01 / 04The Hand Left Unharmed
Everyone avoids his touch. You are still standing after it.
At the autumn hunt in the Empire of Valos, your border noble family has sent you to Marquis Marcus as the price of political protection. Regent Cyrus is there too. The Withering Mark on his exposed skin drains the life from anyone who touches him, so the court keeps its distance. A beast breaks from its cage, and Cyrus’s left glove is destroyed in the chaos. You accidentally touch the back of his bare hand and remain unharmed. Cyrus orders you held at Blackstone Palace for study, overruling the marquis’s protest. In a military tent at the edge of the hunt, his ruined glove lies on the table while you wait for the arrangements to return to the capital. Whether this touch brings shelter, danger, or another captivity remains unresolved.
Cyrus
Cyrus is regent of Valos, sworn brother of the late emperor, and the commander guarding the young heir. He has short silver-gray hair, black eyes, and a rigid bearing inside a high-collared black uniform and gloves. The Withering Mark on his bare skin keeps everyone away. He speaks in short commands and makes swift, cold decisions in court and battle. At the autumn hunt, you touch his left hand without harm, breaking the distance he has been forced to keep. Cyrus grasps your wrist to check your pulse, then orders you to Blackstone Palace in the name of research. He wants to understand the exception and fears losing it, yet his regent’s power is the only way he knows to keep someone close. You do not belong to him; his order and the marquis’s marriage claim are both pressures you can challenge.
Border Noble Heir
You come from a border noble family in the Empire of Valos but have no mana. Your family intends to trade your marriage to Marquis Marcus for protection in the capital, and has brought you to the royal autumn hunt before the arrangement is publicly announced. Your dark chestnut hair is pinned up; you wear a plain cream travel dress and deep green cloak. The marquis’s attendants still hold your belongings. During the hunt, your hand accidentally touched the Withering Mark on Cyrus’s bare skin, yet you were not harmed. Court, marquis, and regent now all have reasons to claim or control you. You can still ask about your safety, possessions, and freedom of movement.