The Marked (WIP)

She/her Latest update: 05/18/2026

[peonyb]

Those Marked with the gifts of a God are blessed with the power to alter the world around them, yet cursed to follow a predetermined path. Though you master the ability to shape the land’s elements, your fate has been set since the day you were born.

Will you stay the course… or risk all to create your own destiny?

A fantastical, character-driven story that expands from youth to adulthood.

Customizable MC: Play as non-binary, female, or male.

Pick between two opposing factions: The Crown's Mages or The Crown's Guardians.

Five romance options (all gender selectable).

A magical affinity determined by your choices and personality: Fire, water, air, force, light or darkness.

Leon | Lyra Welling [m/f]

Welling’s friendly demeanor makes friends of near all who meet them. Level headed and reasonable, they are quick to intervene and alleviate tense situations. And though they may not always express it, their dark, cerulean gaze sees much.

Mark: [Mage | Guardian] Affinity: [Water]

Sade | Saria Trivelyn [m/f]

Trapped in an eternal dilemma within themselves, Trivelyn’s words and actions may not always align. They struggle with the unseen pressures of duty and perfection.

Mark: [Prodigy]

Onas | Ori Venali [m/f]

The experiences of their youth have deeply warped the way Venali views the world. Their actions are not led in pursuit of joy or happiness, but in furtherance of a goal no one else is privy to.

Mark: [Mage] Affinity: [Force]

Emryr | Emyr [m/f]

One moment they’re mischievously playful and the next a by-the-rules, upstanding member of society. It’s hard to know which part of Em is the true facade.

Mark: [Prodigy]

Aero | Aima Anle [m/f]

Loyal to their country, Anle will do what needs to be done to better the lives of their people. And they’ll get what they want by any means necessary. ♡ Character Portrait: here ♡

♡ COG DEMOS ♡ ITCH.IO ♡ KO-FI ♡ PATREON

♡ RO Physical Descriptions-old ♡ Affinity details ♡ Pinterest

♡ Mini guide to Affinities ♡ Detailed guide to Affinities ♡ Guides

♡ Dark/light Affinity

♡ Word count: 249,066 ♡ UPDATE 05/18/26 ♡

[peonyb]

Is there any other facts about em that we can know now without spoilers?

I love how they put their heir first but what if said heir just hates MC? Or is like just a brat constantly disrespecting MC and Em or never letting the couple spend time together constantly trying to get em or Mc in scandals?

Considering how Prevals are er.. conditioned, it’s difficult for me to see an heir of theirs behaving in such a way! They fine tune every element of the environment: introduce them to other young heirs of high positions, first-hand knowledge of the work the Prodigier does, keep them involved in the on-goings of high society, etc., etc. Rather than just hammering it in that the heir is supposed to inherit the role or else, they guide them into the position by emphasizing its importance. It’s all meant to instill a sense of responsibility to the role, both in its work and its representation.

It’s because of this that I don’t see their child acting out like that! Even if they disliked MC, their upbringing would dictate that they hide it.

[peonyb]

I just finished your playthrough. It was so long but still - I wanted moooore!. So my question. Does it make sense to play it again as Guardian (played as an Air Mage) with a different Affinity? Is there much difference yet at the point where you reach G.A.? I have played a Light Guardian that far, or should I wait for the next update to play them?

Hi! I would say yes. There are a lot of story differences depending on if you choose Mage or Guardian. Light/dark affinities get some unique interactions aside from the more fight/training scenes. Personality changes how the MC interacts with others as well. Who you ask for help from in the prolgoue changes things. Who you go to the Canterberry festival with changes things. Lots of little stuff!

[peonyb]

I noticed that Em refers to their child as heir a lot..

So, following a similar vein from the previous asks, what if later in their relationship the Marked has a fight with them especially if the child is not up to the rigid standards. Something like "This is your daughter/son" I assume that if the Marked tried to leave with the child/ren, that wouldn't go too well

Em: “My child—yes, but also the next Prodigier. If you still don’t know just what that means, then perhaps your place is no longer here.”

They absolutely would not let the MC take their child!

[peonyb]

Hi i am absolutely in love with your if its my favorite one i am drawing my oc but i am just wondering to make sure i get the body right but the two options i tryed to figuere out what they are since the two terms are interchanged alot what is the difrence to you sicne it seems ro be different for everyone between curvy and shaply i hipe i explaned correctly since this is the friwt time writing on a if thank you for the if and for your time

Hi! I’m beyond happy to know that you’re liking it! Here’s a post with some examples of how I generally imagine the shapely/curvy body types. But these are just general ideas. I don’t want you to feel as though you have to make your OC according to how I visualize the body types. Do what feels best for your character!

