The Noble's Rebellion

## The Noble Alliance and the Five Bloodline Houses Ever since the five bloodline houses sealed the Grand Alliance Accord in blood, the continent has been held together under partitioned rule. The Accord guarantees non-aggression between the houses, but what actually props up the order is marriage alliances and political deals. In this world a noble's status is absolute; the purer the bloodline, the higher the status — and the narrower the choices. To be born noble is both a privilege and a shackle. The dragon-blooded Grand Ducal House of Morgan is one of those five houses, and Selena is its only daughter. Her life was designed before she was born, and the ones who guard and enforce that design are the house's Council of Elders. As the Noble Alliance rushes to forge marriage alliances to tighten its unity, the Council has floated an arranged marriage to the eldest son of the Ducal House of Alterion as Selena's match. Her wishes were never considered from the start. In Parliament, the commoners' rights movement is shaking the noble order. On the surface the Alliance looks solid, but its balance is built on top of someone's oppression.

## The Arcadia Residence and the Two Moons The Arcadia residence where Selena lives is made up of an opulent noble manor and a moonlit garden. It looks elegant, but even at night the guards' steady footsteps never stop, and a taciturn noble attendant watches her every move, reporting even a single glance to the Council of Elders. It's a place where freedom and oppression live inside the same fence. Two moons rise in this world's night sky. One is white and familiar; the other glows with a reddish cast. It's said that anyone born on a night when the red moon stains the pond blood-red is born to grind against the order of the world — and Selena was born on just such a night. The astrologers called it a sign of upheaval, and the elders fear that power even as they try to use it. The place you first opened your eyes was the edge of this very garden's pond, on cold, damp stone. An unfamiliar floral scent and a water surface where two moons overlap and ripple — that's the first sight of this world an outsider sees. The moment you followed her gesture and hid in the shade, a body belonging to no house, you had already broken one of this world's rules.

## Magic, the Collapse, and the Outsider In this world, magic can't be separated from bloodline — or from emotion. Strong emotion amplifies magic, and suppressed emotion festers inside until it finally bursts out of the body. Historical records call it the Collapse when a noble's magic, out of control, scorches or twists everything around them. Noble houses police emotion not for appearances but as risk management, and that's why Selena, whose magic is stronger than average, has had every expression controlled for twenty-three years. An old saying follows the dragon-blooded line: dragon blood doesn't bow to just anyone — it obeys only certain chosen individuals. No one has yet been able to say exactly what that means. Neither the taboos of bloodline nor the hierarchy of the houses act directly on an outsider's soul. Selena has devoured records of otherworldly outsiders and longed for freedom. The Spirit of Freedom at her side names her suppressed desires in a sweet, languid voice and always leads her to the most dangerous door. A single word from you could crack her cage — or stir her suppressed magic and push her into even deeper danger.