[ WP ] The King is dying and decides to abdicate his throne before he dies . During the coronation ceremony , he places the crown on a servant 's head and declares him king , rather than one of his two sons .

`` This is... unlawful,'' whispered the red-robed man, hands closing on the shoulders of two young boys who stood in front of him. Prince Karlovi was four. Prince Iskar only two. 
 
 `` Do I not make the law?'' King Karlov was pock-marked and sallow faced, but he managed to deliver the line with enough force that the courtiers turned their faces away from both king and lord chancellor, so as not to witness the forthcoming shame of the latter. 
 
 `` Of course, Sire, but the people will not accept this.'' And it was true. Folk heroes were well enough in the tales, but it rankled the nobility to see one so low raised above them, and would rankle to peasantry to see one of their own ascend for his connections. 
 
 `` A disappointment!'' exclaimed the king, `` The very word! Dis-appointment! You're merely upset that you sha n't have your chance to play voice behind the throne to the lads.'' And this was true too. The appointment had been a recent one, granted not by the king but by the House of Lords in order to temper his Magesty's increasingly erratic policymaking. They had had the Code of Dur in mind when they'd made the declaration of course: by rights, he ought to have become co-regent alongside the Queen Dowager when his Majesty passed, but the man who now wore the crown was no minor. 
 
 His name was Urich, and he has been the king's cup-bearer in both the literal and the Jovian sense. His Majesty's tastes had been well known to all at court, of course, but to pass over one's own sons to suit one's lover... and low-born at that! 
 
 `` There is no one I trust more than Urich,'' the king was saying now, `` For I know he looks upon my sons as his own, and I know that he has sworn to take no wife so long as they both live.'' He was shaking beneath his furs, the Lord Chancellor saw, not with cold but with the effort of holding himself upright. 
 
 `` What of Queen Iskara, Karlov?'' When he spoke, Urich's voice was soft as ever. 
 
 The king answered with a sneer. `` A woman? What do women know of love? Of duty? You think the kingdom would do better under a bitch and a cur? You do not think highly enough of yourself, King Urich. Yes, *King* Urich, for king is what I've made you. You've been by my side through countless council meetings while she was off playing pretty maids with her ladies or practicing her embroidery.'' But this was a half truth, for King Karlov had forbade the queen and her court from attending council meetings. 
 
 It was over all too quickly. The king, pleading his poor health, hurried through the rest of the ceremony and the courtiers, deprived of the chance for discussion, swore their allegiance to the new king and were dismissed. King Urich smiled wanly at the Lord Chancellor who still kept a protective hand on the shoulder of the two little boys. 
 
 `` Fear not, Lord Chancellor Brecht. I intend to marry the Queen Dowager when my beloved Karlov passes. I shall make the boys my heirs by marriage if not by blood, and all will be right in the eyes of the people.'' 
 
 But the Lord Chancellor drew no comfort from this. It was well known King Karlov's illness had rendered him impotent these last six years.
