The Kingdom of Sokron
A long time ago, in a land far away, the Kingdom of Sokron was a powerful realm which dominated the entire Eastern continent. It was founded in the year 300 by Erich I Sokron, who established the city of Sokro, and, according to the bards of Sokron, established the Assembly of the Estates. This Assembly was made up of the Three Estates of the Realm, namely the Clergy of the Three-Faced God, the Nobility, and the Commoners. The Kings of Sokron ruled with help from the Assembly for 300 years, and established a mighty empire which encompassed the entire Eastern Continent.
However, everything changed in the year 600, when King Erich VI Sokron was slain in the battle of Salo, leaving his infant son, Roberto II, as the new King of Sokron. Since Roberto was too young to rule, the Assembly elected a High Prince, Morgan Nissero, to rule as regent until Roberto II came of age. Roberto came of age at 16, but High Prince Nissero remained the real power in the land, and due to Nissero's skills, the realm continued to prosper.
When King Roberto II turned 30, he ordered the High Prince to return the power of government to him, but the Assembly sided with the High Prince. Roberto II gathered his troops and attacked the Assembly, but High Prince Morgan gathered the guards of the Assembly and challenged the King to a duel. No one won the duel, for both King Roberto and High Prince Morgan were slain. So, Roberto's infant son, Erich VII, was made King, and the Assembly decided to assume the regency and elect a new High Prince every 5 years. The Kings remained as figureheads, and the High Prince, along with the Assembly ruled the Kingdom in the King's name.
During theera of the High Princes, the role of the King was to address the Assembly at the start of the session, and to stamp laws made by the Assembly, as proposed by the High Prince and the Grand Council, which substituted for the Assembly when it was not in session, which was for most of the year. The system worked pretty well, for no King wanted to end up like Roberto.
However, after 200 years, this tranquility was shattered when King Erich XI died at age 150, leaving two sons, Erich and Morgan. Erich assumed the throne as Erich XII, and at first, all seemed fine. However, Erich XII began asserting himself, for unlike the figurehead kings of the era of the High Princes, he was his own man, who even made a new Code of Laws for the realm. He expanded the realm after a brief war with the Principality of Mazuvia, but the Sokronian Kingdom was exhausted.
As Erich XII was going back from the wars, Morgan was captured by the rich merchant Carl Fox, a deputy of the Commoners, and civil war erupted once again. Fox had Morgan crowned as King Morgan VIII, and rallied his supporters against King Erich XII. After a battle in Sokro City, King Erich XII was killed and Morgan VIII became the new monarch, and Fox was elected as High Prince. However, King Morgan was kept a prisoner in the Royal Palace, while Fox ran things.
High Prince Fox proved to be an able ruler who helped the realm prosper through trade contacts with the neighboring kingdoms and he edited King Erich's Law Code. In the year 1000, however, King Morgan died, leaving only an infant son, named Richard. Due to Richard's young age, and the powerlessness of King Morgan, the High Prince convinced the Assembly to leave the throne vacant, and thus, Carl Fox was made Lord Protector of the Kingdom.
Fox's first act as Lord Protector was to indefinitely prorogue the Assembly, and thus, the only limit to Fox's power was the Grand Council. Thus, as High Prince and Lord Protector, Fox was even more powerful the the Kings of old. Since High Prince Fox was a capable ruler, the people of Sokron did not mind not having a King.
One day, in the sixth year of Fox's Protectorate, the President of the Grand Council, Robert Henry, proposed a motion to offer the Crown to Fox.
The Council voted unanimously to offer Fox the Crown.
President Henry said, "Your Grace, since you have ruled us really well, the Grand Council wishes to offer you the crown."
High Prince Fox replied, "I am not cut out to be King, since I am a merchant, the son of commoners."
Interior Minister Eden asked, "Your Grace, we know that with you around, we don't need a King. Heck, we don't even need the Assembly, but what will happen when we lose you?"
High Prince Fox replied, "The Three-Faced God will decide who the next King will be. Don't bother me with the succession!"
The Grand Council never discussed the succession again.
High Prince Fox continued to successfully rule the Kingdom for 40 more years, but when he reached the age of 140, he took to his bed, knowing that his time was to be finished.
High Prince Fox called for a scribe.
Fox dictated, "When I die, tell the council to call the Assembly of the Estates. Have the Estates meet as they did before I became Lord Protector, and select a new King from the descendants of Erich I."
"Furthermore, when I'm gone, no one should take my place as High Prince, to end the strife that takes place when a High Prince tries to replace the King."
After dictating his last will, High Prince Fox breathed his last. He was the best ruler that Sokron ever had, despite his humble origins. However, by centralizing power on himself, he set the stage for disaster, for after his death, the Grand Council did not know what to do. So, all they did was begin the preparations for convening a new Assembly of the Estates.
