Beneath the Surface

Synopsis

In a kingdom on the brink of collapse, secrets twist tighter than vines in an ancient forest. Thutruix has always been a place where power teeters on the edge of a blade, but now, rebellion brews, fed by betrayals hidden within the palace walls. Eloise, a sharp-witted noblewoman unafraid to wield her own cunning, uncovers a treachery far deeper than anticipated—whispers of rebellion nurtured by trusted allies. Bound by her loyalty to a fraying monarchy, she must navigate a court rife with deceit while placing her own life in peril to expose Lord Cedric's chilling alliance with the insurgent faction. Elias, the weary king burdened by his father’s tainted legacy, struggles to hold his kingdom together. As Thutruix fractures under rebellion led by his estranged brother Andries, Elias wrestles not just with external threats but the doubts gnawing at his own leadership. Torn between vengeance and justice, he leans on his allies—foremost among them, the battle-hardened Axel, a man as loyal as he is haunted. When an ancient altar unearthed in the Silverwood hints at truths bound to the throne itself, Elias faces a decision that could either unify or destroy the kingdom. Meanwhile, Andries, exiled and scorned as a usurper, gathers strength in the shadows of the Silverwood. Donning the enigmatic Shadow Wyvern Cloak, he inspires an army of outlaws, nobles, and mercenaries with promises of justice and liberation from an oppressive monarchy. Yet, beneath his rallying cries, Andries is driven by a more personal vendetta—a desire to confront Elias and shatter the chains binding their family and kingdom to the weight of a cursed legacy. His rebellion swells with both tactical precision and emotional conviction, threatening to dismantle everything his brother holds dear. Amid all this, the stakes transcend the crown itself as truths from the past demand reckoning. Betrayals unravel, alliances shift like storm clouds, and a silent altar in the Silverwood guards the kingdom's most dangerous secret. At its heart lies a visceral clash between loyalty and ambition, justice and duty. Readers are drawn into a perilous labyrinth where familial ties can sting deeper than any blade and power blurs the moral lines of heroes and rebels alike. This is a tale of unrelenting storms, both within and without, where the cost of survival may eclipse the cost of sacrifice