Royal truth
The Kingdom of Whiteshore was established to address Northlander independence demands but soon rebelled, leading to the War of the White Gold. After their father, the king Olva, is killed by Orrin Empire soldiers and their older brother Hakon Olvason is captured, siblings Harald Olvason and Esther Olvadottir flee south, hiding in the Orrin Empire. They work undercover as handymen and are eventually hired by Leonardo Troubleback, who introduces them to various jobs.
Ambroise, the new emperor of the Orrin Empire, celebrates his ascension with a ball, but Harald, disguised as a noble, is implicated in a murder orchestrated by another noble. Esther and Harald are summoned by Ambroise Hart, who confronts them about their involvement. Catherine Hart, widow of the true emperor Alexander Hart, intervenes, saving them from execution and assigning them the task of killing a monster.
After slaying the monster, they discover Hakon imprisoned. Their plea for his release is denied, leading to their own imprisonment. Catherine and Leonardo help Esther escape, and they set out to find Alexander. During their journey, they rescue a Fairy named Azaela and evade Whiteshore soldiers. Eventually, they reach the Frosthold Mountains and the Golden Five, where Alexander agrees to pursue peace.
Esther faces her brother Harald, now possessed by a Dao and turned into an earth demon. She reluctantly kills him to end the threat. Alexander reclaims his throne and has Ambroise executed. Esther becomes queen of Whiteshore, with Leonardo as her advisor, and her child marries Alexander and Catherine’s child, solidifying an alliance between their realms.
History
The war starts
The Kingdom of Whiteshore was created a few years ago to quell the pleas for the independence of the Northlanders. However, the solution proved ineffective, as the kingdom started to rebel against the empire, starting the War of the White Gold. Harald Olvason and Esther Olvadottir are brother and sister, and nobles from the north, children of the newly appointed king of Whiteshore, who died shortly after the beginning of the war of Whitegold in 2835 BD at the hands of Orrin's soldiers. Their older brother, Hakon Olvason, next in line of succession after their parents' deaths, was captured by the soldiers, and the two teens managed to flee to the south, hiding in the Orrin Empire that killed their family.New Lives
Working as handymen for wealthy merchants and nobles, the siblings took new names and identities, hiding even their shared blood. The siblings were hired to find the lost daughter of a wealthy merchant. The merchant praised them for their work, and they were approached by Leonardo Troubleback, a man of many skills, working for various merchants and nobles to ease their lives. Leonardo, a mysterious man, keeps his business confidential as his network allows him to work with even the most powerful nobles of the empire. Leonardo is known to possess many skills, a boon granted to him by a Genie he has locked in a chest in his care. Leonardo offers the duo numerous jobs, as their abilities are quite handy, and the three become closer, especially Harald and Leonardo. Meanwhile, the young prince Ambroise of the empire is struggling for power after the Death of his father due to food poisoning in 2833 BD, as his brother is the rightful heir to the throne. Alexander, as the firstborn of the dead emperor, became the new emperor of the empire. However, with the ongoing war of the white gold, Alexander pleads for the Golden Five's help and goes on a quest to look for the council of dragons to help him in this war. Ambroise uses this to spread misinformation about his brother, faking news of his death, and spreading words of his heroic deeds as he died on the battlefield, allowing him to take over the throne in his brother's absence. Prince Ambroise holds a large reception, a ball to celebrate his ascension to the throne within the castle walls. Every important noble is invited to his event.The ball
Leonardo receives a request from one of his customers, a noble who fears for his life as a series of letters lead him to believe someone will attempt to kill him during the reception. But the importance of this event cannot be understated and he refuses to miss the reception. Harald is magically disguised as the noble, and carefully memorizes his plan of action, as he needs to act as the noble he's embodying. With the magical disguise, Harald attends the ball and manages to not raise any suspicion. However, the ball is interrupted, as another guest is found dead. Prince Ambroise, who made an appearance, retreats to his quarters as the death is announced, and the guests are invited to leave while the soldiers investigate the issue. The siblings, curious about the event that unfolded, also investigate and are led back to the noble who feared for his life, who used Harald's disguise to murder his enemy unnoticed, the siblings providing him a perfect alibi. Disclosing this fact would have them hanged as accomplices of the murderer, and they decide to remain silent. However, the siblings are summoned to a meeting with Emperor Ambroise shortly after. Confronting them about the event that unfolded during the ball, Ambroise explains that their implication in this crime which disgraced the reception held in Ambroise's honor cannot be overlooked. The siblings explain the situation, carefully avoiding the mention of Leonardo, as they try to defend their cause to the emperor. Through the discussion, they discover the emperor's racism and elitism, traits they come to dislike, as the prince refuses to be reasoned with. A woman intervenes, standing up for the duo. She presents herself to the siblings as Catherine, the wife of the deceased emperor Alexander. Thanks to her, they avoid the death penalty, however, to repay the empire for its clemency, they'll have to accomplish a quest.Heroes
A large monster, whose presence has disgraced the land, has long disturbed the folks of the empire, and it is due Time for it to die. Once the meeting is over, Catherine discusses with the siblings, she reveals Ambroise's plot to overtake his brother, as her husband has not perished. Before they leave to face the monster, Leonardo confesses his love for Harald, and the two kiss as Harald promises Leonardo his heart if he survives the encounter with the monster. They defeat the monster and return successfully, surprising Ambroise who expected them to die at the hands of the monster. Now known as heroes, Ambroise seizes this opportunity for public recognition and publicly recognizes them as heroes of the empire, sharing the fame of their feat with the heroes, and gaining public favor. Harald, true to his word, starts a romantic relationship with Leonardo. Leonardo, concealing his business and actions, the two are forced to meet far from prying eyes.Old friend
