Kabir

In ages past, there was a frozen mountain, ruled by a kind and benevolent king. At his side was an equally kind and benevolent knight. The knight was noble, devoted to his kingdom, and made no excuses for his failures. He was honest and embraced his short-comings, and this openness earned him the trust of his king and his peers alike. The knight worked hard to ensure the safety of his homeland and his leader, and for every mistake he made (which were mercifully few), he more than made up for it with three times as many good deeds that had real impact on the kingdom. All corners of the kingdom were touched by his peaceful presence, and he was one of the chief advocates of the king’s virtues, particularly in foreign courts. In possession of a sharp mind and a steady heart, he served more often as a diplomat than a warrior, which suited him perfectly fine.

But then the fateful battle happened, and with his king dead and the king’s brother seated upon the throne, the knight had a new master to serve, and his new master was less inclined to visit far lands or even interact with his own people. Despite the knight’s tactful pushing, the new king refused to listen, more concerning with courting his new mistress than fostering strong bonds with the kingdom’s remaining allies, a mistake that cost him his life. Not two months after marrying the Pearlcatcher countess, the new king was discovered brutally murdered in his chambers, and a frenzied search ensued. The knight worked hardest of all; though he did not approve of the new king, he had sworn oaths under the royal sword, promising his loyalty to the kingdom until the day he returned to the earth and ice. His investigations, though, turned up nothing of note, and just as he was beginning to suspect that something was amiss, there were greater issues at hand.

And so Kabir the knight made the mistakes that put him under King’s control.

He began to suspect her story about her husband’s death when no dragon matching the description she gave could be found, but by then, there were more pressing matters to attend to. Styling herself as King, the queen refused to relinquish control, and ignored the advice of all her counselors when it came to domestic and foreign matters alike. Her violent warmongering was beginning to cost the kingdom far too much, and though Kabir feared her wrath, he feared the kingdom’s destruction far more. With the help of his other knights, he began to search the charters of the kingdom’s foundation. The laws placed there had become outdated, but time was running short, and removing King from power by any means seemed paramount. Finally, Kabir discovered a charter concerning the flow of power within the royal family, and by warm lamplight, he learned that power under the oldest structure of the kingdom should have passed to the queen’s eldest son following her husband’s death. Eager to tell his fellows, he rushed to them, but King had known his quest, and she had come prepared. It was over in an instant, and somewhere deep in his mind, Kabir curses himself for letting his guard down. If he had been a second faster, a hair smarter, than perhaps he would still have free will. But King cast a powerful spell over him, a spell so strong that he bent to his knee and swore allegiance to her for life the moment the final words left her lips. He surrendered the charter to her, and knowingly watched it burn. The following evening, they were married, and though Kabir was crowned the next king and the ultimate wielder of power, his sorceress wife controlled his every choice. Somewhere, in a hazy part of his mind that still belonged to him, he remembered all he once fought for, and the old king he had been willing to die for on more than one occasion. The height of the kingdom was the only thing that preserved him. All else was lost to King’s puppeteering.

Kabir became a warlord in the span of months, conquering other lands far and wide at King’s iron will. No one could do anything to stop her, especially not after she abolished the royal council through Kabir. Now, he waits for someone to break the spell he is under, desperate to become himself again and to make good on his original oaths, the ones willingly given to a rightful ruler. However, with every passing day, he loses more of himself to King’s spell and falls deeper into false love. If he and his kingdom are to be saved, someone stronger than he ever was must come forth and challenge the real terror upon the throne. Until then, he is little more than a shell of a soldier, no longer the noble dragon he once was.

Bio by Tues.