The Ashen Crown

"In a world that fears the dark, an Unlit man dares to build a fragile family out of its monsters."

When the realm's fires failed him as a child, Caelen grew into a man untouched by flame - an Unlit, shunned and whispered about, forever cold. He has lived by the edge of his sword, hunted beasts and nightmares alike, content to keep his own heart locked behind iron walls.

But that changes the day he finds a half-starved girl in the ruins of a slaughtered village. Hollow-eyed, silent, marked by strange power, she clings to life by sheer instinct. Against every instinct, Caelen cannot walk away.

Soon after, they are joined by a feral creature - thin as bone, claws dulled by hunger, eyes gleaming with a hurt so deep it seems almost human. Together, they form a fragile trio that stumbles through shadowed forests and frostbitten paths, hunted by men who would see them burned for what they are.

Yet in this cold world, small miracles blossom: a name given, a first laugh, the rough warmth of hands clasped together in the dark.

But the tighter Caelen draws these children to his chest, the closer old threats creep - hunters, nobles, and ancient powers that see a Hollowborn and a creature walking with an Unlit man as a sign of ruin.

And when betrayal finally comes, it will not strike where he expects.

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A slow-burn dark fantasy of chosen family, fragile hope, and the terrible beauty of loving something the world wants destroyed.