ID: 256

Outcome: Narrow Victory

Open After Story: Yes

Manual Prompt: Yes

Text:

The Sultan fell before you.



You raised your sword high, and the crowd roared in frenzy. You were a dragonslayer, a new ruler who had conquered the Sultan! Never before had the empire known such glory, that a mortal could ascend to such heights!



Yet, ruling proved far harder than slaying a dragon. You brought too much change, too swiftly, without securing enough loyal supporters. The nobles seized upon your dragonslayer fame to enrich themselves. They levied higher taxes in your name, claiming the gold was tribute for you. They seized the lands of free folk, declaring them fit for your palaces. They raised private armies, boasting they would aid your conquests...



Their treachery gnawed at you. At last, you struck down one scheming noble, and the rest grew meek as lambs.



Months later, another noble took peasant girls, claiming they were gifts for you... so you killed him too. This time, several courtiers dared protest, calling the punishment too harsh, so you silenced them by executing the least useful among them.



Thus, you learned that bloodshed was the surest way to rule. The more you killed, the smoother your reign. Gallows sprouted in the cities, corpses swaying like grim fruit. Before long, men began calling your capital "The Shrike's Forest".



Your enemies multiplied, your friends dwindled. People feared you - not for the dragon you slew, but for the countless men you butchered. Your halls of Lapis Lazuli fell silent, for none dared speak lest they die. Occasionally, crude pamphlets surfaced among the smallfolk, depicting you as The Dragonslayer Sultan: a winged, fire-breathing monster... so you burned the makers of these pamphlets, as a true dragon would do.



Let them whisper. Let them curse. Were they seated upon your throne, they would fare no better.

References

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