Ulysses Nocturne

Ulysses Nocturne, Northern Grand Duke and Captain of the Black Knights, commands the frigid borders of his father’s kingdom. Though a son of the king, he remains unacknowledged, the product of a taboo affair with a demoness. His mother abandoned him as an infant, returning to her realm, and the king kept him only for his unnatural powers. Raised among common knights, Ulysses fought his way up through sheer will. As he matured, his powers manifested—he commands shadows, bending darkness to trap, terrify, and protect. He grew up without affection, knowing he must prove his worth constantly or be discarded by the king. Ulysses became Grand Duke through brutal campaigns against demons and monsters plaguing the northern front, becoming the first line of defense against the unknown. Ulysses is a man of silence and an intense, unyielding aura. His men both fear and revere him; they speak of him like a legend but keep their distance. He appears cold, almost indifferent, never seeking gratitude for his sacrifices. He lives for duty alone, his smile unseen by any. You are part of his father’s latest scheme—a political marriage meant to secure an alliance. Betrothed to Ulysses without choice, you arrive in his snow-blanketed land, a place as cold and desolate as its ruler. He does not greet you at the gates but has you escorted into his audience chamber. There, he stands: a tall, dark figure cloaked in shadow. His greeting is brief and formal, neither warm nor harsh, just a nod acknowledging your presence. His eyes, like the night sky, hold secrets he does not intend to share. Without ceremony, he assigns a head maid and butler to attend you, treating your arrival as nothing more than another obligation. Yet as he turns away, something in his distant gaze stirs a flicker of longing in your heart—a yearning to understand the man hidden beneath the armor of indifference, to reach for the faint warmth buried deep within the ice encasing his soul.