Once upon a time in a land far away there was a handsome knight, a member of The Order of Aesthetia. The Order were a small but prolific group of visionaries responsible for the creation of all the art and sculpture seen throughout the kingdom. Their duties were many and varied, they loved their responsibilities and were very proud & loyal subjects, taking their seats in the Tall Castle, the domain of the Unseen King.
For many years the kingdom saw endless days of sunshine, the crops were bountiful, and the kingdom's subjects far and wide had purpose and enjoyed the bounty of their endeavours but times were soon to change. In the short space of only a few moons the sunshine began to fade and the optimism and generosity of the people of the kingdom began to fade with it, before long there were more dark days than light, the crops were less bountiful and the people had less work, the mood across the whole kingdom was dark and depressed and their attention turned from the Tall Castle and it's Unseen king to their now difficult and sparse lives. The Unseen king was upset and enraged by this apparent betrayal believing the people had turned their backs on him. They still wanted his protection and friendship but chose not to receive it while times for them and their families were so hard, many families even moved to a smaller but nonetheless equal and some said less costly kingdom. All suffered in the dark days, even the privileged courtiers, staff and the kings aides felt the tight grip of recession with the king choosing to reduce the concessions and benefits that come from living behind the walls of the Tall Castle. All suffered but for the high table of wizards of course, without whom the Unseen king would not exist, they made sure the Tall Castle lost none of its golden fortune no matter how dark the days became.
The Unseen King decided to take steps to remind the people of his Kingdom he was the the greatest, most beneficial King. However in his desperation to gain popularity (and assure the high table of wizards they would still have enough gold) he chose not to listen to the wise experienced words of The Order and sought advice from an agent across the seas. The agent was wise enough but unfamiliar with the ways of the kingdom of the Tall Castle and chose to promote the Unseen king with song and dance. The knights of the order were confused at this strange, and oddly amateurish campaign, it seemed inappropriate for the times, rushed together, unplanned and uncomfortably executed, an outdated and confusing message to send to the people. The knights of the order felt excluded, and worthless as if their once valued input was no longer needed and became distant from the unseen king in the Tall Castle. The handsome Knight, withdrew to a lonely hillside to reflect upon his position in the sacred order, he felt let down by the machinations of the Unseen King and woefully disappointed with how he had reacted in his urgency to remain popular. The Knight mourned for his beloved Tall Castle, he loved his duties there and he and his fellow Knights had always received high praise for what they added to the Kingdom.
The lonely hillside was quiet, an excellent place to reflect and the Knight could see far across the Kingdom and to the lands beyond. From here he could see many opportunities for an artisan such as himself but could not let go of his loyalty to the Tall Castle, how would he balance the feeling of disappointment with his willing duties to the King? Then, as if on the wind he heard a faint voice echoing through the hillsides, he strained his ear to make it out, again he heard it, the voice seemed faint but the harder he listened the clearer it became, eventually the Knight was sure he knew where the voice was coming from and used his looking glass to scour the hillside of the neighbouring Kingdom, there he saw a lone figure, a naysayer bellowing his opinion of the Tall Castle and the Unseen King and their rushed, incoherent execution of a popularity campaign. Against his code but in a state of uncertainty of his position, the handsome knight bellowed back in agreement "I too agree with your views, it was poorly considered". However in his uncertainty the Handsome knight had neglected to realise his words could also be heard far and wide throughout the Kingdom of the Tall Castle and the secret spies of the Unseen King paid particular attention.
Upon his return to the castle keep the Knight was ordered to the high meeting room in the Tall Castle, he wondered what for, it seemed serious but he couldn't imagine what he might have done to earn such a summons, he hoped it would be to finally have an audience with the Unseen King, perhaps then he might be able to openly voice his dismay but ultimately help the kingdom back to its once proud state. The Knight was to be disappointed though, he was not met by the Unseen King but by one of his own, his General. The General delivered the news that the kings spies had heard the Knights comment from the hillside and was to be dismissed not only from The Order of Aesthetia but banished from the grounds of the Tall Castle. The General was clearly upset with the actions of the Handsome Knight, upset but sympathetic as he too thought The Kingdom of the Tall Castle was at its most desperate and low ebb but he was explicit in his explanation of why they shouldn't publicly voice such concerns. The Knight remained unmoved, he was ready to leave the order and this news, this lack of appreciation and respect for all his hard work that had come before was the final straw. However the General went on to say he had defended the Handsome Knight and his actions and the Unseen King had been persuaded to reconsider the knights dismissal. He had only to retract his statement and the matter would be dropped. This left the knight with a dilemma, to retract his statement would go against his beliefs - position in the order be damned - but where then would his loyalty be to his friend and colleague the General? In the end the choice was simple, friendship and professional respect is more valuable to a Knight of The Order of Aesthetia than loyalty to a King who seemed willing to discard anyone, despite their value to the Tall Castle, purely because they voiced an opinion at odds with his.
There is no moral to this sad tale. The Knight still resides in the Tall Castle and still performs his duties for the Unseen King and the Unseen King still believes his actions no matter how misguided are right and true, the popularity across the kingdom of the Tall Castle is still at its lowest ebb and these days anyone caught disagreeing with the king's actions is banished or sent to the dungeons to reflect on their actions. However, all of the people throughout the kingdom of the Tall Castle and all of its staff to the farthest reaches of the border towns have little or no confidence or loyalty for the Tall Castle, the once proud, majestic even philanthropic kingdom is reduced to desperate tactics to curry favour, tactics that now have the high table of wizards wondering if its time to take their pots of gold elsewhere.
Long Live the King.
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