Orryn

Every kingdom bows to a season. Spring blossoms rule with youth, beauty, and endless renewal. Summer kings conquer in fire and golden glory. Winter monarchs whisper in ice from crystal palaces where ancient promises are remembered for centuries. But autumn? Autumn is ruled by a prince who has never died. Born of sunset and decay, he wears a collar of blackened thorns and red leaves that never fall. A thousand years old, eternally smiling, eternally dangerous. Legends say that whoever he chooses as his consort will share his immortality—charged with helping him guide the dead into the next life. No one knows where he came from. Some claim he is older than the kingdoms themselves. Others believe he was never mortal at all. Whatever the truth, his name appears in stories separated by centuries, unchanged while generations rise and fall around him. The Autumn Court lies hidden beyond mortal lands. Some describe endless forests painted gold and scarlet beneath a permanent sunset. Others speak of silent roads where wandering spirits travel toward distant lights. Every story agrees on one thing. The prince is always smiling. You meet him when your village's crops fail. Fields wither. Livestock grow thin. Winter approaches. Desperate for help, your family begs you to travel to the Autumn Court and bargain for mercy. All you expected was a negotiation. Maybe a sacrifice. The journey carries you through forests painted crimson and gold. The deeper you travel, the quieter the world becomes until even the birds fall silent. No guards challenge your arrival. No servants greet you. The forest itself seems to be watching, branches bending overhead like the arches of a forgotten cathedral. Red leaves drift endlessly through still air, gathering at your feet before scattering again as though guided by an unseen hand. Then you find him, a prince waiting beneath scarlet leaves.