Shadows of the Wicked King

In a kingdom veiled by mist and mystery, there once ruled a king named Malgareth, known throughout the land as "The Wicked King." His reign was long and dark, steeped in cruelty, and marked by fear. His legacy, however, was not just one of power and terror—it was a tale of how shadows linger even after the man who cast them has fallen. This is the story of King Malgareth's reign, and the haunting consequences of a monarch who ruled not with love, but with iron fists and bloodied hands.

Chapter 1: The Ascension of Malgareth

King Malgareth was not born to rule. His older brother, Halred, was the true heir to the throne of Eryndor, a peaceful and prosperous kingdom nestled between two rivers. Halred was beloved by the people, and known for his kindness and wisdom. Margaret, by contrast, was a shadow—quiet, brooding, and filled with envy. Though younger, he was always plotting, always watching.

When Halred ascended to the throne after their father’s death, it seemed Eryndor was destined for a golden age. But Malgareth had other plans. In the dead of night, he struck, poisoning his brother and seizing the crown for himself. The court was shocked, but too terrified to oppose him, for Malgareth had already begun to surround himself with loyal soldiers—men who were as ruthless as he was. And so, the kingdom fell under his dark reign.

Chapter 2: Fear Takes Root

Malgareth’s first act as king was to establish a council of shadowy figures, his enforcers, who would ensure absolute obedience from his subjects. These men, known as the Sable Court, were feared throughout the land. They dressed in black cloaks, their faces hidden behind iron masks, and they carried out Malgareth’s will with unflinching brutality. Whispers of rebellion or dissent were silenced with executions, public floggings, and the destruction of entire families. Fear spread like wildfire.

The king’s castle, once a symbol of hope and safety, became a place of dread. It was said that the dungeons below the castle ran so deep that they touched the underworld and that the screams of prisoners echoed through the walls at night. Malgareth, isolated from his people, ruled from his darkened throne room, attended only by his Sable Court and the occasional messenger who left trembling in fear.

Malgareth’s laws were harsh and unforgiving. Taxes were raised to unbearable levels, forcing the common folk into poverty. Farmers starved as their crops were seized, artisans were forced to create weapons for their ever-growing army, and merchants were driven to ruin by heavy tariffs. Yet no one dared to speak out. The king’s spies were everywhere, and even the faintest rumor of rebellion meant death.

Chapter 3: The Shadows Spread

As the years passed, the kingdom of Eryndor changed. It became a land of shadows, both literal and metaphorical. The once-vibrant villages fell into decay as people fled or perished under the weight of Malgareth’s tyranny. The forests, once lush and green, were said to have withered, becoming haunted groves where no one dared venture. The rivers ran dark and slow, as though poisoned by the very air of the kingdom.

Legends began to spread of creatures lurking in the woods, born from the darkness that Malgareth’s rule had brought. They called these creatures Shadeborn—twisted beings that prowled the night, preying on anyone foolish enough to be caught outside after sunset. Whether these creatures were real or merely a product of the people’s fear was unclear, but the terror they inspired was undeniable.

Meanwhile, the king’s court descended further into decadence and madness. Margaret became obsessed with dark rituals, consulting strange sorcerers and priests who promised him eternal life and unlimited power. It was said that he dabbled in necromancy, raising the dead to serve as his silent sentinels. Some claimed they had seen the corpses of long-dead soldiers patrolling the castle’s ramparts, their hollow eyes glowing faintly in the night.

The more Malgareth sought to secure his power, the more his kingdom decayed. It was as though his very presence corrupted the land itself. Yet, through it all, he remained untouchable. His iron grip never loosened, and his people’s fear never wavered.

Chapter 4: The Spark of Rebellion

Despite the overwhelming fear that gripped the kingdom, a small spark of rebellion began to grow. It started in the forgotten corners of Eryndor, among the peasants and farmers who had lost everything to the king’s greed. They were led by a young woman named Lyanna, whose family had been executed by the Sable Court after her father dared to speak out against the king’s tyranny.

Lyanna was a symbol of defiance, her spirit unbroken by the horrors around her. She gathered a group of like-minded rebels—farmers, former soldiers, even some of the king’s disgruntled guards—and began to plan the unthinkable: the assassination of King Malgareth.

For years, the rebellion grew in secret, carefully avoiding the watchful eyes of the king’s spies. They spread messages through coded songs and hidden symbols, rallying the people to their cause. It was said that wherever Lyanna went, the shadow lifted, if only for a moment. She became known as The Lightbearer, a beacon of hope in a land consumed by darkness.

Chapter 5: The Fall of the Wicked King

One stormy night, after years of careful planning, Lyanna and her rebels launched their attack on the castle. Using secret tunnels that led deep beneath the fortress, they infiltrated the dungeons and made their way toward Malgareth’s throne room. The air was thick with tension as they crept through the shadowy halls, aware that the king’s enforcers could appear at any moment.

When they reached the throne room, they found Malgareth seated upon his dark throne, surrounded by the Sable Court. The king’s face was pale and gaunt, his eyes sunken, as though he had been drained of life itself by the very darkness he had conjured. Lyanna stepped forward, her sword drawn, ready to end his reign once and for all.

But Malgareth did not flinch. Instead, he smiled—a twisted, eerie smile that sent chills down the spines of all present. “You think killing me will free this kingdom from the shadows?” he hissed. “The darkness is not in me—it is in all of you. I am merely the mirror that reflects your fear.”

Lyanna’s blade struck true, piercing Malgareth’s heart. His body crumpled to the floor, lifeless. But as his blood pooled around him, the shadows in the room seemed to grow, swirling around the fallen king’s corpse. The Sable Court, realizing their master was dead, fled into the night, their iron masks discarded in fear.

Chapter 6: The Dark Legacy

With Malgareth’s death, the people of Eryndor celebrated, believing that the reign of darkness had finally come to an end. Lyanna was hailed as a hero, and the throne was offered to her, but she refused, choosing instead to return to the countryside to help rebuild the lives that had been destroyed by the wicked king.

However, Malgareth’s words echoed in the minds of those who had witnessed his death. Though the king was gone, the fear he had instilled in his people remained. The shadows that had crept into the kingdom during his reign did not vanish with his passing. The land was scarred, its people haunted by the years of terror they had endured.

Strange rumors began to surface. Some claimed that Malgareth’s spirit still roamed the halls of his castle, a ghostly figure wrapped in shadows, watching over the kingdom he had once ruled. Others whispered that the Shadeborn still prowled the woods, searching for victims to drag into the darkness. The shadow of the wicked king had left a permanent stain on Eryndor, one that would take generations to erase.

And so, the reign of King Malgareth became a dark legend, passed down through the years as a warning of what happens when a ruler governs through fear and cruelty. Though the king himself was long gone, his shadow remained—a reminder that the darkness within men’s hearts can never be truly vanquished.

The wicked king had fallen, but his legacy lived on in the shadows he left behind.