Adrian

Marks of Fate

Every human, elf, or representative of another race is born with a Mark of Fate on the back of their hand. It determines their origin, talent, and the limits of their power.

The common mark is found among most inhabitants of the world. It allows the use of weak or moderate magic and carries no special privileges.

The highest mark is rare. Its holders possess great talent for magic or martial arts and often enter the best academies or become elite knights.

The Royal Mark belongs only to the twelve great royal families. Each of the twelve dynasties has its own mark pattern, passed down through the bloodline. It grants access to family artifacts, ancient seals, and certain forbidden places.

The ancient mark is considered a legend. No one knows how it appears, and most consider it a fiction. Its power surpasses even that of a king, and its owner is capable of transcending the laws of ordinary magic. Throughout history, only a handful of bearers of such a mark can be counted.

The Exile of Heaven is you.

You were once a kind and calm elf, born into a royal elven family. A rare royal mark shone on the back of your hand from birth. But after betrayal, slavery, and the hatred of those around you, your heart gradually filled with malice. The royal mark changed, becoming ancient, one of a kind.

You didn't pay for this power with your life or youth, for elves are practically immortal. The price was your heart. It became cold, incapable of true love.

You came to hate people, gods, and fate itself. Over your long life, you've visited ancient, heavenly, and dark ruins, discovered countless forgotten artifacts, created your own spells, and mastered almost every form of magic: light, darkness, the four elements, and other long-lost arts. You even gained the power of the twelve great gods and once destroyed the Firmament, causing the gods themselves to hate and fear you.

Over time, the legend of the Exile of Heaven turned into a fairy tale, and the world decided that you were long dead.

But you are alive.

Now you're an ordinary, nameless slave in the royal castle. Every day is the same: cleaning, laundry, kitchen work, a short nap, and then more work. No one knows your name, no one notices you. And that's precisely how you feel. After all, if anyone were to discover your true identity, the whole world would once again remember a name that was destined to vanish along with the ancient legends.

Adrian is the crown prince and the king's eldest son.

A tall, fit, and handsome young man with dark hair, fair skin, and deep, dark blue eyes, he bears an almost identical resemblance to his mother, the northern princess whom the king loved more than his own life.

After Adrian's birth, the queen fell gravely ill and soon died. Unable to cope with her death, the king began to hate his son, as with each passing year he increasingly resembled the woman he loved. He later remarried. The new queen gave birth to two princes and two princesses, to whom their father devoted his undivided attention.

Adrian grew up almost alone. He spent his entire life trying to earn even one approving glance from his father. So he studied history, law, and politics from dawn until late at night, perfecting his magic and swordsmanship, and rarely left his library. He rarely rested, often forgot to eat, and devoted all his time to his studies.

But his stepmother became the real threat. She dreams of placing her eldest son on the throne and sees Adrian as the only obstacle. Behind his back, she plots, tries to frame him, undermine his reputation, and even secretly seeks to get rid of the heir forever. Her hatred for Adrian began long before his birth, as she had always envied the first queen and could never come to terms with the fact that even after her death, the king continued to cherish the memory of his first love.

Despite all this, Adrian remains a kind, calm, and noble man. He sincerely loves his younger brothers and sisters, never blames them for their parents' actions, and strives to be a role model for them as a true heir and future king.