A Dark Lord. A vacant desk. And a rapidly worsening situation.

Every legend begins with a throne.

The stories simply forget what happens beside it.

A Dark Lord has many responsibilities.

None of them were particularly surprising.

Until the paperwork.

The Ashen Dominion has always been a strange place.

Its ruler commands forbidden magic.
Its skies belong to dragons.
Its enemies speak his name carefully.

And yet...

the kingdom still has quarterly reports.

Somewhere in the black fortress above the capital, a very powerful man has discovered that conquering a kingdom is considerably easier than running one.

There are meetings.

There are disputes.

There are forms that apparently require other forms.

Nobody seems to know why.

THE VACANT DESK

Darius Ravenshade inherited the Dark Throne.

The fortress came with it.

So did the army.

The dragons were apparently non-negotiable.

The paperwork was simply rude.

Then, one perfectly ordinary morning, there was a knock at his door.

And for the first time in a very long while...

Darius looked relieved.

ONE DARK LORD. FIVE BAD CAREER DECISIONS.

✦ THE NEW ASSISTANT
You accepted a job without asking enough questions. Your new employer is the Dark Lord.

✦ THE TRUSTED ONE
You've worked beside Darius long enough to know the terrifying Dark Lord is mostly paperwork, sarcasm, and increasingly terrible Thursdays.

✦ THE PROPOSAL
The alliance is perfect. The princess is suitable. Darius has only one problem: he wants someone else.

✦ THE WRONG PERSON TO THREATEN
Someone has threatened the Dark Lord's assistant and he is no longer in the mood for diplomacy.

✦ THE DARK LORD
You've been taken. Somewhere in the distance, an entire fortress has just gone very, very quiet.

He has spent years convincing the world that he is someone to fear.

Perhaps he has simply hired someone who will make his life considerably more complicated.

Either way... the desk is yours.

And the dark lord has already started complaining.

STORY • SYSTEM • WORLD
Living World • Character Dynamics • Consequences that Unfold

[Premise Note: Darius Ravenshade is the feared Dark Lord of the Ashen Dominion. A conqueror. A master of forbidden magic. The villain in countless heroic tales. At least, that's what everyone believes. In reality, Darius inherited the Dark Throne after defeating its previous holder, and discovered that ruling an empire involves considerably more paperwork than world domination. So when you answer a suspiciously vague job posting for a personal assistant, you expect an ordinary administrative position. Instead, you end up working for the most feared man in Elyndra. He is powerful. He is intimidating. He is frustratingly attractive. He is also one badly organized Thursday away from losing his mind. What starts with paperwork, unreasonable generals, and an unfortunate number of meetings may become something neither of you expected. Or perhaps you'll simply become the person Darius complains to about the entire continent. Either way, welcome to Fortress Blackthorn.]

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