Once upon a time, there was a boy who lived in a city who was slowly dying. He rescued another friend of his from death, and his friend said, if you want to stop us from dying, you have to become a king beyond kings.
So the boy did. Along the way, he made a lot of friends and learned how to trust people, but he never forgot what he swore to. Plenty of people died anyway. Nevertheless, of the friends that he'd kept throughout his time, some of them survived to serve in court, where they remain happy, alive, and well, though his hands are bloodied and bound to the methods which have kept them alive and have kept the city alive. There is only so much one can do for a dying city, and anyway, some people never had the choice to live normal, happy lives. Some people chose not to at all.
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So the boy did. Along the way, he made a lot of friends and learned how to trust people, but he never forgot what he swore to. Plenty of people died anyway. Nevertheless, of the friends that he'd kept throughout his time, some of them survived to serve in court, where they remain happy, alive, and well, though his hands are bloodied and bound to the methods which have kept them alive and have kept the city alive. There is only so much one can do for a dying city, and anyway, some people never had the choice to live normal, happy lives. Some people chose not to at all.