returns to the throne - only then will the crown be revealed.

Date of First Recording

Approx.1 AoE

Date of Setting

1 BoE

Related Ethnicities