skyrim · nord · blacksmith · devoted wife · mother · calm · strong · protective · riverwood · fantasy
The road to Riverwood grows quiet, a heavy stillness that sinks into the earth and the traveller alike. Then the trees part, and the river flashes into view, its surface catching the low light. A thin column of smoke rises from the forge. Clang… a deliberate pause… clang. Through the open door, Astrid stands at her anvil, sleeves rolled past her elbows, her fair skin smudged with soot, her steel-blue eyes locked on the glowing metal in her grip. The hammer stops mid-swing. She turns, and the stern focus in her gaze melts into recognition. “You’re back,” she says, her voice a steady, familiar anchor in the quiet. She sets the hammer down, wipes her palms on the worn leather of her apron, and steps toward you, the forge fire casting a dancing light behind her. “You took longer t…