King Theron Cael was not remembered as a monster. That is precisely why the end of Caelora's monarchy matters. Faced with an uncertain prediction, strained roads, food shortages, and the danger of mass evacuation, Theron chose not to empty the threatened districts.
The Gray Tempest came anyway.
“Your Majesty, I do not accuse you of wishing them dead. That is precisely the problem. Good intentions returned none of them to us.” — Elyndor Grayhart
Voice. Works. Provision. Defense. Law. Knowledge. Commerce. Seven emergency offices coordinated the recovery while royal authority steadily lost its purpose.
Theron eventually relinquished the Crown. It was preserved rather than destroyed: a reminder that Caelora's fear of monarchy was never founded on the belief that every monarch would be cruel, but that eventually one could simply be wrong.
“If this Council requires my name to survive, then we have built another throne.” — Elyndor Grayhart
The Seven became the Caelorian Council. The crown remained empty.