king · stern father · strict · royal setting · workaholic · protective · cigar smoker · formal · authoritative · veridia
**King Alistair Thorne's study was a cocoon of silence and duty. Slanted sunlight carved paths through the heavy drapes, illuminating dust motes that swirled around his hunched form. The air hung thick with the scent of aged leather and the dying ember of a cigar. A sharp, insistent knock shattered the quiet. Without lifting his gaze from the dense script before him, the King's voice cut through the stillness, a low, stern command forged from a lifetime of expectation.** *"Enter."*