Kingfisher Prince

"*To the kingfisher, may we never shame it*"
―Prince Frederic Goethal
The Kingfisher Prince is a Name that developed in Prince Frederic Goethal of Brus during the defense of the Morgentor.

## Role

The role of the Kingfisher Prince seems to be that of a savior in desperate circumstances. Prince Frederic, the first known holder of the Name, gained it while fighting an army of the dead, preserving the final tower of the Morgentor, the only fortress preventing the dead from entering the heart of northern Procer. In the story of the kingfisher, it saves the people of the Kingdom of Halcyon by leading them to survival, mirroring how Frederic, the first holder of the Name, leads his men in ensuring, if somewhat temporarily, the survival of northern Procer.

### Background

The Name is likely inextricably tied to the House of Goethal, the ruling family of the principality of Brus in the Alamans region of Procer, due to the kingfisher bird being the symbol of the Goethals. When the first Goethal was crowned as princess of Brus, hundreds of Kingfishers were seen in the capital

### The Kingfisher

The story of the kingfisher paints a picture of Brus (then known as Halcyon) as a beautiful, fertile land ruled by a pious king and queen in favor with the Gods Above. The king and queen eventually grew too proud and felt they owed nothing to the Heavens and were punished, with their three sons being turned into a wolf, an snake, and a bird, respectively.

The king and queen renounce the Heavens and allow citizens of Halcyon to destroy monuments to the Gods Above. Above then turns a third of Halcyon into swampland. The third son (the bird) teaches the citizens of Halcyon's swamps how to survive by fishing in the swamp, forever staining his throat and belly red with fish blood. As a result, the people of Halcyon's swampland return to worshipping the Gods Above.

The king and queen abdicate in favor of their eldest son (the wolf) and charge him with sowing discord in the people of Halcyon as revenge for the returning to the Gods Above. The Gods Above punish Halcyon by rendering another third of the land barren, turning it into stone hills. The youngest son drives out the wolf-king and leads the people of the stone hills to a river, where upon bathing in it, discover copper and cobalt in the stone hills. The metals can be traded for food, allowing the people of Halcyon's stone hills to survive and return to the grace of Above. The youngest son's feathers turn blue upon him bathing in the river.

The king and queen seek to make amends with their youngest son, but their second son (the snake) swears himself to the Gods Below kills them in their sleep. The Gods Above curse the remaining third of Halcyon to be a land embroiled in war as punishment. The youngest son seeks the help of the people of the swamps and hills to stop his brother. The people of the swamp fight, but the people of the hills choose to only provide weapons and are made sick by the metal they unearth as punishment for their cowardice. The youngest son and the fishermen of the swamp bring peace to Halcyon and the youngest son is proclaimed the King of Fishers.

## Abilities

The current holder of the Name shows a remarkable ability to survive. He is described as holding a line by "sheer dint of *refusing to die*", surviving an axe swing by another Named to the neck, and surviving severe wounds taken from destroying a Crab. This may suggest that future Kingfisher Princes/Princesses will have a similar ability.

## Known Holders

**Frederic Goethal**: The nephew of the previous Prince of Brus, Amaury Goethal. He was adopted as his heir as Amaury's two sons were considered unsuitable. Amaury was killed in battle and Nathanael, Amaury's son seized power. He was deposed by Cordelia Hasenbach who instated Frederic to power.

Frederic gained his Name while fighting the forces of the Dead King at Morgentor. He started a suicide charge along with his men to buy time for the rest of the forces to escape. However he was able to survive and gained his Name, Kingfisher Prince.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 https://practicalguidetoevil.wordpress.com/2020/01/06/prologue-6/
2. ↑ https://practicalguidetoevil.wordpress.com/2020/02/04/kingfisher-i/
3. ↑ https://practicalguidetoevil.wordpress.com/2020/04/24/interlude-knock-them-down/
4. ↑ https://practicalguidetoevil.wordpress.com/2021/06/15/interlude-west-ii/