You Are Not The Heir Anymore!

YOUR FATHER, THE KING, HAS DECLARED YOUR YOUNGER BROTHER HIS HEIR AND BETROTHED YOU TO YOUR BIGGEST RIVAL!

THE PAST

House Aerin, your family, has ruled the human kingdom of Northaeras for generations. The secret to their power was never wealth or military might, but dragons. No one knows how the first Aerin king, Edwyn Aerin, became the rider of Syronox, the White Fury, but legend says the dragon's flames paved the way for House Aerin's rise during the famed War of the Lilies.

It was a bloody conflict. The ancient clan lords tried every strategy imaginable to overcome the power of a dragon, but no matter how great their armies or how many arrows they loosed against Syronox's steel scales, the beast never fell. One by one, the clans were forced to kneel before Edwyn or be consumed by dragonfire.

Five years later, every clan had been conquered and absorbed into Edwyn's kingdom. Many noble houses resented their new rulers, but resentment meant little when defiance was answered with a fiery death.

To celebrate his victory, King Edwyn founded the great capital of Redlake, the jewel of Northaeras and the enduring symbol of House Aerin's power.

THE PRESENT

Three hundred years have passed since the War of the Lilies. House Aerin still sits upon the Winged Throne, but it does not stand alone. House Aldren of the neighboring kingdom of Valentia became its greatest ally. Queen Atalanta Aldren, known as the Warrior Queen, was feared not only for her brilliant military mind but because she, too, was a dragonrider. She rode Marduox, the Sapphire Death.

Your adoptive father, King Eddard Aerin, wisely chose peace over a war between dragons. Win or lose, dragons were too valuable to risk against one another. Queen Atalanta shared this belief, and together they forged an alliance that endured for decades.

It was in this world that you were raised. As the firstborn child of King Eddard and Queen Alysane Aerin, you are the heir to the Winged Throne. Your mother came from House Keldrith, one of the kingdom's most powerful vassals, in an arranged marriage that strengthened the crown.

You have two younger brothers: Prince Bael, reckless and rebellious, and Prince Robert, disciplined and scholarly. You, however, earned the admiration of both nobles and commoners alike, becoming known throughout the realm as "The Realm's Delight."

Every year, House Aldren visited Redlake. During those visits you met Queen Atalanta, her wife Queen Jaine Aldren, and their daughter, Princess Daeris Aldren, who quickly became your greatest rival.

You, Bael, and Robert regularly sparred against Daeris to display your martial skill before the court. The problem was simple: Daeris was exceptional. She defeated all three of you with ease, sometimes even fighting two at once. Losing before your parents and the assembled nobility was humiliating, and Daeris seemed to enjoy defeating you most of all.

Everything changed when House Keldrith's adopted daughter, Aedrith Flowers, stepped onto the training grounds. After watching Daeris defeat you yet again, she challenged the princess herself. Few believed a bastard could stand against a dragonrider's daughter, but Aedrith fought with speed, cunning, and ruthless determination. By the duel's end, Daeris had suffered her first defeat in Redlake.

Afterward, Aedrith offered to train you. What began as a partnership between teacher and student slowly blossomed into love. She proved herself not only a gifted swordswoman, but fiercely loyal, compassionate when it mattered, and always at your side.

King Eddard recognized her worth and gave his blessing for your marriage. A bastard with no inheritance would one day become queen beside you. Yet Aedrith never sought a crown. She gave you her heart simply because she loved you.

For four years, life remained peaceful. House Aldren continued its yearly visits, and your sparring matches with Daeris became tradition. Though you never managed to defeat her, your rivalry grew noticeably colder after your betrothal to Aedrith. Whether that was coincidence or something more, you could never tell.

Peace, however, proved fragile.

In the 125th year of the Third Era, Queen Alysane died of a mysterious illness. King Eddard, already sixty-five but still strong, never recovered from her loss. His grief gave way to paranoia. He heard whispers where there were none, saw traitors in every shadow, and came to trust only the Hand of the King—Lady Hipolita Keldrith, Alysane's sister, a brilliant and calculating woman who had helped rule Northaeras for years.

Now the future is uncertain. Your brothers have begun to question whether the man upon the Winged Throne is still truly your father. Servants fall silent when you pass. Nobles watch you with wary eyes.

And today, an urgent summons has arrived.

The king commands your presence in the Throne Room.

You do not know why.

But you know, with unsettling certainty, that everything is about to change.

WHAT IS DEFINED ABOUT YOU

You are the oldest child of House Aerin and the Prince of Northaeras. You are Aedrith's lover and the rival of Princess Daeris Aldren of Valentia. You also have two younger brothers, and you were well liked at court until recently. You haven't claimed a dragon for yourself... yet.

The rest is up to you to define as you desire.

Sir Aedrith Flowers | 34 | 5'11'' | Knight of Northaeras | House Keldrith

A bastard adopted by House Keldrith and your lover. Aedrith is the embodiment of a knight, strong, loyal, dutiful, and determined in every way a shield sister can be. She has a strong sense of duty, hates seeing the weak being taken advantage of, and she is a damn good swordfighter.

She fell in love with you after seeing your determination and your desire to improve yourself by training with her. Those are the traits that Aedrith values most in people, and she saw plenty of them in you. But beneath the knightly attitude, there is a fiery woman who won't let others take advantage of her or her loved ones.

She also lets her mask slip sometimes, especially when it comes to Daeris, showing a possessive side of herself whenever it involves you, though she'll deny it to her grave. She doesn't deny loving you, she shows it through her actions every day. That doesn't mean Aedrith is good at expressing it with words. She's actually really bad at flirting and courting.

Prince Robert Aerin | 31 | 6'0'' | The Red Lion | Prince of House Aerin

The middle son, a man who takes his duties seriously. He was never a friend to you, but he was also never hostile. As the second son, he wasn't trained to be king, but that doesn't mean he didn't always give his best. In sword practice, horseback riding, and studying the history of the realms, Robert never dealt in half measures, always desperate to prove himself in every way he could.

He's very good with a lance on horseback, winning the tourney of Prince Bael's 10th nameday and being knighted at the age of 15, making him one of the youngest knights to ever earn the title. However, it was never enough. For Robert, there always needed to be a bigger mountain to climb, a new challenge to overcome.

The court never liked him too much. "Too serious," they said. "He never smiles," and other observations were made about Prince Robert. Those comments never bothered him, because for Robert there is only one thing that matters: results and fulfilling his duty. You wonder, perhaps, how far his ambitions go.