Supreme Magus novel Chapter 121

The Griffon Kingdom was commonly referred as the Original Kingdom, since more than a millennium ago had been the first great country to emerge from the warring states period in the Garlen continent.

It wasn’t the biggest, the primacy belonged to the Blood Sands tribes, but because of the much harsher life conditions of the desert coupled with its lack of fertile lands, it was without a doubt the richest.

To the north and west it bordered the Gorgon empire, and to the south and east with the Blood Sands desert. The central government was located in the capitol, Valeron, named after the Original King, Valeron Griffon.

The ruler of the Kingdom was also the commander in chief of the royal army.

It was prohibited to private citizens or even nobles to have an army. Those who could afford it, where only allowed to have a personal guard, up to one hundred soldiers.

The simple attempt to recruit or form one was high treason against the Crown, and the perpetrator’s bloodline would be executed up to the third generation. Nobles were only considered as administrators of their land on behalf of the King/Queen.

They weren’t allowed to make laws, only to apply them as they were enacted by the Court. In case of doubt about their interpretation, a simple call via the communication amulet to a royal scribe would clear it.

To waive the laws were needed special circumstances and the King’s direct approval, otherwise it would be considered an act of rebellion.

One of the reasons the Griffon Kingdom had flourished during the centuries compared to is neighbours, was the ruler’s selection process. The title wasn’t hereditary, just like the competence, skill and talent the role required.

After the death of the current ruler, the spouse would hold the reins of the whole Kingdom until the next one was found. To access to the selection, there were three essential requirements.

The candidate had to share, no matter how dilute, the blood of the Original King, also had to possess outstanding magical talent and proved administrative skill. The reason for the first requirement was still a mystery to everyone except the ruler.

The second and third, instead, were quite obvious. Without magic, the ruler would be a prisoner of his own guards, since even a magico level servant could kill him without leaving any trace in barely a second.

Lastly, a good ruler was first and foremost a good administrator. Without a proper sense of justice and balance, he would be either a tyrant, or even worse a profligate strawman in the hands of whoever was able to enable his vices.

Those who satisfied these requirements would be brought in the deepest part of the royal castle, in front of a mystical gate made out of gold and silver, that would open only for those who carried royal blood.

The ones that were found worthy, would emerge from it shocked but unharmed, while the others would never return. It was the main reason why the title of King/Queen was not coveted except from those who sincerely believed to deserve it.

At any time, someone that met the requirements could challenge the current ruler and undertake the trial, but again very few came back.

In it’s thousand-year history, the Court had never elected a ruler without carrying the tradition, and even that was a mystery.

Many thought that behind the gate there was a series of magical artifacts, that would put the candidate to the test and kill those who weren’t fit to lead the Country.

Others that the ghost of the Original King still dwelled in the castle, passing his wisdom through the generations thanks to the bond of blood they shared.

All of them were wrong.

Behind the gold and silver gate, after a short tunnel, there was the lair of the Divine Griffon Tyris, one of the only three Divine beasts that lived on the continent, that history knew only as the Original Queen, from the time she helped Valeron build his Kingdom, which he named in her honour.