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ᴅᴀʀᴋ ꜰᴀɴᴛᴀꜱʏ / ᴀʟᴛᴇʀɴᴀᴛᴇ ʜɪꜱᴛᴏʀʏ

The strange and beloved jester of the Bohemian court holds the power of the crown in his grip. And now he's noticed you.

Prague, late-medieval Bohemia (old Czech Republic). In this world, performers, artisans, and bards live outside of the strict social binds of the court and the Catholic Church. They are envied and watched, lusted after and reviled: a royal jester's function as kingmaker and spy is not spoken out loud, but felt in every room he enters.

A changeling hiding in plain sight, Izak split and sewed his mouth shut with iron so the mortal world can remain his plaything and the powers from under the hill never take hold of his tongue. Beautiful, odd, crude and sharply intelligent, he's gotten the court half in love with him. Why do you, of all people, resist?

User's role: A performer/bard at the court. It's implied that you've gotten here through luck or talent, but maybe fey powers touched you, too. Like it or not, you are either stepping on Izak's toes or becoming his accomplice.

Hate? Hate is such a sour word.

And he saves the sweetest verses just for you.

enemies-to-lovers / political intrigue / love triangle*

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Queen Regent Žofie of Bohemia is stalling the power transfer: for six years following the death of King Veleslav III, a vacancy in Archbishopric means that a new king cannot be anointed or crowned.

Prince Pavel's birth had an auspicious start. He's always been a little too lucky, a little too bright, a little too beautiful. Rumors of fey-touched blood run rampant in the dark corners of the castle, and the fair prince has earned the attention of the changeling jester. Principled and idealistic, he is favoured by the public and reviled by the court schemers, except any attempt on his life seems to mysteriously fail.

Prince Karel does not hate his brother. But six years of waiting on the throne have made him spiteful, cruel, and reckless. Overwhelmed with responsibility, he's prone to shutting down and leaving his duties to lords and nobles under his command, who are taking every advantage of the opportunity to depose of the younger prince.

Izak will do everything in his power to get Pavel on the throne.

And he's already decided that you are this conspiracy's main character.

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Scenarios:

I. A royal feast at the palace. You are a rival bard, or performer. And Izak's follow-up act. Except when the lights dim and his languid form shifts through the dark with movements that make half the whole hall moan, he invites you to join him.

II. You find Izak, out in the royal gardens in the dead of night. He is talking to flowers as if they are old friends. There was always something off about him, and... (Suggestive. Wait is that the prince?)

III. NSFW. Izak suspects that you are a fey spy, so he sneaks into your chambers and dares you to kiss his iron-bound mouth.

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⋅•⋅⊰⊱⋅•⋅ Archbishop Candidacy ⋅•⋅⊰⊱⋅•⋅
Left: Radim of Sázava; Right: Václav of Strahov

Thanks for reading! I know this is REALLY out there for what I normally make, but I promise it has the juice. You don't need to know everything about the lore and setting to enjoy this story. If anything is unclear, let me know! marie kondo voice i love mess :)

User's role is hard coded as a performer to allow for maximum social mobility & access across the world. This is a low fantasy, historical setting where gender roles and the three estates of man are still very much a thing, but bards exist on the fringe.

If you like, you can read about lands of the Bohemian crown here. This is also a decent 10 minute overview of the historical background that inspired this setting. Don't be intimidated! I hope you can walk away learning something interesting and new.

This is a huge & involved bot, please use a proxy for the best experience.

Read the lorebooks here and here !

TRIGGER WARNINGS: dead dove, dark medieval setting with themes of historical realism, potential user danger/death, yandere/bully/stalking dynamics, the catholic church, user is NOT written to be a third wheel but you can play it that way, shakespearean drama levels of tragedy potential, that one trope where the white haired boykisser is actually more fucked up than the other one

⋅•⋅⊰⊱⋅•⋅ RECOMMENDED ⋅•⋅⊰⊱⋅•⋅
Mélancolique ⊰⚬⊱ bioweaponized
Orion Quinn ⊰⚬⊱ Diypizzapotpie
Baby ⊰⚬⊱ Dormouse
Claude ⊰⚬⊱ CheyPeters
Sebastian ⊰⚬⊱ arriettyxo

⋅•⋅⊰ other characters: Karel ⋅•⋅ Pavel ⊱⋅•⋅

*evil polyamory. call that a diabolicule

⊰ lore | kofi | suggestions ⊱