SUMMARY: An account of one of the old kings as a storyteller might tell it.
A long, long time ago, in the old days, there was a king. Well, in fact he was THE king, for it was back in the time when there was one king over all the land.
This king had a passion for all kinds of ships, ships that went on lakes, ships that went on rivers, but especially ships that went on the sea.
When he was but a new king, a young man, he searched far and wide, and found men willing to pack up their ships and make sail, looking for new lands and other adventures.
Of those that returned, for there were those that didn’t, most brought news of failure, finding only seemingly endless sea. Most didn’t seem surprised by this, for don’t all the old tales say so?
There was one man though, a great captain, who set sail toward the west and upon returning brought news of land, many islands, uninhabited but less than a weeks sailing time away.
The king was ecstatic and greatly desired to see these islands for himself, but his advisors, in concern for their king’s safety, spent countless hours reminding the king that his duty lie with his people, not in seeking adventure. The king gave in to their concerns, or so it seemed.
Still with desire in his heart, the king devised a plan and brought it before his advisors. For five days and nights they argued and planed and calculated until it was decided that a small group would be gathered, volunteers from all over the kingdom, and they would be sent to these islands with supplies to fulfill their needs, and they would make a home there.
If this new colony lasted but a year, more people would be sent and it would be considered a new realm for the kingdom; a realm the king could visit anytime he wished.
All this was done at the kings command, and several month later a small group, 100 men, women, and youth, set sail to make a new home for themselves.
It was not easy for the settlers, and the islands showed themselves to be a harsh new land, full of dangers the settlers never fathomed. A harsh toll was paid, with many falling ill or injured, and many who died of their afflictions. But the settlers were a nobel lot, strong and stubborn, and no hardships were going to be their defeat.
When a year had passed, the small settlement was still there, a little battered and bruised, but fighting still. And as the king had promised, he sent more settlers and more supplies, and before long the settlement was thriving again, built on top of the hard earned knowledge of the brave men and woman who came first.
The settlement became as a jewel to the king and he visited his subjects there often with great pleasure and these islanders thrived under his leadership and care.
Years past, and the king grew old and eventually he died, passing his throne to his son; a son that did not have the same love of the sea as his father.
The settlement, once loved, was abandoned as a foolish venture, left to survive on its own. Some of the islanders left, returning to the mainland, but still more stayed, refusing to abandoned the only home many of them had known and had worked so hard to build. And there they lived, while on the mainland their very existence faded from all but the most studious of memories.