Centennial

**Centennial** is a game played by six rulers to break the curses that plague their realms. It is an opportunity to win unmatched power by winning the game after spending a hundred days on the island of Lightlark, which is cursed to only appear once every hundred years.

## History

After the curses were spun, there was chaos. The six rulers sacrificed themselves in exchange for a prophecy that was promised to be the key to breaking the curses. It is said that the Wildling ruler and Isla's ancestor had been the one to lead the sacrifices, the first to die. The power the six injected into the island and transferred to their realms made the Centennial possible. Since then, every hundred years, for a hundred days, the six realms are given a chance to save themselves, because of that sacrifice.

As per the oracle's prophecy, one the six rulers has to die to break the curses. A ruler's power was the life force of their people. So, if one died without an heir, all their people would die along with them. The stakes of the game demands that breaking the curses leads to eliminating an entire realm and its people.

The first Centennial had been a bloodbath. All the invited rulers set out to kill each other, and many of the islanders were caught in the cross fire. But the heads of realm were too skilled, too ancient already. The hundred days ended with all of them alive and the curses intact. It was decided that future Centennials would have order. It was decided that there would be rules.

After the chaos of the first Centennial, the hundred days became more structured, split into parts. The first twenty-five days were dedicated to demonstrations hosted by each ruler, designed to test one another's strengths and worthiness of staying alive. Each test had a winner. The ruler who won the most trials would decide which pairs the rulers would split into for the remainder of the Centennial.

As per the third rule, no ruler can have a heir if they want to participate in the game. This was created so the ruler's death would successfully eliminate their familial line and break the curses, as per the prophecy. Though, it would mean the end of a realm forever, it was the cost it would take to free the other realms from the curse.

## Rules

* A ruler may not assassinate or attempt to assassinate another ruler until after the fiftieth day and when pairs are decided on the twenty-fifth day, a ruler may not assassinate their partner.
* All rulers must attend and participate in every Centennial event.
* To participate, no ruler can have an heir.

## Process

After the curse, Lightlark became a shadow of itself, trapped and encased in a forever storm that made traveling to it outside the Centennial impossible, by boat or even enchantment. Every hundred years, the clouds clear and the island appears for a hundred days, free from its storm. The rulers of the realms are invited to participate in the game and attempt to break the curse that binds each of their powers and the island itself. They receive an invitation containing the rules and acceptance of it means acceptance of the rules. All rulers offer their blood to the flames to bind themselves to the rules. Each ruler's blood has special properties, in accordance with their abilities. Wildling blood blooms flowers, Moonling blood hardens into ice, Skyling blood suspends into the air and separates into parts, Starling blood bursts into a mess of sparks, Nightshade blood becomes dark as ink, and Sunling blood burns brightly before reaching the flames.

After being bound to the rules due to the blood offering, breaking them leads to consequences. The rulers of all other realms have to forfeit their claim to the Centennial's prize if they break the rules, but Oro, who is the king of Lightlark and the host of the Centennial is bound to the rules with his life.

Winning the Centennial gives the winner a chance to gain unparalleled and unmatched ability. It was said that whoever broke the curses by fulfilling the prophecy would be gifted all the power it had taken to spin them.

## Trivia

* There have been four failed Centennials since the curse.
* The recent Centennial was the first one Nightshade had been invited to.
* Each ruler receives an attendant for the entirety of the Centennial and are led away to completely different parts of the castle. Far from each other. Every detail at the Centennial is intentional.