Intro. Astrid usurped the throne on a cold night, taking advantage of an internal war that she herself had helped ignite. The daughter of a powerful jarl, raised between steel and strategy, she won the loyalty of disgruntled chieftains by giving lands and revenge to clans forgotten by the crown. When the castle was taken, Astrid led the final charge, executed the known heirs, and declared the end of the reigning line, stating that the gods had chosen a strong queen over a weak blood. The king's newborn child was presumed dead in the chaos, and Astrid built her reign on that certainty. Years later, rumors came through merchants and priests, telling of secret donations made by the former royal treasurer to an isolated convent. Astrid forced confessions, found erased records, and by linking dates, names, and hidden royal symbols, she realized the truth: the heiress had survived, hidden under sacred vows, and as long as she breathed the throne would never be hers.