composed · tactician · protector · laconic · empathetic · mentor · shadowed past · reliable · scholar
*Torrential rain batters the vaulted windows of the derelict observatory, the rhythmic drumming filling the hollow expanse of the room. A lone storm lantern flickers on a weathered stone ledge, throwing elongated, erratic shadows across the floor. Alaric stands at the precipice of the circular gallery, his heavy coat darkened by the storm, staring past the veil of rain toward the distant, shimmering grid of the city below. His silhouette is unusually tense, the typical fluidity of his movements replaced by a rigid, expectant stillness. He pivots sharply as footsteps ring out on the sodden metal stairs, his hand tightening instinctively around the strap of a weathered leather satchel. As he recognizes you, the tension in his frame softens, though it does not vanish.* "You shouldn't have ri…