🥀

The young boy felt the keen sting of the leather digging into the flesh of his back. He didn’t cry out. He closed his eyes, prayed to the Father God and Mother Goddess for forgiveness, for the sinfulness of his own flesh. 

Wicked! Wicked! Wicked! A devil in king’s flesh! 

It was an eternity before the lashings were over and he collapsed on his giant bed in the king’s chambers. The blood trickled down his back, the healers tending to him without a sound. They would never breathe a word, he would have their tongues for it. 

“Your Grace,” they’d mumble as they shuffled out of the room, closing the door behind them. He was in no state to walk about. His mother, his regent would have to take his place for the time being. 

There were no tears, just quiet contemplation. 

Sinful! Wicked! Just as your father was! And just as your wicked father, you shall rot in your wicked flesh! 

There were no mirrors in his room. Vanity was sinful, his mother had told him. 

He was made a king, but he felt anything but. Theodric, the third king of that name, a name he was most undeserving of. 

The door opened. He didn’t look up as two figures walked in, silently closing the door behind them. 

“You shouldn’t be here. Mother wouldn’t like it,” he said, hoarsely. His eyes continued to stare blankly at the wall connected to the king’s antechamber. 

But the Princesses Elysande and Sibylla cared nothing for the king’s words. Because to them, they were the words of a brother, still their equal in their private moments. In their quiet moments, they were just themselves. 

“Oh Theo,” Sibylla’s voice broke as she kneeled at the side of the bed, looking into her brother’s empty eyes. “Oh Lysi, look at him. Look at what that old witch has done to him!” 

“Silence, Sibby,” the elder of the siblings admonished, kneeling beside the younger girl. “She can hear you.” 

“You shouldn’t be here,” Theodric repeated. “Mother wouldn't like it. It’s not proper.” 

Neither girl makes an effort to move. Sibylla looks as though she is about to cry and Elysande keeps a neutral, stoic expression but the sadness is reflected in her eyes. 

“Oh Theo,” Elysande whispered. “My poor Theo. You must come to me next time. I’ve told you this countless times.” 

“You’ve done nothing wrong,” Sibylla chimed in. “You’re good Theo. You’re so, so good.” 

No, he wasn’t. He was a wicked creature. He’d come out of his mother, a spitting image of the man that had tormented and humiliated her for years and years. He needed to do this. So as to not end up like him. 

Elysande stroked his hair, her eyes brimming with tears. And at this, he could not tolerate. Later, he would kneel before the High Priest, the representative of the Father God himself, and confess to this sin. His heart felt heavy as it thudded painfully in his chest. 

“Leave,” he whispered after a moment. “Your king commands it…” 

A king’s command, his sisters could not deny. Their beloved brother was gone. Their mother would appear and only suffering would follow. 

“Go!” his voice shook. “Your king commands you!” 

Princess Sibylla of Celestrom: A young woman of 18, she is the younger sister of Theodric and is fiercely protective of him. She is considered the rebel of the family.

Personality: Independent, rebellious, flirtatious, socially savvy, and observant. She has an advanced network of maids who act as spies all over the kingdom and that is how she curiously knows things. She is hot-headed, giving into fits of anger and is rumored to be responsible for a few families thought to be stirring up another war. She is unusually gifted in predicting events.

Appearance: Similar hair and eyes to her siblings and family. She is considered the beauty of the family and that is magnified by her charisma. She prefers to wear silver, low-cut gowns.

Hobbies: Dancing, archery, flower-arranging, throwing banquets. She is a gifted writer just like her sister, though she knows how to spin things better than her sister.

History & Relationships: She was 5 when the war ended so she doesn’t remember it as well as her siblings do. However, she grew up understanding her family’s precarious situation. She grew up very independent and fierce, a bit of a spitfire but also very charming. While her brother rules and her sister runs the council, she secures alliances with her beauty and charisma. She establishes an intricate spy network around the kingdom, in a bid to protect her brother and family. She is at odds with her mother, who considers her to be a demon and has had her whipped once but that made her more rebellious. She is close to her siblings and she doesn’t care for the religion whatsoever.

Princess Elysande of Celestrom: A young woman of 23, she is Theodric’s elder sister who actively takes over his regency when she reaches her majority.

Personality: Mature, level-headed, emotionally intelligent, calculating, and a mother hen to her siblings. She protects as much much as she can, even resorting to some less than palatable tactics. She’s lauded as well for having all the desired “feminine” qualities. Probably the most suited of her siblings to rule.

Appearance: Hair of starlight, sea green eyes. She has a bit of a baby face even into adulthood, and she prefers to wear high necklines and the color blue.

Hobbies: Writing, hawking, swims in the nearby lakes and oceans, playing the harp, and embroidery

History & Relationships: She was born the eldest daughter and child in a time of war and became her mother’s emotional crutch for several years. She is her brother’s heir as his eldest sibling and she immediately adapts to her life as a Princess Royal. Having seen the chaos of war and how it led to her mother’s rapid decline, she is devoted to her family and obsessed with protecting them no matter what. She has a close relationship with her mother initially, until the queen mother is confined to a wing of the castle, while she is very close to her siblings. She is close to her cousin, Gryffen, though the nature of that closeness is up to speculation and court gossip.

Queen Mother Edeva of Celestrom: A middle-aged woman in her 50s, she is the mother of Elysande, Theodric, and Sibylla.

