last debt

Knox

Role: Kael's warhorse.

A huge black stallion with scarlet eyes, he's been around longer than most kingdoms. His body is covered in glowing Void runes. He allows no one to ride his back except Kael. The only exception is Eleanor. When she first touched his mane, Nox calmly lowered his head, surprising even his master.

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Council of Twelve

The twelve most powerful nobles of Nocteris. They formally serve the queen, but many believe that the feelings between Eleanor and Kael could break the Seal. Some are willing to sacrifice them both for the safety of the kingdom, while others secretly support the queen and try to help her find another way out.

Selena Morvayne

Role: High Priestess of the Temple of the Moon.

The last woman who still remembers the true story of the First King. She was present at the creation of the Seal five centuries ago, thanks to life-extending magic. She became a mentor to Eleanor, almost like a second mother. She sincerely desires to free Kael, but understands the price may be too high. She wields ancient lunar magic, capable of temporarily suppressing the curse.

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Damian Ravencroft

Role: Commander-in-Chief of Nocteris' army.

The kingdom's strongest swordsman and Eleanor's most loyal knight. He swore to protect her as a child after the death of her parents. He distrusts Kael and is convinced he will one day lose control of the monster within him. Despite this, he respects his strength. He wields the enchanted sword "Astra."

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Lucian Arden

Role: Supreme Court Mage.

A genius who has dedicated his life to studying ancient runes. He deciphers the old records of the First King and gradually realizes that the legends about Kael were deliberately distorted. Inquisitive, calm, and a little absent-minded. He is the only person capable of conversing with Kael as if he were a normal person.

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Raven Asher

Role: Emperor of the neighboring state of Valdoria.

The main antagonist.

A young, incredibly intelligent, and ruthless ruler. Upon learning of Eleanor and Kael's existence, he becomes obsessed with the queen. He offers her an alliance, power, and protection, dreaming of making her his empress. In reality, his goal is to obtain the Seal of the First King and harness its ancient power. He understands Kael's feelings perfectly and deliberately tries to use them against him.

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Aris

Role: Eleanor's black raven.

An ancient magical bird, inherited from her mother. It can transmit messages over any distance, sense lies, and sense danger in advance. It allows almost no one near it, except Eleanor and, unexpectedly, Kael.

Kael's parents

Liana Valkorian

Role: Kael's mother (from flashbacks)

The woman the first king loved most after his country.

She was the reason why Kael once became king.

She possessed the same ancient magic as Eleanor and belonged to an ancient line of Guardians.

Before she died, she told her son:

"One day, a man will come along who will see you as more than a weapon. Trust him."

Kael was sure that this would never happen.

Until I met Eleanor.

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Raynar Valkorian

Role: Kael's father (deceased)

The first king of the united kingdom.

He became famous as the greatest military leader of his era.

After Kael was born, he realized that his son was not an ordinary person.

Instead of love, he made it the ideal weapon of the state.

It was Raynar who ordered Kael to be imprisoned beneath the palace after the Great Schism, sacrificing his own son to save the world.

Until his death he believed that he had done the right thing.

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Eleanor's parents

Adrian Evergrace

Role: Eleanor's father (the late king)

The wise ruler of Evergrace.

I have studied the legends of the Guardian all my life.

He was the only one who knew Kael's real story.

But he never dared to reveal it to his own daughter.

Before his death he left a letter:

"Don't fear the monster beneath the palace. Perhaps the only monster is the people who made it that way."

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Evelyn Evergrace

Role: Eleanor's mother (the late queen)

The last great keeper of the ancient magic of Light.

It was from her that Eleanor inherited the ability to control runes and ancient flames.

During her life she was known for her kindness, calmness and incredible strength.

Before her death, she managed to bless her daughter, leaving on her soul the magical Seal of the Protector, which awakens only in moments of mortal danger.

When Eleanor gets injured, Kael feels the same pain.

When he loses control of the curse, only her voice can bring him back.

They didn't choose this relationship.

They were doomed to it.

But gradually they begin to understand:

Perhaps the curse wasn't meant to keep them together.

And so that after five hundred years they finally meet.

The main character

Kael Valkorian

Real name: First King Kael Valkorian
Age: unknown
Appearance: about 30 years old

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Appearance

Kael looks more like a legend than a human being.

High.

Huge strong body.

Long black hair that constantly flutters as if alive.

His skin is covered with dark lines - ancient runes of curse.

Part of the face is hidden by shadows.

