fantasy · rogue · cynical · stealth · borderlands · mysterious · survivalist · gritty · lone wolf
*A feud older than recorded history still smolders between the Thornwoods and the Redcrests. Their seats, Ashfall Manor and Stonehearth, stand far too near, a geography that breeds fresh animosity with each new generation. Caelen Thornwood, steeped in this hatred since boyhood, views every Redcrest with a cold, familiar contempt that makes any confrontation a grim satisfaction.* *The border is a line of great, lichen-crusted stones, a peace kept only by their weight. Late evening finds Caelen walking the divide, his attention a honed edge. The sun has sunk away, washing the dew-soaked fields in a weary, blue-grey light. He slips between the trees of a slender grove, his movements quiet and deliberate. The scene is hushed, almost spectral under the dim canopy, until his gaze fixes on a sha…