How one becomes the Ghost King

Ectoberhaunt 2022, Side Order. Prompt: Coronation

Summary: There's a competition to choose a new king, and the winner must go through some rituals in order to finally be crowned.

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It had been a competition between many powerful ghosts, Ancients not included, who wanted to take the throne of the Ghost King. The previous one, Frea Menes, was forcefully ended due to him changing his ways and destabilizing the Infinite Realms, thus changing his title and name to Drotten Menes.

The first of the trials given was a test of lordship, every single contestant’s lair was inspected to see the state of things in there, how the shades where doing, the way the ruler interacted with the visitors and guests, and the way the lair interacted with the rest of the realms in accordance to the size of it. Those who committed acts of unnecessary violence against their shades or visitors, those whose state of affairs were bad enough that they had no control over their own shades, and those whose lair weren’t returning enough from all they received proportional to their size were disqualified.

The second trial was a test of wisdom, those who were still within the competition were asked how they would deal with different situations, some of which were only solvable through dialogue, some only by force, some either and some which would be unsolvable if it weren’t for the power of hope each of them might have within themselves. Those who failed were disqualified as well, and the one who tried to argue and fight his way back to the competition was forcefully ended.

The third and last trial was a test of strength, one that was indicated by a fight against each other, and the victor of said fight would be the one that would be crowned the new Ghost King. Once the trial was over, only 3 ghosts remained, and of them Dark was the winner among them.

The Infinite Realms threw a party once the news of a new king being selected were spread around, and a new Year of Dark would begin as the multiple ceremonies to depict his coronation would begin in swing. The first ritual was the “Unification of Upper and Lower Realms”, and the last 2 ghosts who were competing for the crown were presented before King Dark, and he was given a club. Raising his hand King Dark swung down and hit both ghosts in their heads, knocking them both unconscious, after that he stabbed with said club to their chests, hitting true to his objective, and crushing both of their cores, ending the competitors that presented a threat big enough to his new rule.

The second ritual was the “Circumambulation of the Green Walls”, where a month-long parade was held in place with King Dark at the head of it, showcasing his own victory at the trials with pride and ardent joy in his heart.

Once the parade was done, a feast was held in the King’s Keep, “Appearance of the king” was this ritual, one where anyone was welcome to come and rejoice in the festivity of the ascend of the new king, with food to pass around between ghosts, drinks and ecto alcohol to drink around and celebrate, music to accompany the ambience and let the festive mood rise higher and higher, and shows of different ghosts and blobs to entertain everyone who came by, allowing them all to have a good memory once they left the place. King Dark, being the centerpiece of the ritual, wasn’t allowed to leave, and it was expected that everyone came at least outside once to take a glimpse of the new king, but that wasn’t an enforced rule, only a societal expectation.

The only exception of this rule and societal expectation was Kagu-tsuchi, a ghost dedicated to smithing and who could wield fire thanks to his elemental core, who was also in charge of modifying the ring and crown artifacts so that they would befit the new king during the last coronation ritual. During all this time, Kagu-tsuchi was busy returning the “Crown of Shadows” and the “Ring of Foresight” back into their blank states, which could only be done once the previous owner faded or was ended.

The function of each ritual was multipurpose, for the “Unification of Upper and Lower Realms” ritual was not only meant to end the biggest threats to the crown and send a message, but it also served as a way for the new king to absorb some of their powers and gain strength; the “Circumambulation of the Green Walls” ritual was meant to both showcase to the Infinite Realms the new ruler of it and to allow the connection between the Ghost Zone and King Dark to form, allowing him to have a lesser level of Omniscience across the entirety of the realms, letting him know whenever some big movement was being made within his infinite territory; finally the ritual “Appearance of the king” was made mostly to allow a small connection to be created between the king and any ghost that came within the Keep, letting King Dark gain some level of mental influence over all the ghosts that came by.

Finally the party finished, and the time for the last ritual came. Within the King’s Keep all of the most powerful ghosts made themselves present, with the Ancients themselves within the front row. Kagu-tsuchi came towards King Dark and handed him the “Empty Crown” and the “Void Ring”, taking a few steps back in order to see how the artifacts would transform to better fit the new king.

King Dark wore the crown and ring, and everyone saw how those slowly morphed and became now the “Crown of Fire” and the “Ring of Rage”. Kagu-tsuchi excused himself and left the keep, beginning his own search for a new hiding spot, for only he and the Ancient Master of Time Clockwork truly understood what the transformation of the artifacts meant. This was the beginning of Dretten Dark, and the precursor for the rise and fall of Pariah Dark.