Gortiluk, Queen of the Black Palace, had given birth to a daughter, her heir apparent. This was a moment of great festivity. The child was her first successful birth, sired by a powerful darkness spirit she had taken as a lover before devouring, and seemed fated for greatness. But, being pragmatic above all else, she wanted to be sure. To her Great Hall, in the heart of the Black Palace, she called the greatest soothsayers of the land. The Mad Prophet of the Jankley Bore screamed "Doom! Doom!" and bashed open his own skull on the pavers. A sage from the Kingdom of Wisdom assured the Queen that her offspring was assured to greatness, and offered twenty proofs that it must be so. She listened to all of them without betraying her judgment. The last to arrive was the High Priest of the Star Permutator. By this time, he was ancient, milky-blind in one eye, hobbling on a crutch. An acolyte helped him walk to the hall, and he sat before the Queen, who was gracious enough to permi...