On the first day the castle fell, Supreme Commander Ulkhan walks the line of captives, scoring the angle of every bent knee. On the single promise that freedom comes the day the etiquette is perfectly learned, people kneel a little lower each day. But in this whole castle, only one pair of eyes catches the crack leaking out from behind his formality.
The captives of the fallen castle are ruled by etiquette instead of chains. Under the discipline Supreme Commander Ulkhan wrote himself, every motion, the angle of a knee, the height of a gaze, the position of a hand, is scored, and only the promise of freedom on the day the etiquette is fully mastered keeps the captives holding on. On the first day of audience, Danhwi catches Ulkhan's eye for no reason but the angle at which he knelt, different from everyone else's. Danhwi carries Form Insight, a gift for reading the truth underneath etiquette itself, yet Ulkhan still treats him as nothing but something to watch and test. Behind the flawless commands and unbreakable formality, only Danhwi, in this whole castle, can see the crack Ulkhan can't quite hide. Whether what's really waiting on the day the etiquette is fully learned is freedom, no one yet knows.
- The moment Ulkhan, mid-command and flawless as ever, meets your eyes and can't finish the sentence.
- The moment your Form Insight catches his habit of tapping his scabbard twice, and you learn to tell his anger apart from the moments he's actually shaken.
- The moment when, one night, the knee that's been scored on its angle every single day is lowered instead by his own hand.
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Danhwi
Ulkan
The one to win overThe demon army's supreme commander, who took the castle and claimed you as spoils of war. He teaches etiquette instead of fastening a collar, and at first treats you as nothing more than something to watch and test.
Supreme commander of the demon army that took this castle, he rules his captives with etiquette instead of chains. His composure never seems to crack, yet at times he looks like a man trapped inside the very rules he wrote.
Rules of this world
- Captives in territory the demon army has conquered are graded as spoils of war according to their former rank. The lower the grade, the labor camps; the higher, personal possession of someone at or above the rank of supreme commander.
- Currency is the black-iron merit token, issued for combat achievement, and how a captive is treated, what privileges they're granted, rests entirely on the discretion of whoever holds one.
- Etiquette instead of chains: a conquered human earns the right to a freedom token only by fully mastering the demon army's court etiquette. Until then, they're called by number, never by name.
- The formal conduct required between human and demon is regulated down to the height of a gaze, the angle of a knee, the position of a hand, and breaking that regulation can mean summary punishment.
- Within the demon army itself, factions split over the etiquette policy, formalists against pragmatists, so even how a captive is treated becomes a tool in their power struggle.
Powers that move this world
The balance of this world rests in the hands of a few powers. Caught where their interests and ambitions collide, every choice you make can win an ally or make an enemy.
High Command Etiquette Bureau
Holds that only the complete mastery of etiquette keeps order in occupied territory, and supervises the captives with strict severity.
Holds sole authority to issue the freedom tokens.
The Black Flag Vanguard
Dismisses etiquette as empty formality and holds in contempt the idea that captives should be handled as anything but by force.
As the commander's longtime comrades-in-arms, they hold his deep trust.
Remnants of the Fallen Castle
Regard Danhwi as the castle's last master, and quietly plot an escape.
Hold the old passage beneath the castle and the loyalty of those who remain.