Personality: Serious, emotionally + mentally unable, codependent on people, very religious, but also a seasoned stateswoman and politician

Appearance: Starlight colored hair that is going white, with spring green eyes. She has high cheekbones and thin lips. In her youth, she was a great beauty. She wears gray most of the time.

Hobbies: Prayer, embroidery, traveling (in her youth), and painting (also in her youth).

History & Relationships: She was born the only child of the disputed crown prince and his wife, but she lost her father young. In her early years, she was quite the diplomat and had an uncanny ability to charm people to their cause which is the reason her husband would later win his crown. When she’s 27, she’s forced to marry her cousin, her father’s younger brother’s son who is about 21. The marriage is not a happy one as he had a weakness for women and she was in love with a priest. Her husband was also a drunkard and she refuses to speak on their relationship. Slowly she suffers, and when her husband dies her son is crowned but the years of war and hardship have taken its toll and she’s abuses her son. The priest she’s in love with becomes High Priest of the Kingdom and they become lovers after Theodric is crowned. She rules his council with an iron fist for years, determined to bring about economic and religious prosperity. She is close to her daughter Elysande but has a complicated relationship with her son and a strained one with her other daughter, Sibylla.

Duchess Alaisina I of Elysienne, Queen of Celestrom - A young woman of 18, she becomes the first duchess in her own right at the age of 11.

Personality: Lively, bold, observant, physically active, and an enjoyer of the arts and culture. She is also very good at thinking long term, usually. Also emotionally unavailable to everyone except her sister due to witnessing what love did to her father following her mother's death. But she is emotional to an extent, even if she denies it.

Appearance: Dark reddish brown hair and large golden brown eyes. A famed beauty with soft cheeks and a rose bud mouth, her face is on the longer side. She wears rich gowns of burgundy and red, shows off every bit of her status.

Hobbies: Horseback riding, dancing, falconry, and chess. She likes lying down in the fields on sunny afternoons just outside of her family's main palace.

History & Relationships: She is born the eldest child and eldest daughter of a loving union. Her childhood was cut short when her mother, who was 3 months pregnant, was throw from a horse which caused her to die from a broken neck. This broke her father mentally and emotionally and he became isolated and slowly went mad, confined to his room. She is close to her uncle, who takes over as regent and starts teaching her young. She also takes charge of her sister, raising her from toddlerhood and ensuring she never feels deprived of anything. She is devoted to her sister, who is her best friend. She is close to a local priestess who serves as a counselor and mother figure to her. She learns how to navigate political situations with relative ease, though she can be rash at times.

Spouse: King Theodric of Celestrom

King Theodric I of Celestrom - A young man of 20, he was crowned king at the tender age of 7.

Personality: Serious, dour, studious, and detached. Earlier on in his reign, he was known as Theodric the Fragile because his mind was broken by years of his mother's abuse and being witness to his father's horrific murder.

Appearance: Hair is the color of starlight, eyes are sea green. Sharper features as he grows older, long nose, wears black and gray almost exclusively as a young man, which washes him out and makes him look older and sickly. He is unusually tall.

Hobbies: Prayer and reading (openly), music, writing poetry, secretly funding the underground arts (openly later in life), isolated walks by himself

History & Relationships: Born the second child and only son during a generations' long civil war for a war-torn country, he witnessed his father's brutal murder at the hands of a lover when he was 7 after winning the decisive battle that won him the throne. Theodric, a boy king, was then crowned. Due to early life trauma, he was withdrawn and quiet, choosing to retreat into prayer. As he resembles his father, his mother does everything to ensure she doesn't end up like him so she punishes every little thing and he becomes pathologically afraid of sin. To keep his sanity, he secretly writes poems and composes music deep into the night and reads tales of a past long gone. He is deeply devoted to his family, even his mother and is exceptionally close to his cousin Gryffen. He has a loving relationship with the High Priest, who is secretly his mother's lover.

Spouse: Duchess Alaisina of Elysienne

the modern aristocrats/upper class

this original starts with two orphaned girls who inherit their family’s land and business under the care of their grandmother. this story follows these two girls and their descendants and spans approximately 250 years. the first story follows the younger sister, who has multiple emotional problems, which leads her to starting an affair with her late father’s married business partner. the rest of the story follows the older sister through two marriages, eight children, affairs, scandals, running her business empire and retaining control of the society around her. (there is a whole google doc on the characters and their respective stories)

the royal dynasty that lasts 800 years

based on my love of medieval history

this story follows a royal family from their beginnings at the height of a medieval society, all the way to the end when they’re overthrown when the system of monarchy becomes stale.

the first of three parts starts with a young king, his emotionally controlling and overly pious mother, his two sisters, his best friend who is his cousin, and a high priest who serves as a father to him. he marries a young duchess while his cousin marries her sister. and at first, the marriage is in shambles due to his religious trauma and emotional problems but eventually goes from the broken to the magnificent.

the second takes place a few centuries later. the dynasty is at the height of its glory. there is a king and his younger brother. the younger brother is definitely the spoiled younger sibling while the brother is more austere. this follows these two men and how a war of succession ensues because the queen births two children: a healthy daughter and a son who is very unfit to succeed. meanwhile the younger brother was married to the queen’s older sister but she died under dubious circumstances and married the queen’s lady in waiting/daughter of one of her father’s vassals and produces several healthy children. this tears the kingdom apart pretty much and is seen as a black spot in history.