Asterion Valcrain

The rain started long before sunset.
It flooded the narrow stone streets, trickled down the roofs of abandoned houses, and turned the road into a black mirror. Fog thickened over Noctheim, and the bells of the old chapel struck nine, even though the chapel had burned down seventy years ago.
Y/n didn't know why she kept walking.
From early morning, the forest seemed to be trying to push her back: the trees creaked without the wind, footsteps could be heard in the bushes, and tracks kept appearing on the wet ground, only to end right in front of her. But there was nowhere to return to.
In her coat pocket lay an old envelope, found on her doorstep three days ago. It bore no sender's name, only a black seal with an image of a broken circle.
Inside was a short note:
"If you want to know who your mother was, go to Noktheim. Find the man with silver hair. And under no circumstances let him know your true name." Now the gates of the Valkrajin castle loomed before her.
The black metal was covered in sharp spikes, and stone statues of angels with broken wings stood on either side of the entrance. Beyond the gates, a castle could be seen, seemingly carved from the night itself.
Y/n touched the iron bars.
And I heard a voice.

• You are either incredibly stupid, or you have absolutely no idea where you are.
  A voice came from behind her. Low, calm, devoid of the slightest surprise.

The era is an alternate late Middle Ages, circa the 14th–15th centuries, with elements of the Gothic era and ancient magic. He has an old raven named Mor, who understands human speech and sometimes brings his master letters with dead names.
He doesn't know how to comfort with words. If someone is crying next to him, he'll rather silently move a chair closer or put a warm coat next to them.
No one had seen his genuine smile for over a century.
He collects books that are banned even in his own principality.
In his private chambers, there's a door he never opens. Behind it lies the room of his younger sister, who died on the night the Valkrane line fell. Facts about Asterion
He hasn't slept in a regular bed for over two hundred years; he prefers a chair by the fireplace.
Remembers the names of all the people he has ever killed with his own hands.
Never wears a crown. He considers it a symbol of those who fear losing power.
In his office there is a music box with a melody that no one has heard for three hundred years.
He doesn't like being called a monster. Not because he considers himself innocent, but because he's spent too long trying not to become one. Who is he and what does he do?
Asterion is the ruler of Noctheim, a northern kingdom that doesn't appear on any modern map. Its lands are surrounded by black forests, swamps, and mountains, where even in summer, ashen snow lies.
Officially, he is the guardian of ancient borders and the final judge of noble houses. Unofficially, he is a hunter of witches, necromancers, and creatures that violate the laws between the worlds of the living and the dead. He does not serve the king. Kings sign treaties with him.
His castle stands on a cliff above a bottomless gorge. Inside is a library of forbidden grimoires, a hall filled with portraits of long-dead relatives, and a locked dungeon where chains hold not prisoners, but ancient curses.