The eyes are almost completely black, but in moments of strong emotion a golden light appears inside.

His body looks as if a man and a monster exist at the same time.

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Cloth

He wears the old armor of the first king.

Black metal.

Golden patterns.

Cracked plates.

Long dark cloak.

The hands are left with chains of seals that cannot be removed.

They are part of his curse.

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Character

Kael:

• silent
• dangerous
• cruel to enemies
• cold
• patient
• incredibly loyal

He has no mercy for those who threaten Eleanor.

But next to her he becomes different.

He can just sit next to you for hours.

He might let her touch his scars.

He can sleep peacefully for the first time in hundreds of years if he hears her voice.

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Attitude towards Eleanor

At first he sees her as just another queen.

Another debt.

Another life he must protect.

He even gets angry at her because she reminds him of the past.

But the problem is different.

He remembers all the past rulers.

And for the first time…

He can't remember any of them as vividly as he does her.

The main character

Eleanor Evergrace

Age: 23 years
Status: Queen of Nocteris

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Appearance

Eleanor looks like someone who was born for the throne.

Long, thick black hair with soft waves is almost always left loose or gathered into an intricate royal hairstyle.

Her skin is pale, almost porcelain.

Eyes of different colors:

One is a cold grey-blue, like a winter sky.

The second is a rich amber, an unusual sign of the ancient blood of her family.

It is because of this that she was called “the queen of two destinies” since childhood.

Her face seems calm and inaccessible, but behind it lies a strong will.

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Cloth

She prefers not bright royal dresses, but dark outfits that are more reminiscent of armor.

Black and deep green fabrics.

Long coats.

Silver jewelry with the symbol of the royal family.

She always wears an ancient pendant around her neck that has been passed down in her family for hundreds of years.

Inside it is a piece of Nocteris's first seal.

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Character

Eleanor:

• smart
• proud
• daring
• incredibly observant
• knows how to read people
• is not afraid to tell the truth even to the council

She never asks for respect.

She makes him earn it.

Many people consider her cold.

But in reality, she was just used to the fact that every person around her wanted to use her power.

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Capabilities

Eleanor is a master of ancient blood magic.

She is capable of:

• create protective runes;
• treat severe wounds;
• to see fragments of the past through touch;
• to sense lies through a magical connection.

But there is a price.

Every time she uses her power, new runic scars appear on her skin.

Small ones first.

Then they cover the arms and shoulders.

She hides them from everyone.

Besides him.

Five centuries ago, the first king of Nocteris sacrificed his own life to seal away a creature capable of destroying the entire world.

But the seal turned out to be imperfect.

To ensure that it would exist forever, the soul of the king himself was made a part of it.

Since then, each generation of the royal family has received its own Guardian.

A person…

Who has long ceased to be human.

He was reborn after the death of each monarch.

Became their shadow again.

Defended the throne again.

And again he died together with his king.

This continued for five centuries.

Until, after the death of the previous rulers, a young queen took the throne.

Eleanor Evergrace.

But the impossible happened.

The guard did not appear.

Everyone decided that the ancient curse had finally disappeared.

Half a year has passed.

Until that very night when assassins entered the palace.

The moment the sword almost touched her throat, the space around her was torn apart.

A tall man appeared before her, covered in living black patterns, as if the darkness itself had taken on human form.

In a few seconds he destroyed the attackers.

After which, for the first time in five hundred years, he uttered words that he had never spoken to any ruler:

— …I’m late again.

Later, Eleanor learns the terrible truth.

He is not a monster at all.

He is the first king of Nocteris.

The very man whom his own people condemned to eternal life for the sake of the kingdom's existence.

Every day, next to the new queen, he begins to remember his real past.

And the seal itself...

It's getting weaker.

Because for the first time in five centuries, the Guardian stops treating his monarch as a duty.

And he begins to see a woman in her.

And the love between them is the only thing that can simultaneously break the curse... and free the ancient evil.

Kingdom of Nocteris

An ancient state, lost among the Black Mountains and eternal pine forests. Sunny days are almost never seen here—the sky is perpetually covered with silvery clouds, and at night, the entire city is illuminated by thousands of magical lanterns.

The capital is Eternheim.

The city is built entirely of black stone.

High cathedrals.

Bridges over bottomless gorges.

Towers reaching into the clouds.

Beneath the palace lies a vast labyrinth—the Catacombs of the First King—where no one but the ruler is permitted to enter.

It is there that the heart of the ancient curse has been located for five hundred years.