A long time ago, in a land not unlike ours, a new and great kingdom began to emerge. This kingdom was called "Finchnest", and it truly was mighty, for its people were brave, loyal, and persistent. They called themselves the Sparrows, which was fitting, for they were scrawny in stature, peaky in a word, yet also highly competitive and self-sufficient. 

But being self-sufficient was not enough for the Sparrows of Finchnest. They wanted more.
Much more.

Their competitiveness and emptyish stomaches drove them to raid neighboring kingdoms and villages, unseating whichever power figures were in place, pillaging the cities, and then drawing whatever or whoever was left into the fold. As time went on, the talons Finchnest reached far and wide, seizing more and more whenever they reached out. It seemed as if nothing could stop them, for by now they had it all: wealth, power, land, influence; all these things and more were theirs. They were terrible, yes, but great. 

Then the Borbonic plague struck. In an instant, everything changed. 

At first, the effects of the Plague went unnoticed. People began to exhibit signs, yes, but they were not widespread or prominent enough to attract much attention. As time went on, however, the Sparrows began to notice changes in themselves. Changes that they did not understand. They began to fill out rapidly, becoming less scrawny and more round, more orb-like. They became larger, heavier, capable of carrying (and eating) an entire corn-on-the-cob, for their appetites became prodigious. And thus the Borbs were born. 
 

The Borbonic plague had done its work, for nothing else but this force of nature could have stopped the torrent of the Sparrows. After their transformation, they became a more peaceable nation, attaining power with diplomacy and good ethics. Some said that the plague had made them lazy, less active, and perhaps there is some truth to that. Whether or not this may be the case, the fact remains that the Borbs, as they were now known, were never the same again. The plague had made them round and plump to a degree that, to one who has not seen its effects first hand, it would seem an unreality, a fairy tale. I myself would think this too...

...had I not run into your mom the other day.