Tomli’s reign as king was heralded by the entire kingdom. Even the present king welcomed him warmly and stepped down from his rule with barely an exchange of words. Gracious for this, Tomli offered to keep the resigned king Vehn and his family in a state befitting their royal blood. A manor was built toward the east and it was there they lived out their days, while other holdings were given to the prince’s other siblings in due time.
Garinor served as Tomli’s advisor, and also trained under his father. He became an accomplished swordsman, which was important as time went on. For, though the people were on Tomli’s side and they truly wished to have him as their king, not all was well.
Tomli’s reign was plagued with a series of unfortunate events. The first occurred months after taking residence in the castle. A horrible drought depleted the land of vital water sources. Skirmishes broke out across the land between those who had access to water and those who needed it. Tomli reacted wisely and set limits on prices for water and he dealt sternly with those who violated his edict. He also bartered with neighboring kingdoms for foodstuffs that were vital for keeping his people alive. Even the previous king helped with the negotiations with his relatives in his former home, and it was from there that many supplies arrived.
This success was a seed that made life worse for the young new king, for the relations between Vehn and his relatives opened doors for others to venture into Tomli’s kingdom and take residence, thereby taxing resources further. Resurgences also sprang up around the countryside and Terrian’s forces were hard-pressed to put them down.
Tomli worked hard to maintain order and he was doing well until a strange plague swept across the land. He and Garinor had families by then, and each of them lost a child to the incurable disease. The only hope was prevention, which meant that Tomli needed to procure an expensive rare herb, and it was to be consumed once a day by any who wished to avoid the plague. How the disease was transmitted was anyone’s guess, for it seemed simply to ride the wind. The herb, incidentally, was found in a swampy region with a specific climate and the only one that was not halfway around the world was in Vehn’s relatives’ country. And so relations were further pressed between the two nations and soon more and more people entered Tomli’s land.
The years drifted further onward and though the people understood that droughts, plagues, and then violent storms were forces beyond Tomli’s control, they all noted that none of them had occurred in such numbers before he had assumed the throne. Groups organized across the land and soon a civil war erupted.
Garinor was disheartened to see his friend struggle so hard every day and though he did all he could to help, there were some things he just couldn’t fix.
What irked Garinor as the years went on was a strange sensation that occurred repeatedly. At times the sky would go a brilliant scarlet color, and not always at dusk or dawn. When it lit with that odd ruby glow, chills ran down Garinor’s spine, for he always felt then that he was being watched.
He came to realize in the end that the Voice of the scepter had been correct. All choices had consequences, and by absorbing the prince’s soul before it shattered, the scepter had given a strange power to the prince, who seemed determined to spend eternity making Garinor and Tomli pay.
Tomli struggled all his life to rule his beloved land. He never gave up on the people, even those who rose against him in the troubled times. The civil war was hardest on him, but he kept a firm resolve and he raised his children well. He regrettably passed the problems on to them, but once Tomli’s own reign ended, so too did the prince’s influence, and the days thereafter were ones of healing.
You have come to the end of Garinor’s adventure, but there are other paths to explore. Start over and guide Garinor again along his journey.
The End…