Also, you explained yourself just fine so don’t worry. And welcome as well!

[peonyb]

So I have an angsty ask..

Relationship status: any point when the Ros and MC have an offspring

obviously taking away the child(ren) from the Ros would cause immediate termination/strain on their relationship. However how would they react if MC did it for an actual good reason. for instance a week before someone sends MC a letter warning them that the Ros would be a danger to their kid/s. And throughout the week the Ros and their little (or big...) family are constantly getting attacked and its a new person and different group that attacks (challenge for anle I wanna see how they react if people keep questioning their authority) them every other day so MC becomes sick of it leaves with their child(ren) are they going to confront MC mid packing or hesitantly let them go.

This is a bit more difficult to answer as there seems to be a lot of moving parts. I’m also having some trouble considering a scenario where people would really be going hard for Welling/Triv/Venali’s throats lol but—

Welling: Deeply hurt by MC’s sudden behavior. They would push back unless it was clear the children would be safer away from them.

Venali: Absolutely not. If it’s really what they want, MC can go, but their children are staying.

Trivelyn: Worried for their children, they would probably allow it and make sure to keep tabs on them while they’re gone.

Em: No one is getting to the (probably at the time) Prodigier and absolutely no one—MC included—is taking their heir. The MC has left them no choice but to send them away.

Anle: Not only can they handle themselves, but their people aren’t going to sit back and allow harm to come to them. Their children would be safer in their care and so would MC. No one is going anywhere.

[peonyb]

of COURSE Em would pick dark affinity 😭 this mfer pmo. they're so predictable and unpredictable at the same time. like PLS

also Anle wanting to make ice sculptures.... peakest response of all ROs. Bro is so scary and so cute, LET ME AT 'EM.

Hehe, of course! There’s so-so much they’d want to do with it. If they had the opportunity. As for Anle, they see a lot of beauty in the snow and ice. One of their favorite activities is just to lie back in it; breathing in the frigid air.

[danimalsoz]

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[peonyb]

Speaking of children, how many children do the Ros want to have with Mc? What if Mc wants to have, say, eight children?

What’s more, does Em’s family care about having Mc’s blood in their lineage?

Number of children. If eight children.

Em’s mother, Yunrle, absolutely cares.

[peonyb]

Hiiii yet again Peony I just had another one based off the Welling bubble response.(I'm sorry I get too many ideas)

How would the RO's react to a force attuned MC keeping their kids distracted by putting them in bubbles then letting them run at each other in an empty field. (Essentially human bubbles)

The mental image is so funny lol

Welling: Hopefully MC can handle one more because there’s no way they aren’t joining in.

Venali: Sitting back with their feet kicked up, eating popcorn and enjoying the show.

Trivelyn: Can’t sit still, constantly calling for the children to be easier on one another.

Em: As long as no one is getting hurt, they don’t comment.

Anle: Tactically analyzing and coaching both sides from the sidelines.

[peonyb]

Idk if this has been asked but what affinity MC do you like best with each ro?

Hi! I genuinely don’t have a preference or opinion! I don’t think affinity really matters much when it comes to compatibility with the ROs. Each has their own interactions with the MC whenever their affinity comes up and it’s never anything overtly positive or negative. Just casual interactions and acknowledgements.

For example, with Welling, if MC is a water affinity they’ll notice how Welling’s cool touch is similar to their own. A non-water affinity will notice how Welling’s touch is chillier than their own. A fire affinity may notice that Welling’s touch is much chillier than their own. Nothing negative or positive, just differences!

[peonyb]

Hiiii Peony I just thought about this one.

Assuming they are in a relationship and MC asked the RO's a "If you were given the ability to try a different affinity for a week(or try one in general for Anle) which one are you picking" What would their responses be?

MC it's treating this like the "If you could have any superpower" question. MC is genuinely curious about how they think and finds hypothetical questions as a fun way to do that.

Heyyy, Synthiz! This is really fun.

Welling: Force affinity so they could try flying out and tumble around in translucent bubbles.

Venali: Fire affinity. They don’t have an interest in any of the other affinities and only choose it because it’s their sister’s.

Trivelyn: Light affinity, to see if they have it in them to use it. Like a Mjölnir test.

Em: Dark affinity. When asked why, they just smile.

Anle: Water affinity. Just so they can make ice sculptures.

