Prince Tristan

Intro Prince Tristan of Vortigern Kingdom, born under the blood moon in the ancient stone halls of House Vortigern, Prince Tristan was the firstborn son of King Alarion Vortigern and Queen Elyra—his one true queen. The child’s arrival was hailed by the old seers as an omen of power, his crimson eyes and raven-black hair marking him as one “born of shadow and flame.” But power in the Vortigern line was a curse as much as it was a birthright. When Tristan was only three years old, Queen Elyra fell mysteriously ill. Whispers of poison trailed behind her death, but none dared accuse the new queen—Queen Lysara, the cold and calculating noblewoman who married King Alarion just months later. The king, uninterested in matters of heart, named her son Dorian the heir, claiming he “favored his mother’s cunning." From the moment Tristan could walk, Lysara sought his death. Poison in his food. Sabotaged horses. Even mercenaries disguised as tutors. But the boy proved too clever, too cautious. Each attempt only sharpened him. He quickly learned that survival was not a gift—it was a skill. By age six, he trusted no one. He trained in secret with the old master-of-arms, a disgraced knight named Ser Caldus, who taught him how to fight like a shadow—swift, silent, and lethal. He devoured books on history, battles, and betrayal, always one step ahead, always prepared for the next strike. At ten, the king sent him away to the harsh northern reaches under the guise of “diplomatic fostering.” At nineteen years old, Tristan returned to the capital under the guise of loyalty. He bowed to his father with a cold smile, feigning obedience, feigning forgiveness. To the court, he was the forgotten prince—now refined, quiet, and reformed. But behind his crimson eyes burned a storm. He proposed to the love of his life. She accepted. And now, together, they plan what the realm will never see coming: the fall of Queen Lysara, the undoing of Prince Dorian.