As their recent quest brought them closer to royalty, they learned of prisoners from the north, and the siblings decide to visit the prison, as they manage to be authorized in even the most secure part of the prison. The duo have a shocking encounter, as their older brother stands in one of the jails. Brought to tears by the encounter, they try not to be too emotional, to not raise any suspicion about their origins. Their brother is in a sorry state, both mentally and physically exhausted after two years of prison and questioning. Harald, wishing to free his brother as soon as possible, asks for an audience with the emperor despite Esther's doubts about this solution. They meet with Ambroise once again, as Harald pleads for the release of this prisoner, his request is denied. Esther manages to stay composed, hiding her link with Hakon, while Harald, furious, tries to blackmail the emperor, revealing his knowledge of Alexander's state and intentions. The emperor, furious, has them both imprisoned, especially as he is suspicious of a link between Hakon and Harald. Harald is thrown into the high-security prison alongside his older brother, and Esther is thrown into another jail in another part of the prison. Catherine and Leonardo plead for Ambroise's clemency, but the prince refuses to free them. Leonardo, however, is granted the right to see his lover regularly.Rightful emperor
Catherine orchestrates the evasion of Esther, but cannot free Harald and his brother who are left behind. Catherine and Esther escape the castle and decide to look for Alexander. Catherine hopes this quest will bring her back her lost husband, and Esther hopes to free her brother if Alexander reclaims the throne. Leonardo uses his network to gather information on Alexander before he leaves and leads the two women outside of the city unnoticed while telling them Alexander was last seen heading to the mountains northeast of Siniador. With the war raging north, the group tries to avoid the battlefields and take the long way around, the journey taking months. They never stay in a village for too long, fearing they'll be discovered, and Ambroise's assassins try to catch up to them. After months, they reach the base of the Frosthold mountain range where they seek refuge in a small village at the mountain base. During their stay, they hear of a public execution by fire, as the villagers have caught a spy from the north. The villagers try everything within their power to prevent the conflict from reaching their village, and every suspicious creature they catch is treated as a spy of the north. In this instance, the spy is a Fairy named Azaela, and Esther believes in her innocence, as she's sick of innocents being imprisoned or killed by people of the empire without reason. Catherine reminds them that they're already on the run and should avoid stirring any trouble, but Esther has already cut the ropes tying the fairy as the villager starts the fire. This provokes the villagers' fury, as they turn against Azaela, Esther, and Catherine. Their attempt is suddenly stopped by the aggression of the Whiteshore forces invading the village. The group uses this opportunity to escape but Esther is caught by the soldiers of Whiteshore. Once in their camp, she reveals her lineage to them and is immediately set free, however, she cannot leave the camp, as the soldiers claim it is a princess's duty to lead her people, and she is to be brought back to the kingdom. Burdened by her duty, Esther tries to refuse as she only wishes to find Alexander to free her brothers and live a peaceful life, but she is denied that right. It is only thanks to Azaela coming back while invisible that Esther manages to sneak away from the soldiers to join Catherine and continue on their quest. The trio escapes as fast as they can, heading to the Frosthold mountains, but the soldiers of Whiteshore pursue them, leaving them no time to rest. It is only once they manage to reach back the village at the mountain base that the situation evolves for the worst, as the forces of the Orrin Empire are there, looking to enact revenge for the raid on the village. The group is caught on the battlefield between the empire and Whiteshore, and they're forced to engage in the fight to survive. Esther's mastery of weapons shines, and thanks to her, the kingdom of Whiteshore takes the upper hand in the battle, while the trio finally leaves for the mountains. Azaela, thankful to the two women who saved her life, wants to repay her debt and decides to help them in their quest until she deems her debt repaid. She offers to use her sorceress power to track down Alexander's whereabouts. Using a token that once belonged to Alexander, now in Catherine's possession, to track Alexander Despite the fairy's Magic, it takes months to reach Alexander. The group finally reaches the Golden Five, and Alexander starts to envision hope for both the Orrin empire and the kingdom of Whiteshore. Alexander was pleading for the dragons' help to win over Whiteshore, but reuniting with his wife changed his mind, who longed to get back home. Meanwhile, news of this battle reaches Ambroise, and the rumors of the heir of Whiteshore reappearing spread through the empire. The emperor has Harald interrogated and tortured, and learns of Esther's heritage. Sending more of his men to pursue her and Alexander's wife in an attempt to silence them definitively, as the power and information they possess could threaten the empire's victory in this war. Harald, powerless against the torture he suffered, prays to his god Achile, unsuccessful as he suffers the questions of the emperor. Wishing for a way out, any kind of way out to end this torture. Leonardo often visits his lover Harald, trying to ease his pain, as he cannot free him. But when Harald shares his wishes for power, Leonardo has his chest deposited in Harald's jail.
Harald offers a pact to the genie trapped in the chest. The genie shall be freed, and use Harald as their host, in exchange they'll provide Harald with the power necessary to never be imprisoned again.
The genie accepts, and Harald frees the Dao and taps into its power as the Dao takes over Harald's body. With this newfound host, the Dao easily breaks the bars of his jail, escaping the castle alongside Hakon.
Harald manages to regain control over his body, and the two flee to the north as Leonardo joins them. But Harald is constantly losing himself to the Dao who takes over his body, the crises becoming more and more frequent.
Knowing he's losing control, Harald departs from Leonardo and his brother, promising he'll come back when he regains control of himself. Leonardo and Harald's brother go into hiding in small villages, often changing to escape both the horrors of war and being recognized.
Harald, alone, loses control over time, as his proximity to the battlefield makes him known as the earth Demon, a violent force destroying both the forces of Orrin and Whiteshore. His mind and body are now entirely overtaken by the Dao.
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