Cristern Pyrxes [WIP]

Far before the struggles of World War 3 and the struggles of the present day, the soul that would one day be known as a Cristern Pyrxes was naught but a man, borne unto royalty but otherwise unremarkable. While his family was a powerful one in those days, their position was by no means stable. Every advantage was something to be fought for, every hint of opportunity had to be seized with both hands. Despite all odds, the family flourished, rapidly expanding their hands with a firm hand and happy people.

As the boy grew up, he showed a keen mind and was a quick study with a blade, quickly adapting to the station of his birth. More importantly, Cristern was an absolute genius when it came to politcs, significantly furthering his family's position before he was even a full Duke. When it was his time to take control of his father's title at the age of 20, he and everyone around him knew he was more than ready.

And for the first sixteen years of his reign, they were, on the whole, pretty accurate. Building upon the foundations his family had left for him, Cristern was quickly able to expand and solidify his powerbase. His Dukedom entered into an era of utter peace and prosperity, and the Duke himself was nothing but happy. He felt he had achieved the peak of his life, and that the horizon held nothing but more good things. Eventually, Cristern became complacent, his armies idle and poltics ignored, content to sit on his laurels.

Unfortunately, it wasn't to last.

As the Black Death swept Europe, uncountable numbers of people died horribly, and there was almost nothing anyone could do to stop the slaughter of Nature. Wars sprang up faster than flowers, only furthring the chaos as the world that had existed before utterly ceased to exist. Cristern's kingdom was no exception to this grand reaping, and what was once a bastion of peace and honor blackened as the death toll rose. Desprate to preserve his perfect kingdom, Cristern adopted tactics that he would have once thought monstrous. The sick were quarantined in their houses and burned to prevent the spread of the disease, no matter their social standing. Traveling groups of bandits were wiped out without exception, and their heads mounted like gruesome signposts above the castle gates. As Cristern's mind came apart under the stress, one thought pervaded his mind, "Why couldn't things just remain as they were."

As things went in those days however, Cristern's family ended up being blamed for the destruction wrought by their kingdom, and angry mobs began pounding at their doors. Even as supplies ran out and his castle was overrun, Cristern remained obssessed with returning to his days of pleasure and idleness, even as the mob tore him to burning shreds.