[ WP ] The hero was killed , the princess was sacrificed , and the evil king rules the land . For the average citizen , though , things have taken a turn for the better .

Only the old folks remembered how it used to be. They told stories to the young ones, stories about how the seasons used to come and go, how the sun used to shine for days on end. The royals used to come down and walk among the common folk, to dazzle them with their brilliant parades, full of sparkling jewels and shining clothing. They would throw coins and flowers ( “ Plants, ” said the elders, “ So brightly colored, like jewels of nature! ” ) and the folk thought themselves lucky to have glimpsed humans that were so close to gods. But that was before the Lord High Sorcerer arrived - before the sun had hidden behind the swirling vortex of dark clouds, before everything had changed. The king had been defeated upon riding out to prevent the spread of the Sorcerer ’ s power, in a battle that was said to have shaken the heavens and split the earth, outside the bounds of the kingdom. The Sorcerer had arrived, bearing the dark clouds like a cloak swirling behind him, and the royal family was not heard from again. Whether they had been killed, banished, or disposed of in some other less savory and more magical way, no one knew for sure. The rumors had flown swiftly for a time. Other, more fearful rumors were whispered - would the Sorcerer need bodies or blood for his magic? How would he exercise his powers as the new ruler of the kingdom? But as time passed, and nothing happened to give life to the fears of the common folk, the rumors settled and the folk carried on with their lives underneath the swirling skies. Yes, the sun appeared for only one day in five, and yes, the winter was darker and colder and flowers no longer bloomed, but life went on. Even trade picked back up, once outsiders grew enough used to the dark cloud hanging over the sky above the kingdom. Slowly the common folk realized that things seemed to be improving. The royals were no longer evicting folk to build new additions to the castle or a new garden. There were no more parades that shut businesses down, no coins thrown that incited greedy riots. And without royal hands outstretched to take back money that was due to them - in the form of taxes or bribes - the merchants and tradesman prospered. What did the Lord High Sorcerer do for money? Or for servants? No one was seen to enter or exit the castle. But, prospering, the common folk came to see this as just one of many quirks of their new ruler. It had been decades. The children born under the dark skies knew of the old times only from the stories of the old folks. But, the old folks assured them, “ It ’ s better now than it used to be. Darker, for sure. And stranger. But better. ” 

