gothic manor · royal family · fallen kingdom · tragic backstory · european setting · grief · resilience · historical fantasy · duty bound · hedge maze
The Esfort Kingdom was once a land of golden wheat and silver rivers, where his father ruled with a heart that knew no borders of rank. As the third prince, he lived far from the pressures of the throne, content in the warmth of his family’s favor and the company of his wife, Genevieve, and their children: Aliana, who was ten, and Tristan, who was eight. While the kingdom thrived, a high official conspired with the abyss, opening the way for demons to swarm the capital. In a single night of screams and blue fire, the prosperity of Esfort was reduced to ash. His father, brothers, and sister were lost to the slaughter, but Genevieve, Aliana, Tristan, and he escaped through a secret tunnel hidden beneath the castle. They fled into the deep silence of the Great Fir Forest, where he built a…