A crown of ashes

The kingdom of Deymir is dying. Its old king, wasted by illness and intrigue, leaves behind only heirs too young, nobles too ambitious, and enemies too patient. Into this storm steps Kaelen Varrow, the bastard son of a disgraced noble house. To the court, he is nothing more than a forgotten relic of a failed bloodline. To himself, he is a man split in two: the cautious Idealist who still believes in honor, and the cold Survivor forged by years of betrayal and exile. When a sudden succession crisis ignites a struggle for the throne, Kaelen is drawn into a game he never sought to play. Noble houses rise and fall in webs of marriage, betrayal, and assassination. Foreign envoys whisper promises while sharpening their knives. Priests and zealots feed the people with faith as soldiers starve on the borders. But Kaelen’s greatest battle is not with lords or kings — it is within himself. For every choice he makes, every alliance he risks, the question haunts him: is he the man who seeks to save the realm, or the one who will burn it for survival? In a land where crowns turn to ashes and loyalty is measured in blood, Kaelen must decide: will he be remembered as a savior, a tyrant, or nothing at all?