Storytelling Week 2: The Kingdom of Greed

King Dakin slammed the tankard on the table in celebration.  He was the most powerful king in all the kingdoms and he had just heard news of his first boy being born. As King Dakin finished the warm red wine, the rest of his council around him sang the kingdom’s hymn with celebration for the future king. Once finished, Dakin walked up the stone staircase to his chamber to meet his exhausted wife, Kiya, holding a sweet little boy. With a quick swift of the king’s massive hands, the little prince was in the arms of his father. King Dakin looked down in awe at his new boy and muttered, “Welcome to the world, Khal.”

Source: Castle 

As the years passed Khal grew into his large frame. He became known as one of the strongest men in the kingdom, even rivaling his father. He quickly became an expert with the long-blade sword, and even better with an eight-foot spear. It was rumored he could through it clear over the nearby mountain.  All the boys in the kingdom envied his strength and swordsmanship. By the time he was eighteen, he had seven siblings: six sisters and one half brother who was a hundred moons younger. The brother was born to his father’s mistress Harriet, which brought many issues to the kingdom. The question of which son would come into power and be the great king would now be an issue. Khal’s brother’s name was Kaydo. 

Now the half-brothers got along most of the time, but Kaydo was consumed with the greed of wanting to be the king instead of his brother. Furthermore, Harriet desired her son Kaydo to become king instead of Khal. They conspired a plan to kill the king and pin it on the eldest prince. The mother and son wrote the plans on a scroll in order to give to one of the guards that hated King Dakin as much as they. The guard would ensure that the men protecting the king when the assassination was going on would not stop the plan. The plan would be implemented  on the first hunt of the winter months.

Finally, on a cold winter night, the King went on a hunting trip with the two boys for sport. The men crept along the frozen stream, swords and spears in hand. Just when they were about to give up, they heard a rumbling noise in the distance. Out of nowhere jumped a huge boar with tusks longer than the spear Khal possessed. As the boar attacked the king, Khal launched his spear with blistering speed into the side of the boar’s head. The boar let out a deafening cry as it took its last breath. The king, breathing heavily, grinned at Khal looking at their hunting feat. Just as Khal and King Dakin embraced in victory, Kaydo slid his sword into the back of the King, mortally wounding him. Khal yelled out in horror, seeing his father fall down and breathe his last breath. Kaydo quickly turned his attention towards Khal.  He tried to give him the same fate as the King. In disbelief, Khal picked up his bloody spear out of the boar and in utter anger threw his spear into Kaydo’s stomach. Kaydo was slowly dying as Khal peered down at him. Kaydo realized what a terrible mistake it was to try and take over the kingdom from the brother and father that he loved. Greed and his mother’s advice had gotten in the way of what was truly important: family. . As he lay there dying, he spoke to Khal.

Source: Hog

“Khal, trying to murder our father is the worst decision I have ever made. My crooked mother Harriet persuaded me and forced me to commit these crimes. There is a scroll in my chamber that has the details of our plan written out. Goodbye, my brother, I will miss thee.”

Khal, in despair, walked back to the kingdom and then directly to Kaydo’s room. He turned Kaydo’s chamber upside down, finally locating the scroll. As he entered the kitchen, he looked right into Harriet’s face and dropped the scroll onto the table. In utter disbelief that Khal had located the scroll, the mistress broke down crying for she knew of her fate, death. Khal, in his mercy, spoke the words: “You shall be banished to the forest for every moon until darkness.” 

As Kaydo wept for what happened, he realized he was now the King. He had to be what everyone thought he was, a strong and intelligent King. As he walked out of the kitchen and onto the balcony, he looked out at his new kingdom where his father would no longer reside. He was  ready for a new beginning. 

Author's Note: My inspiration for the Prince Khal is of Rama and his excellent wielding of weapons, along with his strength and knowledge. In the Ramayana, Kaikeyi exploits King Dasaratha by forcing him to exile Rama. This is because she wants her son Bharata to be the king instead of Rama. This parallels my story in that the mother of the younger brother wants her son to be king. However, Bharata is very loyal to Rama unlike Kaydo with Khal. I wanted Khal to be like Rama, so he had sympathy for his father’s mistress. Instead of killing her, he banishes her. This is inspired by Rama himself because he is a very forgiving and empathetic king. This was great to include in my story because I feel that empathy is one of the best characteristics of a king. Khal is now the king of all these kingdoms as he watches the woman be exiled. Also, the mistress (Harriet) trying to make her son a king is inspired by Kaikeyi in the original Ramayana. Unlike in my story, though, Kaikeyi does not want to kill the king, but simply wants to get rid of the next in line key. Khal is very similar to Rama, but I do not think Rama would have killed his brother. The circumstances were different, though, so we do not know how Rama would have acted. Furthermore, I have gained inspiration for my story from the Game of Thrones book/movie series. Robert Baratheon, the king, is accidentally killed in a hunting trip. He is killed by the hog they are hunting, but in my story I changed what happened. I changed it into making the king be killed by the people he is with. 

Bibliography: Mackenzie, Donald, "Kaikeyi and Dasharatha." (1913). Web Source: Project Gutenberg

Martin, George, Game of Thrones.1996. Publisher: Bantam Books