A Mad King Condemned

**The world ends on account of a royal decree.**<br><br>King Ignis was mad. There was no denying it. From the moment of his ascension to the throne he did and said things that were...off. He would change his mind for little reason. He would send guards to beat people for crimes that had also changed on a whim.<br><br>But he wasn't mad enough...yet.<br><br>--- <br><br>One day, he was mad enough.<br><br>On a whim, he ordered a small village on the far reaches of his kingdom to be demolished. The entire village, all who lived there, all who visited there, were to be put to the torch. There was no real reasoning given for this order. The villagers were quiet and unassuming, only raising animals for...well, for a lot of things. Their wool, milk, hides, and meat were all of a very high quality.<br><br>But the King decided he wanted to play at war, and this village was a town that needed to be put to the torch. So troops set out to siege and destroy the village. All the villagers had a short amount of time to flee the village before it was set to the torch.<br><br>But then something strange happened. The people of the village fled, but not alone. Not only did they take their animals and children, but they also took their famous gheefer sheep.<br><br>You see, the gheefer sheep were a breed of sheep unlike most sheep. They had four very large ears to cool off in the heat, their fur was a soft, warm wool that made the villagers rich, and...well, they farted a lot. They were gasbag sheep.<br><br>And when threatened, these sheep farted their fear away. The Mad King's army was on the eve of their chase when the wind started to change. These gheefer sheep belched and farted with the same frequency that they ate. They were eating, therefore they were farting. The villagers fled in the wrong direction, and the armies chase took them straight into the oncoming winds.<br><br>The villages were set to the torch a few days late, after a night of heavy storms masked the sound of thunder with the sounds of gas passing. The...odorous winds masked the smell, but the siege on the village was delayed on account of a large amount of thunderstorms.<br><br>When the armies arrived, all that existed were burnt husks. The villagers had fled in plenty of time. The gheefer sheep, on account of their ability to eat and fart, had promptly gassed themselves to death.<br><br>Many animals around them had also died. But due to the large ears that they had, and the impending doom they faced, their ability to eat and fart was at an all time high. Therefore, no, more than that, all of the sheep belched and farted their last days on this earth away, masking the smell of death and decay.<br><br>All in all, the village's inhabitants fled in plenty of time. All the animals died. All the soldiers died. All on account to the gheefer sheep's gassiness.<br><br>When the news reached the mad King, he was furious. He screamed and raged for many hours, and when he was given the news as to why his armies had not...well, returned with much fanfare, the Mad King decided he would stop the village. He would send troops to hunt down the villagers.<br><br>That's when it happened. The villagers, now officially refugees, began to flee to the next nearby village. And so, the gheefer sheep began to eat. And so, the gheefer sheep also began to fart.<br><br>The oncoming winds from the east let the villagers know that they were being chased. And so, they packed up their sheep and fled once more. The armies of the King caught the scents of sheep and the sound of thunderstorms on the horizon.<br><br>The armies of the King rode to meet the villagers, and promptly gassed themselves to death. The villagers packed up their sheep and gassed on. Not for a long time, but long enough. They fled into a much larger city, bigger than any Kingdom. They fled into a city of lights and steel, a city bigger than any kingdom, a city that would not let a mad king into their city.<br><br>The mad King was furious. His armies had been defeated by a pack of farty sheep. He decided he would lead the next army, and he would not be defeated. He had a plan.<br><br>He went to the town's alchemist, and he ordered a large stock of powdered silver and cream. Not for potions or alchemy, but for a fire. The...odorous winds on the day of the battle were especially strong. The villagers belched their sheep and fled a much shorter distance. The Mad King had packed his alchemists with him, and had prepared a large amount of solid silver inhales.<br><br>But, due to the strength of the winds, the smells promptly went straight to the alchemists. They gasped in shock, and then promptly poisoned themselves with the silver dusts. The war was over, the King's friends and advisors had fled. So, the Mad King decided he would attack the city by himself.<br><br>So the Mad King rode his horse into the oncoming winds, and promptly inhaled a lungful of gases. His horse, sensing its riders state of being, promptly fell asleep. The Mad King lay on the ground, gassed and alone.<br><br>And that is how the world ended on account of a royal decree. The Mad King died lying on the ground, inhaling a lungful of the most poisonous gasses. He died a quick death, not a painful one. There's that, I guess. He died a quick death, and the world could inhale a lungful of fresh air once more.<br><br>---<br><br>This is the last part of a four part story. The first three are also here, on r/worldbuilding. I hope you enjoyed. If you're on this sub, I'm sure you'll get the references. If you want to see a story like this in the future, or have any ideas, I'll be doing monthly prompt threads from now on. Make sure to follow me for more stories, and stay safe out there.