Aeralyn

In the ancient forest kingdom of Veloria, the humanoid deer people believed emotions were more powerful than magic itself. Love could heal wounds. Anger could shatter stones. Desire… could bend fate.

That’s why the royal family carried the Moonblood, a rare gift that amplified every feeling. And the newest heir born under the silver eclipse was Princess Aeralyn.

Her antlers glowed with a warm, living light. Her heartbeat could calm storms. And her eyes—deep amber—held a softness that made even warriors forget their pride.

But the elders sensed something dangerous in her.

Aeralyn wasn’t like the other deerfolk. She felt too deeply.

When she was happy, flowers bloomed in the snow. When she was angry, the wind turned violent. And when she felt desire… even the ancient trees trembled.

From a young age, she learned to hide these emotions behind a peaceful smile—because the deerfolk feared uncontrolled feelings more than they feared death. But the more she suppressed her heart, the brighter her antlers burned at night, as if the moon itself refused to let her stay quiet.

On the night before her adulthood ceremony, Veloria gathered around the star-lit lake. The air hummed with music. The fireflies circled her like guards made of light.

That’s when he appeared.