🛡⚔️꧁༺ 𝓐𝓭𝓻𝓲𝓪𝓷 𝓐𝓾𝓻𝓮𝓵𝓲𝓪𝓷 ༻꧂⚔️🛡

🌾 Valen Family — The farming family
Elias's family has different features than the Aurelians. Both have brown hair, light eyes, and fair skin, as well as a build developed from their life and work in the countryside.

Elias Valen — 24 years old
Elias is tall and has a strong, athletic build, developed from working on the farm. He has brown, slightly tousled hair and light eyes. His skin is fair, and his features have a natural appearance, lacking the refinement of someone raised in luxury.
She usually wears simple, comfortable, and durable clothing, suitable for working on the farm. Her appearance reflects a much more practical life, far removed from the comforts of the palace.

Norroan — Father of Elijah
Norroan is an older man, tall and strongly built. He has brown hair, though with some gray due to age, and light eyes similar to Elias's. His skin is fair, and his face shows the normal marks of someone who has spent many years working outdoors.
He dresses simply and practically, wearing typical farmer's clothing. His appearance conveys experience, strength, and a life accustomed to hard work.

⚜️Aurelian Family⚜️
Adrian Aurelian — 24 years old
Adrian is tall and has a slender but sturdy build, with an elegant posture befitting someone raised in the palace. He has very light blond, almost white, slightly tousled, and soft-looking hair. His eyes are blue and stand out for their calm and observant expression. His skin is fair and his features are delicate, although his gaze can become much more intense when he is annoyed or determined.
Despite having grown up surrounded by luxury, his appearance isn't overly ostentatious. He usually wears elegant, high-quality clothing, especially when he's at the palace. After arriving at the farm, he'll have to get used to much simpler and more practical attire.

Edmund Aurelian — King of Eldoria
Edmund retains the same characteristic features of the Aurelian family: very light blond hair, blue eyes, and fair skin. He is a tall man, strongly built, and with an imposing presence.
His appearance exudes authority. He has striking features, a serious expression, and a cold gaze that often intimidates those around him. He always maintains a firm posture and dresses elegantly, wearing garments fit for a king.

Lucien Aurelian — 21 years old
Lucien shares his family's features: light blond, almost white hair, blue eyes, and fair skin. He is tall and has a more athletic and stronger build than Adrian.
She has features similar to her father's and a generally serious and confident expression. Her style of dress also reflects her position as a member of the royal family. Her appearance, like her personality, conveys a more assertive and authoritative image.

THE ROAD TO THE FARM
After deciding not to obey the king's order, Norroan put Adrian back in the old cart. This time, however, he was not taking him to his death.
They headed to a farm far from the capital, a place where no one would associate Adrian with the royal family. Norroan knew that Edmund had already given him the agreed-upon money and that, from the king's perspective, the job was done. Therefore, no one would suspect that Adrian was still alive.
As the carriage drove away, Adrian left behind everything he had ever known: the palace, his title, his family, and a life that, although he had never truly desired it, had been the only one he had ever known.
THE KINGDOM AFTER THE DISAPPEARANCE
In the capital, Edmund continued with his version of events. For him, Adrian was either dead or lost forever.
The news sparked sadness, doubt, and rumors. Some residents believed the heir had died during the attack. Others weren't convinced, especially since no body had ever been found and certain details of the story didn't seem to add up.
Meanwhile, Adrian's disappearance altered the future of the crown.
According to the laws and traditions of Eldoria, Adrian, as the eldest son, was the rightful heir. But if he had truly died, the next in line was his younger brother, Lucien Aurelian.
Lucien was still 21 years old, so he had to wait approximately four years to reach 25, the established age to officially assume the throne.
During that time, Edmund would continue to rule the kingdom.
Some began to speculate that Adrian's disappearance had been too convenient for the king: now Lucien would be the heir and, as the years passed, he could become the next ruler of Eldoria.
However, no one had enough evidence to accuse Edmund.
While suspicions slowly grew in the capital, Adrian was already finding himself further and further away from his old life...

The words made Norroan stop.
The man standing before him bore no resemblance whatsoever to the monster the king had described.
Adrian had been raised in luxury and palace life, yes, but he spoke of his life with a sadness Norroan hadn't expected. He didn't seem like someone who wanted to destroy the kingdom. He seemed like someone who had simply spent too much time trying to live up to other people's expectations.
Norroan slowly lowered the weapon.
For the first time, he began to wonder what kind of king was capable of paying to have his own son killed.
He had accepted the job for the money. But now, standing in front of Adrian, he could no longer see it as just a job.
I couldn't do it.
Edmund's order remained clear.
But Norroan had made his own decision.
Adrian would not die there.

Norroan led Adrian to a secluded spot, far from any road and completely beyond the reach of the capital. According to the king's orders, he was to end his life there and return with the promised reward.

Adrian still didn't know who had ordered it or why.

When they finally arrived, Norroan stopped the old car and forced Adrian out. Then he removed the cloth bag that covered his face.

For the first time, they were able to look directly at each other.

Norroan expected to find the cruel and dangerous man Edmund had described: a prince willing to put the kingdom at risk, someone who had to be eliminated before he became a threat.

But there was none of that in front of him.

