World Building Challenge - Day 11 - Fairytale

This is part of Faranesque's World Building Challenge from r/WorldBuilding. Check out my hub post for details.  

Preface: Most of my posts from this point on will likely focus on the crew of the Rōnni and the refugees with them, now I've done some of the cosmic establishment from Day 1.

I got too into playing Cyberpunk 2077 on Day 10 to write this, so this is technically a day late, but I'm still committed to writing a prompt for every day. So.

In today's installment, a tale from Maldas-Of-Old, of Goldenbrow the King, who would become the wicked Morsban.

XI FAIRYTALE

Listen, you now, to a tale from Maldas-Of-Old. Before the Herenow. When the Star of Maldas, Maniyas, grew fat with pride.

Then, as now, Tribes of Maldas were many. Then, as now, Tribes were at war. Always, Tribes at war. To be Maldasi is to be at war. Always. With the World, with the Peoples, with the Self.

Maniyas, the Star Which Burned With Pride, looked upon Maldasi and did not like what it saw. It took its Power and gave Maldas a Star-Born. The Goldenbrow, chief of his Tribe, saw what his Star did, and declared the Tribes should be as one. For what in the Firmament could stop Maldas United? So Goldenbrow went to war to unify the Tribes, spread his word, and make them behold his Power. Some Tribes would not bow, and fought him.

But Goldenbrow was a Star-Born. The weapons of mortals could not kill him. Many times Goldenbrow fell, only to rise again, shining with Power. He could not die. 

Those Tribes which fought back against Goldenbrow were destroyed. Some were slaughtered by his followers. Some were reduced to ash by his Power. And soon all of Maldas looked up to one banner, that of the Star-Born Goldenbrow, who declared himself King of Maldas.

Sat on his throne, Goldenbrow grew wicked, festering with the pride born of his Star. He declared that with all Tribes united, there would be no more fighting. No more war between Tribes. Maldasi hoped for war with other Worlds, but they wanted no fight with a Star-Born.

Maldasi cannot abide peace, for the Maldasi are a People who value strength. Only in war can Maldasi be sharpened and hardened and made stronger. In peace, Maldasi grow soft and weak.

The Maldasi made their displeasure known to the King. Ever prideful, Goldenbrow roared that if they would not accept his peace, then they shall war with the King. And the Maldasi were pleased, for only against strength can strength be honed. And Star-Born are strength incarnate.

All of Maldas rose up against the King. As before, they could not kill him. The mightiest of their weapons, even the ones which left the World sickened and blackened, could not stop him. Whole Tribes saw his skeleton stride forth from poisonous fire, laughing as he unleashed his Power upon them. Seven-tenths of Maldas was left barren and lifeless, and seven-tenths of the Tribes were twisted and turned into monstrous beasts to slaughter the rest.

At the last, Maniyas saw that it had erred. Its chosen champion, its Star-Born, had turned rotten. It had wanted its People to become strong, united, but not like this. It would not take the full measure of its Power back from the King, because like its People, Maniyas values strength. To leave Goldenbrow fully mortal again would weaken the Maldasi, and leave them expectant that their Star would always step in. But it took away the King's immortality. He was still strong, still shining with Power, but now he could be killed.

Even so, it took the most powerful of weapons to defeat him. When his keep was destroyed at last, and his bones burning with the ruinous fire beneath the ruin, it left a deadly fissure in the World, the  poisonous Abcyss. To this day, no Maldasi ventures near it, lest they wither and fester from the curse on the place.

Goldenbrow now called 'The Morsban,' the Deathless One. Tales hold that even now, he lives, buried under mountains of stone and lakes of poison. That one day he might return, to unite Maldas again, under the banner of death.