PRINCE MELANCHITIS

Prince Melanchitis was heir apparent to the Throne of Kaldorn. He was once the richest man in the world, and was about to wed Princess Despondia, the most beautiful maiden in the kingdom. His father, the King of Kaldorn, decided to help prepare him for the throne by putting him in charge of the Kaldorn Department of Revenue. He decided to raise taxes a bit, to show his father that he was tough enough to be king. Unfortunately, as he was never very good at math, he raised them a little too high, 110 percent. This caused the people to revolt, kill his father, and exile Melanchitis to a barren underground region beneath the Flathead Mountains.

Hungry and penniless, the former prince decided to make ends meet by peddling magic shoes. He figured that everyone needed a few pairs of magic boots, slippers or shoelaces. During the days of Syovar the Strong's captivity at the hands of Malifestro, business became terrible, nearly ceased. When he met Bivotar and Juranda, he gave them free magic sneakers just for listening to his sobbing tales: a beautiful orange pair with purple stripes for the young lady, and a nice pink pair with green polka dots for the young man.

Shortly after Syovar the Strong had been rescued, the Prince of Kaldorn was appointed Assistant Third Class in the Anti-Cheating Bureau of Zorkbooks, Inc., whose job it was to prevent people from committing brazen fraudulence. Offenders would quickly be startled by lightning crashing across the sky, then exploding to the ground at their feet. And with a puff of smoke, the Prince would appear. A first offense resulted in a warning and a wag of the finger. A repeated offense would result in the offender being turned into a newt.

There were unproven rumors during the mid-tenth century, speaking that the Prince of Kaldorn had been turned into a frog that had to be kissed in order to be returned to his human self.

IMAGE01: Melanchitis as a peddler beneath the Flathead Mountains
IMAGE02: magic sneakers sold by Melanchitis