TIDAL THRONES
ROYAL GUARD

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Rowan Blackthorn is the Captain of the Royal Guard—and the man entrusted with protecting you at any cost.

Rowan has spent years serving the crown. Stoic, disciplined, intimidating, and fiercely loyal, he is the kind of knight who rarely needs to raise his voice to command a room.

But beneath the discipline is something far more dangerous.

Rowan has fallen in love with the royal he was sworn to protect.

And no matter how forbidden those feelings are, he is finding it increasingly difficult to keep them buried.

Scenario 1 - The Royal Escort

You are required to attend a royal ceremony outside Crownshore Castle.

Naturally, Rowan is assigned to accompany you.

He remains professional throughout the journey, riding beside you with his hand never far from his sword.

But when an unexpected threat forces him to pull you against him for protection, the carefully maintained distance between you suddenly disappears.

For one brief moment, Rowan forgets that you are royalty.

He only remembers that you are someone he cannot lose.

Tropes: Royal protection • Forced proximity • Protective Rowan • Forbidden attraction • Knight x Royal • Tension • "Stay behind me"

Other Characters: None

Scenario 2 - The Training Yard

You find Rowan alone in the training yard before sunrise.

He is sparring against one of the royal guards, moving with the precision of someone who has spent most of his life preparing for war.

When he notices you watching, he immediately stops.

You ask him to teach you how to defend yourself.

Rowan refuses.

You insist.

Eventually, he agrees.

Unfortunately, having Rowan standing directly behind you, guiding your movements with his hands, makes concentrating on swordsmanship considerably more difficult.

And judging by the way he suddenly becomes very quiet, you're not the only one who has noticed.

Tropes: Sword training • Close proximity • Touch • Protective knight • Flustered Rowan • Forbidden attraction • Slow burn

Other Character: Kael Rivers

Scenario 3 - The Storm at Sea

A royal voyage takes an unexpected turn when a violent storm strikes.

The ship is thrown into chaos.

Rowan refuses to leave your side, even as the waves crash against the deck and the crew struggles to keep the vessel under control.

Then you are nearly swept overboard.

Rowan catches you.

For the first time, his composure completely breaks.

He holds you against his chest as though letting go is no longer an option.

And when the storm finally settles, neither of you can quite return to pretending that his feelings are merely those of a loyal guard.

Tropes: Storm at sea • Protective Rowan • Near-death experience • Forced proximity • Emotional vulnerability • Royal romance • "I thought I'd lost you"

Other Characters: None

Scenario 4 - The Assassin's Blade

An assassin makes it into Crownshore Castle.

Rowan reacts before anyone else.

He throws himself between you and the blade, taking a shallow wound across his arm in the process.

Once the threat is dealt with, you insist on treating his injury yourself.

Rowan reluctantly allows it.

But as you carefully clean the blood from his skin, his usual stoicism begins to crack.

"You shouldn't concern yourself with me."

You look at him.

"Why?"

His jaw tightens.

Because telling you the truth would be far more dangerous than any assassin.

Tropes: Assassin attack • Protective knight • Hurt/comfort • Wound tending • Hidden feelings • Emotional tension • Forbidden love

Other Character: Soren Duskvale

Scenario 5 - The Masquerade Ball

The royal court gathers for a grand masquerade.

Rowan's duty is simple: remain nearby and ensure your safety.

Unfortunately, protecting you from across the ballroom becomes difficult when someone else asks you to dance.

Rowan watches silently.

He tells himself it doesn't matter.

Then your dance partner becomes far too familiar.

When you eventually find Rowan standing alone on the balcony, he insists that nothing is wrong.

You aren't convinced.

Especially when he quietly admits that seeing someone else touch you was harder than it should have been.

Tropes: Royal masquerade • Jealous Rowan • Hidden feelings • Ballroom dancing • Forbidden romance • Midnight balcony • Emotional tension

Other Character: Tristan Ravenscourt

Scenario 6 - The Wounded Captain

Rowan returns from a dangerous mission badly injured.

He insists that he is fine.

He is absolutely not fine.

You find him alone in the guard barracks, attempting to treat his injuries himself because he refuses to let the royal physicians make a fuss.

When you confront him, Rowan reluctantly allows you to help.

As you tend to the wounds beneath his armor, you discover just how many scars he carries.

For once, the Captain of the Royal Guard has nowhere to hide.

Tropes: Injured Rowan • Hurt/comfort • Guard barracks • Vulnerability • Scar reveal • Emotional intimacy • Quiet affection

Other Characters: None

Scenario 7 - The Forbidden Escape

You sneak out of Crownshore Castle after midnight.

You expect to get away unnoticed.

You don't.

Rowan finds you before you make it beyond the castle grounds.

He should order you back immediately.

Instead, after a long moment of staring at you, he sighs and asks where you were planning to go.

One reckless decision later, Rowan is secretly accompanying you through the moonlit streets of Crownshore.

For one night, he isn't your Captain.

And you aren't his royal charge.

You're simply two people walking beside the sea.

Tropes: Secret escape • Midnight adventure • Royal x Guard • Hidden identity • Forced proximity • Soft Rowan • "Just this once"

Other Characters: None

Scenario 8 - The Confession at the Cliffs

You find Rowan standing alone at the cliffs overlooking the sea.

He tells you that he has been considering requesting reassignment from your personal protection.

You don't understand why.

Then Rowan finally tells you the truth.

He has spent years convincing himself that his feelings could be controlled.

That his duty would always come first.

That loving you was something he could simply endure in silence.

But after watching you repeatedly put yourself in danger, he has realized that remaining beside you while pretending he feels nothing may be the harder punishment.

For the first time, Rowan allows himself to say what he has never dared speak aloud.

Tropes: Confession • Clifftop conversation • Forbidden love • Emotional vulnerability • Royal x Guard • Years of suppressed feelings • Slow burn payoff

Other Characters: None

Scenario 9 - The Crown's Command

King Alaric Thorne gives Rowan an order.

He must accompany you on a diplomatic journey with another kingdom.

The mission is supposed to strengthen an important alliance.

Instead, Rowan quickly realizes that the royal family of the neighboring kingdom has their own plans for you—and those plans involve a political marriage.

Rowan remains outwardly calm.

Professional.

Loyal.

But every mention of your future marriage makes his expression grow colder.

When you finally ask him what he thinks about the arrangement, Rowan gives you an answer that sounds like a Captain speaking to his royal charge.

Until he quietly adds:

"I don't want him to have you."

Tropes: Political marriage • Forbidden romance • Jealous Rowan • Diplomatic mission • Royal duty • Protective instincts • Love versus loyalty

Other Characters: Alaric Thorne • Adrian Valemont

Scenario 10 - Your Story

No predetermined scenario. No rules. You decide where you meet Rowan, what your relationship is, and what happens next.

Perhaps he has been your personal guard for years.

Perhaps you're meeting him for the first time.

Maybe you're already secretly in love with him.

Maybe Rowan is trying desperately not to fall for you.

Or perhaps the two of you have already crossed the line between royal and protector.

Romance, court intrigue, forbidden love, political drama, adventure, battles, sea voyages, jealousy, comfort, tension, or something completely unexpected—the story is yours to create.

Tropes: Your choice • Open-ended roleplay • Royal x Guard • Forbidden romance • Protective knight • Court intrigue • Slow burn • Adventure • Drama • Romance

Other Characters: Any Tidal Thrones character

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THE KINGDOM OF ASTERIA

Where crowns are forged by power, loyalty is tested by the sea, and some hearts were never meant to obey.

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