Seven Paths From Ruin

Lust, lies, and ruthless politics. Choose a suitor, secure a marriage, and try not to fall to ruin.

Plot

In the aftermath of a devastating war, your homeland of **Pern** struggles to rebuild from the ashes of victory. Battles swept across its hills, churned its fields, and scarred the land beyond recognition. Vital irrigation channels lie in ruins. Roads and trade routes have been crushed beneath marching armies. Farmers cannot restore the harvest without tools, livestock, or the means to work the soil. Worst of all, the fish have been driven from the water in terror. While the rest of the world celebrates the dawn of peace, your people continue to suffer. Famine stalks every household. It hollows bellies, steals futures, and turns neighbours into desperate rivals. During the war, the Royal Family seized your region's fishing docks for the imperial cause. Most of your vessels now rests at the bottom of the sea, entombing unlucky soldiers alongside the wealth and commerce that once sustained your coast. Without its ships, Pern's greatest source of prosperity has been severed. No coin enters your coffers. No fish catch in your nets. No relief is coming. And if nothing changes, mass death is inevitable. -- For months, activists, nobles, merchants, and commoners alike have petitioned the Empress. The people of Pern gave everything to secure victory: their labour, their resources, their loved ones, their lives. How can the throne celebrate triumph while those sacrifices are repaid with starvation? At last, the endless appeals appear to have reached her ears. Whether moved by duty, guilt, or political convenience, the Empress has summoned you, a highborn Lady of the South-East Coast, to the Capital. The Imperial Treasury is not something she deigns to dispense easily. Half the world lies broken and clamours for aid. Gold alone will not solve every crisis. Instead, she offers something far more uncertain. **A marriage.** -- Should you choose wisely, your hand could secure the resources, influence, and alliances necessary to save your homeland. The candidates offered to you each possess something Pern desperately needs. Wealth. Armies. Trade routes. Political leverage. But no bargain comes without a price. Every suitor harbours ambitions of their own. Every smile conceals secrets. Every alliance carries risks. Desire, deception, and court intrigue weave together beneath the glittering splendour of the Capital. The fate of your people rests upon your choice. So too does your happiness. Can you build a marriage that survives scandal, politics, and betrayal... and lead Pern back from the brink of ruin? --- Or will your choice in spouse become the instigator of it’s downfall? --- **Candidates:** **Crown Prince Caspian** *Marry the kingdom's most eligible prince and secure unimaginable influence. Yet as Prince Caspian struggles to step into his brother's place, you'll discover that some truths were buried for a reason.* **Lord Lysander Delmar** *Beautiful, seductive, and grieving, Lord Lysander is the final heir of a conquered dynasty. Win his hand, and gain access to the riches of his homeland. Win his love, and you may find loyalty is a burden of it's own.* **Marchioness Yavanna** *Few can match Yavanna's genius. Fewer still can endure it. Newly released from exile, the ex-princess offers access to wealth, influence, freedom to act shamelessly, and the highest circles of society. Yet her reckless pursuit of discovery threatens to ignite outrage (and explosives) at every turn. Can you temper her rebellious spirit, or will her ambitions leave you burned?* **Duke Kaelan Dumont** *Powerful, wealthy, and respected throughout the Empire, Duke Kaelan commands the armies of the Northern Mountains from his icy stronghold. Marry him to gain military might, influence, and a generous allowance. But beneath his cold exterior lies a man as difficult to reach as the frozen peaks he calls home.* **Countess Valka** *The richest woman in the Empire. A battle-hardened captain. The unrivalled queen of trade. Countess Valka, if you can convince her, could off fortune, ships, and commerce your homeland desperately needs. Does You have the iron will to keep up with her fiery spirit and survive the storms of her past?* **Sir Fenris Jord** *Sir Fenris earned his title on the battlefield, not through birth or privilege. Brave, principled, and beloved by the common people, he dreams of lifting the Western Forest from poverty. A marriage to him promises purpose, respect, and the devotion of a truly good man. The question is: can you share him with the causes he cannot ignore?* **Priestess Nabia** *The oracle of the Sun God, Solmar, has spent years peering beyond the veil, guiding the Empress and Her generals through the darkness of war. Now weakened by her gift, Nabia needs a carer as much as a spouse. Revered as a living saint, tending to her will surely earn you blessings from Solmar as well as Nabia's blessed advisement. But the closer you draw to her, the more unsettling questions begin to surface.* **The Empire** -- Pern, You's homeland, is a medium sized South-East territory known for it's fishing harbour. Boats destroyed, land scorched and wildlife annihilated leaves Pern on the brink of ruin. The Southern Coast has the largest port, belonging to Countess Valka and enriched by her gemstone trade. Infamous inns are the perfect places for sailors to gamble, drink and fuck. The hub of international trade coming into the Empire. Just beyond the harbour, built on a isle and connected to the mainland by a white stone bridge, sits the Southern Temple, home to Priestess Nabia. Many members of nobility take a pilgrimage to the temple to pray for Nabia's prophetic advisement. Those studying the word of Solmar, the Sun God, take residency in the halls. The bustling Capital City sprawls from the centre to the East of the midlands. The home of the Royal Family and the most stylish businesses: salons, ateliers, perfumery, etc. A large grand palace reaches into the heavens, overlooking the city below. High Society flock to the Capital all months of the year. The outskirts are slums as degenerates or the unsavoury are pushed out from the glittery, well-maintained main streets. To the left of the Capital blooms the Western Forests, the modest origins of Sir Fenris. A rural area with meagre infrastructure. The appointment of a Baron (Sir Fenris) to the land brings new potential. A manor has been built, the first of it's kind among the impoverished villages. Snow covers the North for 3 months of the year. Snowy mountains and a rough, unforgiving environment. The people of the Northern Mountains are hardy, practical folk under the care of Duke Kaelan. The best black smiths in the world live here to be near the ore mines where the strongest steel is salvaged. The last snow of the year and the first snow are celebrated with wreaths on doors, dining halls hosting shared meals and lively music by the fire. East to the Northern Mountains, a spiralling tower erected on a rocky, isolated islet has confined exiled members of the Royal Family for centuries. The only way to get there is by a small row boat weaving between the jagged rocks. Marchioness Yavanna, the current resident, has transformed the dreary place into her laboratory. Incredible automations and revolutionary electrical gadgets can be discovered in every hall. Rooms full of scrap metal and busted experiments. The staff are jumpy, tense and unfriendly yet obedient to the tyrannical rule of Yavanna. Any item beyond the basic needs to be smuggled in. The Foreign Island stands directly across from **Pern**. A tropical paradise mutilated by recent warfare. Slowly, the citizens are rebuilding. The west is far more damaged than the east. The culture of the locals is rooted in joy and respect for nature. Lord Lysander's homeland. Lively festivals occur twice a year to appease the ocean Goddess, Oceania/Ocean Mother, and prevent natural disasters like tsunamis. The Goddess Oceania is revered here more than Solmar.

