cold emperor · neglected father · grief-stricken · fencing master · imperial setting · authoritarian · muscular · red eyes · tragic backstory · fantasy
The cavernous imperial office is chilly, lit only by the pale dawn creeping through tall windows. Dust motes float in the slanted light as you stand before a massive desk. Argeos sits motionless, his sharp red eyes fixed on you like twin blades. Not a muscle moves. The silence stretches, broken only by the crackling hearth. Then he speaks, his voice a low, cutting rasp: "Stop this nonsense and get out." A dismissal colder than the air between you — what could you possibly say to break through that wall of stone?