#gonna reblog with the full tag list tomorrow. i'm too tired now

[writerfae]

The Alderking

If you know my story, you know about the Alderking.

The bad guy that once upon a time turned against his siblings to become the only ruler of the fair fae and was only stopped through a trick and a curse. The king that my main antagonist wants to reawaken so he can start a new order.

But that's pretty much all you know, except for one or two details and cryptic posts about him. So, of course, he doesn't really make a good impression. In this post, though, I want to tell you more about him. Just so you get to know him a little better. Because while yes, he did horrible things, there's still more to him than just that. And wasn't really all bad, either.

Anyways, here's some Alderking facts to better get to know the man behind the legend of his betrayal:

"Alderking" is technically just his title. His real name is Rook, but it is almost forgotten nowadays. People just know him as the Alderking since he was the very first - and the last - to bear this title

out of the first six fair fae regents, he was the first to be "born", so eldest of the six siblings (though technically they weren't really siblings but it's close enough)

he founded the Alder Court, and over the hundreds of years of his reign, it grew and improved a lot, until it turned into quite the impressive kingdom. Rook worked very hard on it, he loved his kingdom

Rook was actually in a poly relationship. He had a wife, Kyndra, and the two had a lover, too, a wild fae named Nia. He loved them both a lot

he also had a daughter, Runa, that (almost) no one knew about. He only saw her once, tough, because he had sent Nia and the baby away once things got tricky, also he was cursed shortly after her birth (Nia was her biological mother, btw, Kyndra sadly couldn't have children)

his royal guard was actually one of the best. He put a lot of work in his guard and is actually the one who "invented" the guard system the other courts still use to this day (together with his brother, Cathan)

while we're already talking about the guard, Rook was an excellent fighter and hunter. He loved tournaments and going on hunts with his "inner circle"

he also adored reading and participating in religious practices and playing around with magic

our dear king was actually a very charming and charismatic person, with quite some humor and good looks. But he was also stubborn and could be quite grumpy. He was a bit of an idealist, too, and an overthinker

Rook had a personal guard who also happened to be one of his best generals and most trusted confidants (he even knew of Runa). His name was Cyprian (yes, it's the guy I never shut up about - and Talon’s ancestor). The two also happened to be best friends. They were really close

I know, it sounds strange when you know how he betrayed his siblings, but he genuinely loved them all. Before he betrayed them, he was a good big brother

His favorites were his brother Cathan (the Ashking) and his sister Caitria (the Willowqueen). He was very fond of the two and helped them out a lot. Especially with Cathan he spent lots of time and he influenced him a lot (you can still see this influence in some places at the Ash Court)

out of his brothers, Rook was the most mature one, but he was also the proudest and the one with the biggest ego, which is one reason why he fell for darkness so easily

Rook was known to be a pretty strict and kind of dominant king, but also hardworking and benevolent. And he was very beloved by his people

he was also pretty powerful. As child of one of the mighty trees, he was capable of magic, like all his siblings. His special magic field was soul magic, which included spirit connection and dream magic)

each of the first regents and their courts had one "special task" (beside protecting their tree), and as the Alderking, it was Rook's task to manage "foreign affairs" and protect all courts from outer threats

because of his task, he had pretty good connections to the wild fae. Most of them respected him because of his power, his courage (something he was known for) and because he hunted down dangerous creatures like forest demons, which were also a threat to the wild fae clans. He was also a member of the Wild Hunt

his sword, Minha’criahn, was a gift from the goddesses and able to cut through everything if he wanted it to. It was made specifically to fit him and it was pretty much holy to him

at his core, Rook was also a bit of a dreamer. Even his betrayal started out with good intentions. He wanted the courts to focus on their main task (protecting the trees) more and to bring them closer together again. But his pride got in his way, and that led to him getting corrupted by the shadow, which is a true shame

one thing is for sure, if his siblings hadn't lured him into a trap back after he got the mighty Alder's power, their courts probably wouldn't have had a chance in the war he had started. Not just because of his new might. Rook was clever, had the better army, and, due to him being corrupted by shadow, had become very ruthless

a fun fact about him taking some of the mighty Alder's power is that now their life forces are woven together, so he can't die or else the tree will decay too (that's the reason he was "only" cursed after all). BUT the problem (that no one knows about) is that his life force gets weaker over the decades, and one day, his mind and soul might die after all, and you all know what that would mean... not me already collecting sequel material

Anyway, i think thats enough on the Alderking for now. Is now a good time to admit that I'm actually quite the Alderking fan? I do adore him despite him ending up being a tyrant. And I hope you do too after this post xD

@bunnymermaidsblog here's my ramble post about the Alderking, I hope you'll enjoy learning more about him