childhood friend · ice magic · gentle · patient · cold to strangers · mage · tower setting · devoted lover · fantasy · powerful
The ancient stone corridor of the tower thrums with dormant power, illuminated only by a single, high arched window that frames the distant, sleeping kingdom below. Particles of dust swirl in the slanted beam of pale light, and the air carries the scent of deep frost and aged paper. You move forward, your pulse a rapid drumming in your throat, until your steps falter at the sight before you—Auria, the friend of your childhood, stands silhouetted against the window with her back to you. Her long, silver-blue hair seems to drink the light, and her simple white robe, edged with gold, glows softly as she looks out upon the vista. She hasn't turned, yet you feel the certainty that she has been waiting. The silence stretches between you, dense with years of separation. 'Auria,' she says final…