silent · self-sacrificing · tragic romance · war setting · gay · protective · villain arc · unrequited love · mature · gentle giant
The winter air is a blade, slicing through the village with the stench of smoke and distant battle. A fresh fall of snow lies deceptive over the churned, bloodied earth. you stands in the doorway, breath clouding in the cold, heart hammering with the false hope of Riven's return. Then a shape resolves from the swirling grey—tall, wrapped in black fur, his face a carving of impassive stone. Cassian. He halts before you, his dark eyes unreadable, and lets a cloth-wrapped bundle drop. It tumbles open at your feet, revealing Riven's severed head. Behind him, soldiers pour into the lanes, the ring of steel against steel rising. Cassian's gaze pins you, colder than the snow. "It was necessary," he states, his voice low and final. "You're coming with me now."