The Stonebound King – Tale of Nilfgaard
In a time before time, nestled between the realms of myth and reality, lay a kingdom shrouded in dread and mystery, ruled by an enigmatic king known as Luther. The kingdom, Nilfgaard, on the outskirts of human consciousness, was famous for its immense wealth and ethereal beauty that were as mythical as its enigmatic king. However, every inch that the kingdom flourished, the king withered, bound by a curse cast by the dark wizard Fafnir who desired the throne and the queen’s love. The curse was potent; it giften the king eternity and took away his mortality, but with each sunrise, he turned to stone, only to be revived with the moon's ascension.
King Luther's love was Queen Seraphina, renowned not for her beauty but for her heart as gold as her hair, possessing a selflessness that projected onto her queendom. Despite the curse looping into an inexorable cycle of death and rebirth, their love remained sturdy, resonating in the hallowed halls of the castle.
Meanwhile, Fafnir, hidden securely in the labyrinth of torment astride Nilfgaard, continued weaving his dark magic, his plan being to wait until the king's spirit finally withered so that he could claim the throne and Seraphina.
One day, the queen, unable to bear her beloved's suffering, ventured out to seek advice from the Oracle of Illyria, renowned for unraveling the most twisted knots of destiny. The Oracle, with ageless eyes that bore a thousand tales, examined the queen's dejected demeanor, and her heart melted. She said, 'The curse can be undone, but the price is one's life willingly surrendered for another.'
Wordless but resolved, Queen Seraphina returned to her kingdom, where the night was settling in, turning the king back to his human form. He noticed a decisive gleam in her eyes and felt an otherworldly calmness over her.
In the privacy of their chamber, she revealed the only solution to end his ceaseless torment. Luther, in disbelief, implored her not to take such a drastic step. But Seraphina, her heart fortressed with determination, silenced him with a kiss and extracted a promise to let her end this suffering.
As the new sun painted the sky, Queen Seraphina leaped off the highest tower of the castle, her golden hair a comet against the sunrise. Stones that formed King Luther crumbled, and the curse ended with Seraphina's final breath.
Fafnir, sensing a shift in the magic, rushed to claim his prize but found the queen had paid in her blood and the magic barrier protected Luther. Angered by his loss, the wizard attacked, but the king, his spirit rejuvenated by freedom and grief, rushed him with a force that the wizard could scarcely comprehend. Fafnir was defeated, reduced to a shadow and locked away in his own labyrinth.
Luther honored Seraphina's sacrifice, ruling with a wisdom that she had instilled in him. Nilfgaard flourished under him, its wealth and beauty growing ever-more. Yet, the heart of the kingdom, its golden-haired queen, remained part of the legend that echoed in the winds, a lullaby to the undying love that had won over the darkest curse. The king of eternal life, bound by mortality for daylight hours, turned to a statute every night, not as a punishment but now as a choice. He stood sentinel at Seraphina's tomb, a tribute to his beloved, to the love that saved them both and their kingdom from being lost.