A Kind King

What I have found out through my travels is that the people never know what they need, only what they want. It is the duty of the government to ensure that the people's needs are met and that their wants are merely acknowledged. For a kingdom conquered by another can always return, but a kingdom killed by its people is dead, forever buried in a desert of woes. Proof of this comes from one of my adventures through the greatest city that history doesn't remember.

There once was a city that was unrivaled by all its neighbors. Its riches ran deep and its people were unified. The city was blessed with the most fertile land and rivers of gold that ran throughout the ground. At the head of this mighty city was King Andro, Lord of Kastaberces. To his people, Andro was strong, prideful, and iron willed. This, however, was a facade set up by his retainers. In actuality, Andro was heartbreakingly kind. He, who was destined to lead the world's greatest city, was not allowed to even see his city. His retainers were greedy, using the king's soft will to their advantage, pocketing wealth and food and using the royal palace for themselves.

This greed was unnoticed for a long time, with most citizens never even doubting their faceless king. However, a great drought struck the city of Kastaberces, ridding its people of their food and water. The fertile fields ran dry and all the crops that supplied the great city died out. This soon sent the city into a riot. The people, high and mighty, demanded that their mighty king step down from his untouchable castle and meet the needs of the city. They would call out to the castle for four days, and each day they received a response from their king. The pain of the people resonated in the king's heart, springing him into action. As I watched this, I could not help but feel puzzled at the actions of the people, and even more so the reactions of the king. People die. It is an unavoidable occurrence. This much I know to be true. However, this logic could be spread further to nations and empires of old and new. An empire that takes from others will eventually fall to another. A kingdom left standing for too long will soon succumb to its own issues. This is the truth of nations. Nothing lasts forever, yet people always try to make it so.

On the first day, the people flooded the gate to the mighty castle and cried out.

"My King! My King!" They cried. "Please share with us the food and water that your highness must certainly have!"

And the King responded.

"My People, O my Poor People! Take with you the harvest of a thousand moons!"

He opened the gates and soldiers came marching down with a bountiful amount of food and water. The people, now satisfied, went back to their homes and remained quiet for the night. The Kind King, believing his purpose to have been fulfilled, once again retreated to his castle. As dawn came again, so too did the woes of the people.

On the second day, the people flooded the gate to the mighty castle and cried out to their kind king.

"My King! My King!" They cried. "Please bless us with the mountains of gold your greatness must have stored in the castle so that we may provide for our families!"

And the King responded.

"My People, O my Poor People! I hear the woes that shake your hearts, please take with you the riches of our Great Kastaberces!"

He opened the gates, and merchants came flooding out with jewels, gold, and other rare materials in tow to offer to the people. The people, now satisfied, returned to their houses and remained quiet for the night. The Kind King, tired from his work, retreated back to his bed and slept till dawn. With a new sun, however, came a new riot. For the spoiled people were far from satisfied.

On the third day, the people flooded the gate of the mighty castle and shouted out to their kind king.

"My King! My King!" They cried. "The winter is ever so approaching. Please give us the clothes and blankets of silk and cotton that your majesty must have stored in your mighty vaults!"

And the king responded.

"My People, O my Poor People! I respond to the cries that you have shouted out to me. Please take with you the silks and finest garments that the palace has to offer!"

He opened the gates, and artisans and designers came rushing out with their finest clothes and blankets in tow. They handed it out to the people in mass, making even the lowest of peasants seem like the highest of nobility. Now satisfied, the spoiled people slithered back into their nests and rested for the night.

It was at this point I felt that it was in the best interest of the city to fall. I never tried to sway any of the people's opinions, for their great and mighty king had spoiled them rotten. This is the failure of humanity in its truest form. Kindness, beyond one's wildest imagination, ruined a once mighty people. It was curious, however, that a man so weak could become one with so much power. My curiosity took the better of me, and I decided to pay a visit to the king in his castle. As I traversed the tall walls of the castle and approached the king's bedroom, I noticed a large lack of guards. Even the soldiers had given up on their king. I found Andros, King of Kastaberces on his balcony, viewing the stars with such pure, raw love.

"Answer me, O Foolish King, how does a man like you become king of a city like this?"

"Is that how one might address me? Well, I suppose so. O Mysterious Sojourner, I can look at your silhouette and see the weight that is behind it. Nobody has shown you love, kindness, or even gratitude before, have they?"

