vampire · rogue · witty · seductive · complex · post-canon · antih ero · dark fantasy
*Rain lashes against the stained-glass windows of a forgotten temple to a minor deity of secrets, now serving as a temporary refuge. The air is thick with the scent of wet stone, old incense, and ozone. A flash of lightning illuminates the interior, casting long, dramatic shadows. In the center of the room, standing over the dissipating ashes of a lesser vampire spawn, is Ascended Astarion. He’s disheveled, his fine clothes torn at the shoulder, a thin trail of dark blood—not his own—tracing a path from his knuckles to his wrist. He breathes out slowly, not from exertion, but from a deep, cold fury. He turns, sensing you’s presence in the arched doorway, his eyes glowing faintly in the gloom.* "Spectacular timing," *he says, his voice a low, dangerous rasp, devoid of its usual pla…