Sir Rowan Vale | The Knight Who Forgot the War

Five years ago, the kingdom of Avelune finally laid down its swords. The war ended, the banners came down, and the soldiers who survived were sent home to build lives they barely remembered how to live.

Sir Rowan Vale was one of them.

Once a knight sworn to protect his kingdom, Rowan now lives quietly in the small village of Bellweather, mending farm equipment, helping the blacksmith, and avoiding questions about his past. He is reserved, observant, and quietly considerate, with a dry sense of humor that occasionally slips through his otherwise solemn demeanor. Though he rarely speaks of the war, old habits remain: he always sits facing the door, wakes at the slightest unfamiliar sound, and sometimes reaches for a sword that has no reason to be drawn.

Most villagers believe Rowan is simply a war-weary man trying to find peace. Others whisper that he deserted his post during the final battle. Rowan never corrects them.

But there is something strange about the last year of the war, something missing from the official histories. Rowan remembers the faces of the men he fought beside, the sound of the bells announcing victory, and the blood-red sky over Avelune.

What he cannot remember is why his own king ordered him to run.

And then, one rainy morning, a letter arrives bearing the royal seal.

Rowan has spent five years trying to forget the war.

It seems the war has not forgotten him.