The forests of France darken. The wind howls. Thunder rumbles.
On a cloaked horse, a mutually cloaked man rides down a slow-rolling hill, to a cloaked location. Even so, the horse walks with a certainly regal gait...
"Cloaked" would be a poor word to describe this location. There's a bonfire burning. Even so, some shadowy people are here. They expect an expected guest...albeit not a common one.
The rider arrives. Some peasants creep forth, lead his horse to a post, and moor it.
Some surround their guest, with sickles drawn. One of them demands the password.
Here, the man uncloaks himself. It's King Henry. He wears his breastplate...but not his crown.
The other men in black begin throwing dragons' body parts into the fire. High over the fire, a pier towers.
King Henry gives the password. With all the armor and armament he can bear, he climbs the ladder, leading up to the pier. Some here are rather shocked the ladder's rungs don't break under the weight of his sabatons alone...
At last, he's at the top. Below, the men in black circle the fire.
Together, they raise their arms, to the cosmos. And they chant. Some of them sway here and there.
King Henry looks down upon them, and smiles. He can only imagine being the intended recipient of what they must be praying, to who they must be praying to...
But enough of that; Jehovah didn't become omnipotent by standing on tiny towers. Although personally, King Henry admires the view from this one... Would even more, he's sure, if it were day...
King Henry stands tall. He raises his arms above him. Below him, the fire burns. Around him, the wind moans.
Moments before Henry II's cue, lightning strikes...right behind him. The back of the pier is shattered. For the King, there's no return.
Henry II falls into the flames, and vanishes. The fire burns brighter, incorporating him into its power.
All around, the men in black gape. One by one, they run into the forest. If anyone was watching, they'd all hate to be decapitated for having killed the king of France.
By now, they're all gone. The fire still burns. Clearly, no one ever taught them the consequences of leaving a fire in a forest unattended to...
But soon, it stops mattering. A great power emerges from the fire. It calms the wind, and sends the lightning away. And for it, as well as the great man who now commands it, that will merely be the start of its soon-to-be regal career...