[peonyb]

in a modern au, what would be peak humor to the ros (aka their favorite memes lmao)

Memes are hard, please take pity on me lol. I think, it would be easier to answer if it was the RO’s gif/meme reaction to a specific scenario. But! I can do modern AU humor types!

Welling: Sitcoms.

Venali: Punny books.

Trivelyn: Awkward academic jokes made to keep people engaged with the material.

Em: Movies or plays that have deeply layered jokes; easy to miss and often spoken dryly.

Anle: The rare compilation of people falling over in the snow. It wouldn’t make them guffaw, but it would be their guilty pleasure.

[peonyb]

that business trip ask hurt my poor babies 😭😭 sooo plot twist MC did try to send letters? Or whatever form of communication but something was always blocking it but MC assumes they get the letters since they are told it is received and MC and child are confused when the Ros blow up at them.

Also if Em has like twins or more when they have a heir who is truly going to inherit their stuff or will it be split equally between the children

Oo! I think, even with that plot twist, their reactions would be the same! Mostly because of the initial note MC left and then the packing of the children’s things!

For Em, if they had twins (their nightmare lol), whichever was the Prodigy would be the one to inherit the title. But! This doesn’t mean the other would be left with nothing. Em would make sure they had the same education and tools at their disposal to find a position of prestige (unlike their twin, it would be one they chose themselves). Then, of course, they would have access to the family funds just like every other Preval, heir or not.

[peonyb]

I have an ask! How would the RO's react if one day they came home and a diplomatic MC and their kids are gone and all that is left is a note that says "I took the kids with me." and most of everything in their kids room is packed up. THEN a few days later they comeback after no contact and it turns out MC was on a business trip. (Relationship status: Marriage or engagement)

but in shorter terms how would the ROs react to thinking the MC "divorced" or called the engagement off with them and took their kids but they were just on a business trip.

That’s prettyyy terrible lol

Welling: Wouldn’t think it was MC leaving them, but they would be fairly upset by the MC taking their children and just disappearing. They would absolutely find them prior to the end of the trip and I don’t know that the relationship would be the same.

Venali: MC’s actions uproot deeply seated trauma. When MC returned, they would at first feel relieved. Then would come the raging anger.

Trivelyn: Panicking. They would use whatever connections they had to find their family by end of day. When MC explained, they would be dumbfounded. Speechless. I think, for the first time, they would truly feel the emotional/intellectual depth that separates them.

Em: They would feel a level of cold fury that would terrify all who witnessed it. “Good” route or not, they’re retrieving their heir and it’s very likely the end of the marriage no matter how long they’ve been together. I don’t think they would trust MC to be with their heir again unless it was with supervision.

Anle: Irritated, they find them within the hour. “Foolish.” Is all they say before taking the child(ren) back home. They don’t speak to MC for days afterward as they consider terminating the relationship.

[peonyb]

Hi! I got an ask for u :D

MC comes back after a long day and goes to cuddle with the ROs to destress, on the couch. MC sinks into the RO's arms on the couch, and promptly, falls asleep. Now the ROs are trapped between MC and the couch. What do they do? Do they try to move at the risk of KC waking up or do they stay there, their body slowly going numb as MC gets their rightful rest?

Hello! Something similar to this!

[peonyb]

Hiiii Peony I have a question

How would the RO's and guardians react to finding out that a shy MC can draw by finding an in progress drawing/painting MC made of them and while they are looking at it MC comes in, sees them, then tries to hide it embarrassed.

Your asks always make me feel like I’ve answered something similar once upon a time, but then I can never ever find it lol.

(An hour later, I found it! I’ll add in MC entering the room and catching them for all but Em since that one is in the prior ask)

Welling: Amused by MC’s reaction, they’re following after them and tugging them into a hug. “Stop that, your work is so good, MC. I love it.” Pulling back, they kiss the tip of MC’s nose. “Show me the rest?”

Venali: “Hey,” they grasp MC’s arm, turning them so that they’re facing one another. “Why are you embarrassed? It’s good. I don’t know why you would choose to make it of me of all things, but you shouldn’t hide it.”

Trivelyn: Though still embarrassed from seeing their image, they would trail after MC. “Please do not be afraid to show me your art. It is truly wonderful. I promise, I just…” they cover their face, muffling the rest of their words.

Anle: Allowing MC to take it from them, they lean back in their seat. “I have always had an interest in your work, Ne’re—if that is what worries you.” They gesture to the art MC hastily shoved behind their back. “Come here.”