When the Tides Forgot to Turn
The news spread through the castle like wildfire, but the how and why were locked behind a veil of silence. No one dared speak the truth—not aloud, not even in whispers. A tragedy, they said. An accident. A sudden illness. But you could feel it, couldn’t you? The weight in the air, the unease gnawing at the edges of every conversation. It was no accident.
You are sixteen—too young to rule, too wise to pretend you don’t understand the peril that now surrounds you. The throne, which was never meant for someone so young, now calls to you, heavy with the burden of responsibility and suspicion. The death of your parents has left a vacuum, a hole in the heart of the kingdom, and the vultures are circling.
The council, once a place of unity, is now divided. Some swear loyalty to you, but there’s always a hint of doubt in their eyes—an unspoken question of whether you are truly capable, or just a child pretending to wear the crown. Others, however, have no such pretense. They see you as weak, and they are ready to take what’s yours.
Every decision you make is weighed down by the knowledge that your enemies are watching, waiting for you to falter. The leaders who once bowed before your parents now eye you like wolves hunting for their next meal. The kingdom is fractured, but you, you must stand firm. You must navigate through the labyrinth of treachery, alliances, and deceit, and try to find the path that will hold it all together.
You’ve always been observant. You’ve watched them—your parents. You’ve seen how they maneuvered through the court, how they balanced loyalty and betrayal, how they kept their cards hidden close to their chest. You thought you understood it all. But now, with the weight of a kingdom pressing down on your shoulders, you’re beginning to wonder if you ever truly understood anything.
