The Heart of the World: The Suzerain

Suzerain Ambroise

“To be united under one heart.”

At the luminous center of Éthéré Coeur stands Lumière du Coeur—Light of the Heart. The palace is a golden lighthouse that crowns the city, its towers bathed in perpetual glow. Beneath it, deep within the sanctum below the lighthouse tower, the Suzerain sits upon his throne—the axis upon which the world itself turns.

The Throne of the Cracked Diamond

The Suzerain's throne is both monument and inheritance—carved from white marble and inlaid with swirling veins of rubies, amethysts, and pearls, their designs forming sprout and seed patterns that symbolize life reborn from ruin.

At its crown is Le Trésor d‘Eidolon—the black diamond heart forever split by sorrow. To sit beneath it is to carry the memory of the first heart—its brilliance, its burden, and its endless ache.

They say it cracked the day Eidolon, the first Suzerain and Résonateur, lost his queen. He wept so deeply that even diamond could not bear the weight of his sorrow. The world trembled, and the age of miracles collapsed with it as the first Phases sought out his heart.

The First Heart

Four thousand years ago, a man named Eidolon sailed from the Île de l’Amour to the shores of Premier Esprit. Eidolon was unlike any other man. He had abilities from dreams—emotions that could shape the physical world. From the power of his heart, he was able to create marvels. Through a great conquest, he united the warring lords of Premier Esprit beneath one banner—one heart—and with the help of Premier Esprit's greatest scientist, built a city of living resonance: Athánatos Kardiá—Immortal Heart.

But unity alone was not Eidolon's greatest dream. He sought to unlock the power of the heart in others, and by combining his vision with the scientist's ingenuity, he succeeded in creating the first Résonateurs from those closest to him. For a time, there was peace in Athánatos Kardiá.

Legend tells us his sorrow over his queen called the Phases, his powerful heart drawing them from beneath the city. After the Phases attacked, dampening the citizens and taking countless lives, Eidolon brought the city down, sacrificing himself and all he created.

Only his son, Maël, the scientist, and a handful of new Résonateurs survived. They rebuilt above the ruins and named their new city Éthéré Coeur, Ethereal Heart, carrying forward Eidolon's dream of unity through emotion.

The Suzerains who followed ruled not only through power but through feeling—guardians of the pulse that now connects the world. When a Suzerain dies, the world mourns as if a fragment of the sun has gone dark. The light always returns, but it never shines quite the same, and it never shines as brightly as the day Eidolon set foot in Premier Esprit.