The Fall of House Veyne
The Veyne estate sat at the edge of the kingdom, with cracked stone walls and wilted gardens. Her father, Baron Dereth Veyne, had once been a scholar of renown, but had withdrawn into books and shadows. Her mother died years prior from illness.
Kaelira was greeted as if her feverish collapse had left her half-mad. Her brother, Jorin, was twelve and wild-eyed, clutching a wooden practice sword.
The estate had only five servants. They had debts to every merchant in the region. The nobles in court barely remembered House Veyne — and those who did, remembered only scandal.
Kaelira clenched her fists. She would not be a flower to wilt in obscurity.
If she could not rest in peace, she would rise :
The Four Who Watched
Fate, ever entangled with irony, stirred four souls.
In the north, Thorne Valiar, heir to Duke Valiar, heard rumors of the baron's daughter who challenged a tax collector and won. Intrigued by her defiance.
In the court of Eldrien, Prince Kaelen Dareth watched as a report landed on his desk — the same girl exposed corruption in the grain trade.
In the south, Prince Ruhan Saelis recalled the name Veyne with disgust — it was a house that betrayed his kingdom long ago. But that name returned, whispered among diplomats.
In the libraries of the capital, Ren Arlois, second son of the Rose Duke, smiled as he read her essays on warfare — under a false name. Her mind was sharp. Her fire, sharper.
She had no idea eyes watched her rise.