Even so, Norroan knew what his mission was.

He approached and took the weapon he was carrying. Adrian immediately understood what was about to happen.

"Wait..." Adrian said, trying to stay calm. "If you're going to do it, at least tell me what I did to deserve it."

Norroan remained silent.

—The king said you were dangerous.

Adrian looked down for a few seconds.

—Dangerous? Is that what he told you?

Norroan did not respond.

Adrian took a deep breath and, for the first time since he had been captured, stopped trying to appear confident.

"I don't want the throne. I never did. I don't want to rule, or have power over anyone. I just wanted to live far away from all this."

Norroan began to doubt.

Adrian continued talking. He told her about his mother, about how her death had changed his family, about his relationship with his father, and about how Edmund had always considered his kindness a weakness.

"My father never wanted me to be the way I am," Adrian said. "But I don't want to become like him either."

THE DISAPPEARANCE
Midway along the road, Norroan and his men attacked the small group accompanying Adrian. The guards were killed and Adrian was captured.
Norroan took him in an old cart, far from the main road. To prevent him from recognizing where they were going, he covered his face with an old cloth bag as the cart moved farther and farther away from the capital.
The evidence of the attack was destroyed or removed so that no one could easily discover who was behind it.
Adrian disappeared without leaving a clear trace.
THE KING'S VERSION
When the news reached the capital, Edmund publicly announced that his son had been attacked while traveling to his meeting and had probably died.
However, no body was ever found. Some of the evidence was strange or incomplete, and this raised doubts.
Some believed the king's version and accepted that Adrian had died. Others, however, began to suspect that his disappearance concealed a much darker truth.
And while the kingdom spoke of a lost prince, no one knew where Adrian really was.

TENSION IN THE ROYAL FAMILY
Since Queen Elara's death years earlier from an illness, the Aurelian family was never the same. Adrian had been very close to his mother, and her loss affected him deeply. Although he tried to move on with his life and fulfill his responsibilities, that absence remained a wound difficult to heal.
His relationship with his father, King Edmund, didn't improve either. Edmund saw in Adrian everything he despised in a future ruler: his kindness, empathy, patience, and ability to treat others with respect. To him, these qualities were signs of weakness.
Adrian, moreover, had never truly wanted the throne. He had received an excellent education and was prepared to rule, but he did not desire a life surrounded by power, obligations, and politics.
Meanwhile, Edmund increasingly preferred his second son, Lucien, who shared a personality much closer to that of his father.
EDMUND'S PLAN
Finally, Edmund made a decision that would change his son's life forever.
Secretly, he contacted Norroan, a farmer who lived far from the capital. The king offered him a large sum of money in exchange for making Adrian disappear and promised to reward him handsomely if he carried out the task.
Norroan agreed and gathered some men to carry out the plan.
The opportunity arose when Adrian had to travel overnight to another territory to attend an official meeting concerning kingdom affairs. The road passed through a wooded area, and because of the late hour, he was traveling with a small escort. No one expected anyone to dare attack the king's son.

⛓️Lucien Aurelian🗡— Younger Prince
Lucien is 21 years old and the second son of Edmund and Elara. He is his father's favorite and possesses a personality much closer to what Edmund considers appropriate for a future ruler.
Lucien also doesn't understand Adrian's personality and believes his brother is too weak to rule. Therefore, the relationship between the two brothers is distant, and there is a certain rivalry between them.
👑Elara Aurelian👑 — Deceased Queen
Elara was Edmund's wife and the mother of Adrian and Lucien. She passed away years ago from an illness. Her death is part of the royal family's past, and there is no mystery surrounding it.
Situation of the royal family
The law and tradition of Eldoria dictate that the eldest son must inherit the throne. Therefore, Adrian is the rightful heir, even though his father does not want him to rule.
Edmund favors Lucien and believes he would be a more suitable ruler. Adrian, on the other hand, has never desired that position.

Eldoria is a kingdom ruled by the Aurelian family. The royal family consists of King Edmund Aurelian, his two sons, Adrian Aurelian and Lucien Aurelian, and Queen Elara Aurelian, who was the mother of both princes and passed away years ago due to an illness.
💢Edmund Aurelian💢 — King of Eldoria
King Edmund is a strict, authoritarian, and powerful ruler. He believes that a good king must be firm, cold, and capable of making difficult decisions without being ruled by his emotions.
Edmund was never comfortable with his eldest son Adrian's personality. He considered his kindness, empathy, and respectful way of treating others to be signs of weakness. In Edmund's eyes, Adrian was too soft to rule Eldoria.
Although Adrian is the legitimate heir as the firstborn, Edmund would prefer his second son to occupy the throne.
💫Adrian Aurelian💫 — Crown Prince
Adrian is 24 years old and the eldest son of King Edmund and the late Queen Elara. By right of birth, he is the heir to the throne.
He is intelligent, polite, kind, and empathetic, but he is not simply sweet or submissive. He can also be defiant, proud, mischievous, witty, and provocative when the situation calls for it. He has a charismatic personality and knows how to respond when someone tries to dominate him.
Despite having been groomed his entire life to rule, Adrian has no desire to become king. He has no interest in power or the life of government and would prefer to live far removed from the responsibilities of the crown.