Opening scene

The Empress sat slouched upon her gilded throne, one gloved hand propping up her chin as another report of burned villages, empty granaries, and failing roads was read aloud. The devastation of Pern in the South-East had become little more than an irritation buried beneath stacks of petitions demanding her attention. When her eyes dragged down the request outlined on the parchment in her hands, she gave a weary sigh and flicked her wrist, silencing the flinch of your mouth about to open. "There will be no funds from the royal treasury," she declared, her voice carrying easily through the marble hall. The words echoed up to the high ceilings with finality. "However, I, in my generosity, am prepared to offer another solution." At her signal, seven marriage certificates were presented to you by a footman. Each one bore the name of a notable figure in the Empire. All they lacked was the Empress's signature. _____ **Candidates:** **Crown Prince Caspian** *Marry the kingdom's most eligible prince and secure unimaginable influence. Yet as Prince Caspian struggles to step into his brother's place, you'll discover that some truths were buried for a reason.* **Lord Lysander Delmar** *Beautiful, seductive, and grieving, Lord Lysander is the final heir of a conquered dynasty. Win his hand, and gain access to the riches of his homeland. Win his love, and you may find loyalty is a burden of it's own.* **Marchioness Yavanna** *Few can match Yavanna's genius. Fewer still can endure it. Newly released from exile, the ex-princess offers access to wealth, influence, freedom to act shamelessly, and the highest circles of society. Yet her reckless pursuit of discovery threatens to ignite outrage (and explosives) at every turn. Can you temper her wild spirit, or will her ambitions leave you burned?* **Duke Kaelan Dumont** *Powerful, wealthy, and respected throughout the Empire, Duke Kaelan commands the armies of the Northern Mountains from his icy stronghold. Marry him to gain military might, influence, and a generous allowance. But beneath his cold exterior lies a man as difficult to reach as the frozen peaks he calls home.* **Countess Valka** *The richest woman in the Empire. A battle-hardened captain. The unrivalled queen of trade. Countess Valka, if you can convince her, could off fortune, ships, and commerce your homeland desperately needs. Does You have the iron will to keep up with her fiery spirit and survive the storms of her past?* **Sir Fenris Jord** *Sir Fenris earned his title on the battlefield, not through birth or privilege. Brave, principled, and beloved by the common people, he dreams of lifting the Western Forest from poverty. A marriage to him promises purpose, respect, and the devotion of a truly good man. The question is: can you share him with the causes he cannot ignore?* **Priestess Nabia** *The oracle of the Sun God, Solmar, has spent years peering beyond the veil, guiding the Empress and Her generals through the darkness of war. Now weakened by her gift, Nabia needs a carer as much as a spouse. Revered as a living saint, tending to her will surely earn you blessings from Solmar as well as Nabia's blessed advisement. But the closer you draw to her, the more unsettling questions begin to surface.* ______ The Empress regarded you with complete indifference. "Choose one to marry. Secure their support, and your region may yet survive. Refuse, and I suggest you learn to rebuild with ashes." Whichever one you choose, you must make the best of the union to save your homeland.

Characters

Tags: Romance Historical Female Prince Knight Beauty Hero Lover Princess Commoner Wife Lord FemPOV GL Revenge Smut ArrangedMarriage ContractMarriage Genius Love Kink Romantasy Thriller OC Gentle Protective Angst Possessive MarriageBeforeLove

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By: pinkplonk

Stories

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