Swallow’s Keep: The Green Prince
Prince Harrowfed is the current Green Prince of Swallow’s Keep. The Green Prince essentially maintains order and peace on Illumnia’s soil and protects all living things from supernatural threats and evil-doers from Tenebrye. The Green Prince acts as a second ruler of Illumnia and while they don’t answer directly to Caelia, a regular visit to Cerulis is sometimes scheduled. It’s been said that no evil threat has once even seen Cerulis from the ground thanks to the Green Prince’s vigilance.
To become a Green Prince, the candidate must prove they are capable of combat, decision-making, and diplomacy. Once a series of candidates are chosen by the people of Swallow’s Keep following the old age of the current one, an event called the Synthesis occurs. Candidates will have to enter a maze and escape while making sure to cover three challenges that tackle the issues of combat, decision-making, and diplomacy. The one with the most promising results is christened in an ancient grove and marked as the true prince by a procession of Green Thumb warriors.
Lord Harrowfed was a simple cobbler in his very small village somewhere on the rim of the grasslands. The harvest was rough and the Grassland Raiders made maintaining livestock practically impossible. On a quest given to him by his father, Harrowfed traveled to Swallow’s Keep to gain the good graces of the Green Prince. Much to the surprise of Harrowfed and the people of Swallow’s Keep, the Green Prince had died tragically when he ate a rotten piece of meat. A Synthesis was immediately created and every nearby man was put in the running, including Harrowfed.
First, he competed in combat with a well-trained knight. He lost but showed great honor and resolve by not giving up. Then he was faced with an ethical challenge. Two women fought over a baby. Both said the baby was theirs and that the other woman was lying. In one decision, he moved as if to kill the infant, but it was a trick. One woman begged for the child’s life while the other didn’t care. It became obvious that Harrowfed had made the right choice. Finally, he had to mediate an argument between two family heads. He appealed to both interests and found common ground, completing the final challenge. He made it through and when they reviewed the results, Harrowfed’s righteousness, intelligence, and kindness taught to him by his simple farmer father earned him the title of the Green Prince.