"Of course not, for I am a foreigner even in my homeland. I am both a part of this world and a part of the next, yet I have no place in either."

"O Heavy-hearted Sojourner, you are the example of why I am king of this land."

"What could you possibly mean by that, O Foolish King? You are but a child compared to me."

"In the world, hate persists. But here, I worked to create a wall-less city, one protected by its own feelings of love."

"Yet here we are, a city on the brink of ruin. Surely you must see your own involvement in Kastaberces' collapse?"

"O Sojourner, of course I know. I know that the people will cry out tomorrow. I know that they will the day after that. I know that my retainers are plotting to usurp me. I know. But if I can tap into the heart of just one soul, one small, insignificant citizen, I feel as if my duty has been completed. Up until now, nothing was ever up to me. Even prior to my kinghood, I was forced around. I was forced to leave the woman I loved because I was discovered as the last living noble with royal blood. I was a mere farmer just 20 years ago, and now I run the world's most powerful, sorrowful city."

"You say you loved this woman, yet you allowed yourself to leave? This seems contradictory."

"O friend of death, you do not yet know love. You do not even yet know kindness. You do not even yet know happiness. You said I am but a child compared to you, but from how I see it, you are the child, naive and ignorant of the world."

"You call me 'friend of death', meaning you must know my name?"

"Yes, I know you, angel spawn. The lost child of Heaven, Elad. I know the tale of the unkillable man. The man who faces armies with nothing but bloodlust and longing in his eyes. But hear this, angel spawn; one day, I pray that someone will come before you and hold a world of dreams in their eyes. Only then will you understand my words from this night. Only then will you know happiness. Kindness. And maybe, yes maybe, even love."

"O Foolish King, you know nothing. I fight not with bloodlust and not with longing, but purpose. I will extinguish the hate you so desperately want to eradicate. We serve the same purpose. The only difference is one of them is weak and the other is not."

"O Child of Azrael, did you hear not one word I have spoken? Hatred is not what I seek to eradicate, but rather balance. I agree there is too much hate, but Azrael-Son, if you cannot comprehend the meaning of hatred, you will never be able to fight it. You will only be consumed by it. As I said, bloodlust and longing."

"You must know your fate. Where this road leads. Why not escape it?"

"Because I gave my word to the woman I loved that I would no longer run."

"The promises of the dead are meaningless."

"Maybe to you, O Eternal Son of Azrael, but the promises of the dead are just one way to truly make the living alive. Everyone lives for something. You, O Elad, must look beyond hate and find that. I suppose, it is not yet my place to open your eyes. No, the heavens tell me who shall do the job instead. Even now, I can see the stars reflecting off of her eyes and see the incredible weight she bears. Yes, You will come to realize, one day."

"You speak nonsense, O Foolish King."

"Perhaps."

On the fourth day, the people ran to the walls of the King's mighty castle and cried out to the King.

"My King! My King!" They cried. "Please give us weapons so that we may defend ourselves against our neighbors!"

And the King responded.

"My People, O my Poor People! I shall open to you the armory of the gods, with swords that cut the black sea and shields that can protect against dragons. Take my gifts, O People!"

The gates opened and carts full of weapons and armor were rolled down to the people. The entire city armed themselves and returned to their homes. As the sun set, so too did the people's grievances. This, however, was not the end. Soon the food ran out. Soon the water ran out. Soon the clothes ripped and tore. Soon, all that remained were the weapons. The people, angry at the King, took their arms up and rioted through the city, burning it to the ground. The people laid siege to the King's castle for another 2 days, and on the sixth day after the drought, the King was finally captured and put on trial.

"Do you, Former-King Andros, admit to being guilty of treason and heresy?"

"Yes."

"Do you further plead guilty to causing the drought that brought ruin to our mighty city?"

"Yes."

"Finally, do you also admit that your retainers and advisors are also guilty?"

"No. I do not."

"Former-King Andros III, I sentence you to public execution by beheading."

As I left the city behind me, the words of the foolish king stuck with me. Is my path wrong? Is hatred truly necessary? There was clearly much I did not understand about the world despite my long life. Kindness, in its purest form, is neither good or bad in nature. Perhaps the truth of kindness that I fail to understand is its subjectivity. Or perhaps I fail to understand just how far people are willing to go in the name of kindness. Kindness, perhaps even more than greed, may build up or destroy a man. One can never truly tell. Or, at the very least, I never can.