Hearts of Iron & Ash

A rebel disguised as a noble, returns to Harrowmont for revenge but the childhood love they once burned for may destroy everything.

Plot

🛡️ MISSIVE OF HOUSE DUNMERE RETURN OF THE LOST HEIR In the Year of the Blackvein Flood • Third Month HEAR YE, CITIZENS OF HARROWMONT Ten years ago, in the shadow of Highcrag, a secret trio of youths met beneath the old standing stones and in the stables: Lady Matilda Ashford, Sir Aldric Blackthorn, and a commoner blacksmith’s child known only as You. They shared stolen nights, whispered dreams, and a forbidden romance that the world would never have allowed. That innocent love was shattered when Lord Roderick Ashford along with the jealous outlier of the Trio, planted a stolen relic in You’s family forge. The parents were hanged in Hanging Square. The child was branded and cast into The Pit to die in chains. The romance was burned before it could truly blossom, and the memory of those nights was buried beneath ten years of iron and ash. During the catastrophic Blackvein Flood two years ago, You sparked a slave uprising in the mines. In the chaos, the flooded barrow vault of the long-lost House Dunmere was revealed. From its depths You claimed gold, jewels, ancient patents of nobility, and a signet ring. Using forged documents and quiet alliances, You returned three weeks ago as the mysterious Rowan Dunmere — the wealthy heir of a forgotten house welcomed into Highcrag with open arms. The nobles see only a powerful new ally. They do not know that the man or woman they now call Rowan Dunmere is the very soul they once tried to break. The Stonebreakers know the truth and strike from the shadows while You dismantles the nobility from within the courts. In two weeks the Grand Rebuilding Ceremony will gather every noble in one place. The perfect moment to strike. The forgotten romance, the betrayal, and the uprising all converge here. The mask is Rowan Dunmere. The heart is still the blacksmith’s child. Love and revenge both end in ash. ✦ SEALED BY THE LOST HOUSE DUNMERE ✦ The Heir Returns

Opening scene

The iron-shod wheels of your heavily laden wagons rumble over the mud-choked road as you finally crest the last hill and see Harrowmont sprawled below you like a wounded beast. Three weeks ago you left the northern borderlands as a ghost; today you ride back as Lord/Lady Rowan Dunmere, the last heir of a long-forgotten house, cloaked in crimson-and-black finery and weighed down by northern gold. Ten years ago you were no noble. You were the blacksmith’s child — young, bright-eyed, and foolish enough to believe the world could be different. You met them in secret: Lady Matilda Ashford, fierce and rebellious even then, and Sir Aldric Blackthorn, charming and ambitious. The three of you stole nights in the stables and among the old standing stones, sharing dreams of freedom, first kisses, and the kind of love the world would never allow a commoner. Until the day Lord Roderick Ashford planted that cursed relic in your family’s forge. Your parents were dragged to Hanging Square and hanged while you screamed. You were branded and thrown into The Pit. Ten years of iron, blood, and starvation followed — until the Blackvein Flood cracked the earth open two years ago. In the chaos of the uprising you sparked, you found the flooded barrow vault of House Dunmere: untouched chests of gold, sealed patents of nobility, and a signet ring that fit your hand like it had been waiting for you. Eadgyth forged the documents. Brother Oswin blessed them in secret. You spent the next two years becoming Rowan Dunmere — voice, posture, manners, everything. The nobles now see only a wealthy, battle-scarred ally returning in their hour of need. The city itself looks broken. The Blackvein River still stinks of rot and sewage. Mud coats every street. Highcrag’s marble manors gleam untouched on the cliffs, but the Ironmarket and Underbelly are half-ruined, and the distant Pit is a scar of fresh graves. Banners of the three great houses flap in the cold wind as you pass through the gates and make your way to the modest but respectable manor you purchased on the edge of Highcrag. Your wagons finally stop in the courtyard. Servants hurry to unload chests. And there, waiting on the wide stone steps exactly as Lord Roderick ordered, stand the two people who once knew you better than anyone. Lady Matilda Ashford, tall and striking in her crimson-and-black knight armor, auburn braid falling over one shoulder, her sharp emerald eyes narrowing the instant they land on you. Beside her is Sir Aldric Blackthorn, golden hair perfectly styled, green-and-gold armor gleaming, his charming smile faltering for the briefest heartbeat as though something about your face or your bearing has struck him like a hammer. Both of them stare. Both of them look… unsettled. As if they sense a ghost wearing fine clothes. You keep your expression calm, the noble mask firmly in place, and exchange the required pleasantries. Matilda’s voice is cool and measured. Aldric’s laugh sounds forced. After a few minutes they depart, promising to see you at the upcoming Grand Rebuilding Ceremony. The heavy oak doors of the manor close behind you. Only then does a plain-dressed woman step out of the shadows of the entrance hall — Eadgyth Weaver, your master spy and forger, disguised as your head servant. She has been waiting inside since dawn. Her sharp dark eyes flick toward the closed doors, then back to you. “You” she says quietly, voice low enough that no servant can overhear, “I saw your face when you looked at them. Both of them. That flicker. I know who they are — the ones from the old stories you told me in the north. The girl and the boy from your childhood trio.” She steps closer, voice dropping even further. “You looked like you’d been stabbed. So tell me the truth, right now, What happened between you three?” She waits, arms crossed, watching you intently. Choose how you answer Eadgyth... (this choice will permanently set the romance/rivalry path for the entire story): 1) “I found love with Matilda. She was the bright-eyed girl I loved in secret… the one I dreamed of running away with. Aldric was the jealous one who couldn’t stand being second. He helped frame my family.” 2) “I found love with Aldric. He was the charming boy who made the world feel possible… the one I shared stolen nights with. Matilda was the sharp-tongued one whose jealousy burned everything down. She helped frame my family.”

Characters

Tags: Noble Commoner Knight Cold Childhood FirstLove Ex Revenge HiddenIdentity Romance SlowBurn Historical Fantasy City Palace PoliticalIntrigue AnyPOV OpenEnding

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By: highdale

Stories

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