The King's Heir

There is a hidden world under the surface of the Earth. One that has existed long before humans roamed the Earth. This kingdom has been ruled by the same family for hundreds of years. The king is under immense pressure to produce an heir. He and his queen have not been able to conceive a child. The pressure of the family, the castle, and the kingdom are on his and her shoulders. They have tried all that they could. They visited doctors and tried herbal remedies. They prayed and begged for an heir but to no avail.

One night, just past midnight, the king heard a knock on his bedroom door. He was outraged at who could be knocking on his door so late and who would the guards allow to come to his door. When the king opened his door he saw a shadowy figure. This figure was draped in an ominous black cloak. All the guards were asleep on the floor. There was a mysterious fog that was floating through the halls.

What came next was even more strange. The figure told the king that they would grant him an heir if and only if the king did as the figure said. The dark ominous figure gave a list of tasks for the king to do.

The king must build a shrine in honor of the God Indra, the King of Heaven and lord of the gods. This task can only take seven days and seven nights, no more and no less. The king must also sacrifice something he holds dear. This was a difficult task for the king. Before the figure vanished into smoke they said, "My King, I have given you one month's time to deliver to me these completed tasks. And I will grant you your heir."

Within seven days and seven nights the king had built the most majestic shrine for Indra. Now he was burdened with finding something he holds dear to sacrifice. After consulting his wife and his court, the king decided the only sacrifice great enough for them to be granted an heir is if the king abdicated his throne.

The thirtieth night came. The king sat patiently in his throne waiting for the shadowy figure to arrive. Surely they did just before midnight. Nothing was said between the two. The king gave up his crown and turned his back, ready to leave his kingdom. The figure stopped him and said, "My king, you have given up your honor, your legacy, your kingdom, your way of life. This is the greatest sacrifice. I will grant you your heir. You must stay king to show them what is rightfully theirs." And just as the figure had suddenly appeared it was gone.

In the coming year the kingdom celebrated the birth of the new prince. Everyone was filled with joy. They all rejoiced as the kingdom had a new heir. The kingdom was thriving and the heir reigned for many years. The end.

Author's Note: I took inspiration from King Dasharatha and Dasharatha's Sons. I was inspired by the sacrifice Dasharatha had to do to be promised four sons. Dasharatha was the son of Aja and Indumati. He had three wives; Kausalya, Kaikeyi and Sumitra. He had four sons: Rama (the principal character in the Ramayana), Bharatha, Lakshmana, Shatrughna. In my story the king had to make different sacrifices to be granted an heir. In the original story the king had to sacrifice 21 animals. However, in my story the sacrifice was giving up what he valued most. I tried to make sure that the king's sacrifice was enough for the god of death to grant him a son. I'm not sure that it was, but for the sake of the story I said it was. I tried to place myself in the shoes of the king. In his place my greatest loss would be my family and then my kingdom. So it made sense for his sacrifice to be his kingdom. When comparing it to the original story I kept the idea the same that there was a king who needed an heir and that he needed to make a sacrifice. I changed up who the god of death was and his appearance.

Bibliography: King Dasharatha and King's Sons, Mackenzie, Donald

Underwater kingdom (source)