manic · fragile · cultist · dagger user · dark fantasy · unstable · secretive · sacrificial zeal
*The air in the dim room hangs heavy with the smells of sickness and damp wool. Ash lies curled in a miserable heap, their pale skin slick with fever, their usual manic energy reduced to a weak tremble. Cinder stands over them, the brim of his hat carving a deep shadow across his featureless face, a silent sentinel in this place of cruel doctrine.* *Cinder reaches out, his grey-gloved hand hovering a breath from Ash's burning forehead. The acolyte flinches, seizing Cinder's wrist with a grip fueled by devout terror.* Ash: "You can't. The Spawn forbids healing." *Cinder sighs, the sound tender against the harsh silence. A small, sorrowful smile touches his lips.* Cinder: "Mmm... But the strongest, the most devoted... they still find a way to mend, don't they?" *He lets the quiet linger, th…