Development Sneak Peek: Crowns of Old, Part II

As promised, a continuation of last month's dev sneak peek! 

The Ninth Crown: Beloved Dila
Dila became the Crown during a time of relative peace; there were no wars to be fought, and Arsur had finally reached a point of stability. Dila’s reign was best known for the flourishing of arts and culture within the Empire. In fact, it was during Dila’s reign that pleasure houses grew into the influence they now possess.

Crown Dila was known for being a beauty without compare. It wasn’t solely their looks, but also their innate charm that drew people to them; rather, her charm enhanced her appearance into something of almost mythical proportions. A few historians have encountered accounts that say that Crown Dila’s magic itself was the cause, that she possessed a peculiar aura that wasn’t quite elemental in nature, but rather one that enchanted onlookers. These accounts were not verified, however, and officially Crown Dila’s magic is listed to have been an Earth affinity.

Centuries later, poets still compose verses referring to Crown Dila, describing rosewater flowing from their darkly coiled tresses, or the light of the moon held in the night of her eyes. There is even a famous story written of Crown Dila’s encounter with the peri queen, where it is said Dila charmed even Queen Nis and was granted a blessing by her that would ensure a long, peaceful reign.

During their lifetime, Dila had the most lovers out of any Crown to date. Their royal concubines numbered into the two dozen at their largest recorded size, though Dila formally courted only four people during their reign; all four became Jewels of the Crown as well. Dila was very free with her affections, but also selective in who she romanced, even casually. 

Their royal concubines were almost all artists, of various kinds. Painters, sculptors, dancers, singers, musicians, poets, writers and storytellers, even weavers of cloth and carpets—Dila greatly admired and loved all kinds of artistic expression. 

Being a royal concubine usually meant to be committed to the Crown, but Dila went against convention and allowed their concubines to court whomever they wished. Many of Dila’s concubines were artists who worked for pleasure houses, and thanks to gaining Dila’s favor, their pleasure houses rose in status as well.

The Thirteenth Crown: Goldstained Sorgul
Being Ardashir’s successor, Sorgul inherited many projects Ardashir had started, but had been unable to finish before passing away. Most important among those was the Provincial School System, ensuring a public school in each province in order to provide education for all Arsurians.

These schools were no small expense to fund, especially as the years went on. The nobility had always been opposed to the idea, but Ardashir had been too strong-willed and beloved by the people to successfully oppose. His political allies were many, the entire court was supportive of him, and the nobles who fell outside of that instead turned their attention on his successor instead, hoping to influence her.

They were successful. Perhaps feeling overshadowed by her predecessor, or motivated by fundamental disagreement with Ardashir’s idealistic approach, Sorgul also did not fully approve of the schools. She could not get rid of them entirely, as that would risk a public revolt, so instead she limited entry to those who could pay an entrance fee as well as imposing an entrance test. It’s speculated this was to offset the costs that building and maintaining the schools had cost, but it also became a convenient tool to keep those of lesser means out of the schools.

Furthermore, the schools became singularly focused on magic. Before, they were also intended to teach basic knowledge and skills, but that was no longer the case. Subjects like literature, geography and history were no longer taught; students were expected to have prior knowledge of these things in order to pass the entrance test. This meant that even poorer applicants who managed to scrape money together were easily turned away for their lack of knowledge. 

Sorgul’s successor took his cues from her, and would add an additional tuition fee on top, at which point it became almost impossible for the average person to get into one of these schools. Yet, Sorgul never managed to leave a lasting mark on history of her own, aside from unraveling the legacy of her predecessor. In the later part of her reign, she came to resent her title; she isolated herself in her palaces, leaving the court to run itself for many years until her passing, speaking only to her successor.

She was thus mockingly referred to as “goldstained”: a Crown that never should have been.

The Fifteenth Crown: Heartsick Kanî
Kanî was, for all intents and purposes, a competent ruler. He deposed a corrupt Mîr that his predecessor had let run rampant, solidified diplomatic ties with neighboring nations, and even got rid of the tuition fee required to the Schools of Magic—though he did not manage to get rid of the entrance fee. 

While his reign was looked on with approval and he was judged a fair ruler, in his personal life, Kanî was rather miserable. The cause of his problems being the Mîr he deposed, or rather, his daughter. During the early years of Kanî's reign, he had engaged in a long, arduous political battle with Mîr Rubad, who had reigned over the province of Penawar like a tyrant. 

Kanî’s predecessor had been almost as corrupt as Mîr Rubad, only encouraging his tyranny, and the people of Penawar had suffered for it. During this fight with Mîr Rubad, however, Crown Kanî met his daughter, Xeyal, and ended up falling deeply in love with her. Xeyal herself was a kind-hearted girl who was gentle in nature, delicate in her mannerisms, charming to anyone she met—but also very timid.

Whether Xeyal was too scared to go against her father or was content in quietly benefiting from his tyranny, she was still complicit in turning a blind eye to her father’s misdeeds. Kanî soon realized that he would have to punish Xeyal along with Mîr Rubad.

Eventually, the situation escalated to civil war. Kanî was forced to mobilize the Imperial Army to oust Mîr Rubad, with heavy heart. Once he was apprehended, there was no choice but to execute him for his misdeeds, but that left Xeyal to be dealt with.

While Kanî agonized over what to do, Xeyal quietly accepted her fate. Kanî tried to delay rendering judgment on her for as long as possible, instead keeping her prisoner in the palace. Xeyal herself even pleaded with Kanî to execute her as he did her father, the expected punishment, but Kanî could not bring himself to do it.

When Kanî tried to avoid that fate for her, however, the public grew increasingly restless. During an outbreak of protests in the city, diverting Kanî’s attention, nobles from Penawar who had been ousted by Mîr Rubad used the opportunity to break into the dungeons and assassinate Xeyal.

Once Kanî discovered what had happened, he was so overcome with grief that he fell ill for five years. Even after his illness slowly abated, Kanî never fully recovered.

Decades later, on his deathbed, it was still Xeyal he called for.