ID: 294

Outcome: Narrow Victory

Open After Story: Yes

Manual Prompt: Yes

Text:

The Sultan has fallen before you.



You raise your sword high and the surrounding people burst into a frenzy of cheers—a dragonslayer hero, a new ruler vanquishing the Sultan! A moment of unrivaled brilliance the empire has never experienced, mortals achieving such eminence!



Yet, ruling proves far harder than slaying a fire dragon. You bring too much change, too swiftly, without securing enough loyal supporters. The nobles seize upon your dragonslayer fame to enrich themselves. They levy higher taxes in your name, claiming the gold is tribute for you. They seize the lands of freeman, declaring them fit for your palaces. They raise private armies, boasting they will aid your conquests...



Their treachery gnaws at you. At last, you strike down one scheming noble, and the rest grow meek as lambs.



Months later, another noble takes peasant girls, claiming they are gifts for you... So you kill him, too. This time, several courtiers dare to protest, calling the punishment too harsh, so you silence them by executing the least useful among them.



Thus, you learn that bloodshed is the surest way to rule. The more you kill, the smoother your reign. Gallows sprout in the cities, corpses swaying like grim fruit. Before long, men begin calling your capital "The Shrike's Forest".



Your enemies multiply, your friends dwindle. People fear you - not for the dragon you slew, but for the countless men you butchered. Your Lapis Lazuli Palace fall silent, for none dares speak lest they die. Occasionally, crude pamphlets surface among the smallfolk, depicting you as the Dragon-Slaying Sultan: a winged, fire-breathing monster... So you burn 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.

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