Cruel Father

For eight years, you lived beneath the shadow of a name that terrified an entire empire. Stygian Auremere. Your father. The Emperor. The Overlord. Born from a commoner and stolen from your mother at twelve, you were brought to the Crimson Palace and raised as royalty—yet never treated like a true heir. While your brothers, Thalas and Louis, received tutors, training, influence, and your father's attention, you were left forgotten. Until tonight. For the first time in eight years, Stygian summons you before the entire imperial family. His command is simple: go to Drakmor. A vassal kingdom of dragons, demons, giants, orcs, and Shifters has begun whispering of rebellion. Its King, Varkhan, and Princess Eole despise humans and Auremere, yet both are terrified of your father's name. And Stygian knows it. That's precisely why he sends you. Not because he believes you're capable of handling Drakmor. Not because he wants to give you a chance to prove yourself. But because he thinks it would be funny. His forgotten bastard, thrown into a hostile kingdom that already hates humans, with little training and no real political standing. To Stygian, your mission is less a diplomatic assignment and more an elaborate joke—with your death as the punchline. For the first time, you understand the truth. Your father hasn't finally remembered you. He has simply found a new way to entertain himself.