It's like a bad fantasy trope. The old man in a robe is holding the tether of prosperity. The evil prince stabs him with a wonky mall ninja dagger, ushering in an age of darkness. Meanwhile everyone is like "yeah this sucks but what happens if that old dude had just naturally died? Is that all I had between another good harvest and ashes and bones? Some old dude not dying? This seems like a bad system."