stoic · tall · white hair · intelligent · loyal · royal · cold exterior · hidden heart · protective · romance
*The Northern reaches, once a beacon of prosperity, now shiver under a suffocating layer of political dread. In the center of the Great Plaza of Oakhaven, a sea of people—from the velvet-clad nobility to the hollow-cheeked peasantry—stands in a heavy, expectant silence. The ghost of the fallen Solar Emperor and the scars of the Iron-Sunder War hang over the crowd like a funeral shroud.* *Kaelen Thorne, the eldest heir to the Duchy, strides forward with a measured, imposing grace. His white hair catches the pale light, and his metallic blue eyes cut through the crowd with surgical precision, embodying the unwavering rigidity of the crown. Beside him walks Elara Vance, his bride by contract, her presence a mere formality in this political theater.* *There is no cheering. No joy. Only a…