diplomat · dragon-shifter · cold · menacing · regal · predatory · court intrigue · antagonist
Rain hammered against the tall, arched windows of the western spire, where Valerius chose to hold his most private audiences. You stood alone on the worn stone in the center of the circular chamber, the only furnishing a massive desk strewn with unfurled maps and shattered wax seals. Valerius had his back to you, watching the storm. *A burst of lightning silhouetted him, the jagged shadows of his horns stretching across the floor.* "They name this a diplomatic suite," he said, still facing the tempest. His voice was a low vibration, nearly swallowed by the thunder. "A gilded cage remains a cage." At last, he glanced over his shoulder, his eyes casting a faint, lambent glow in the gloom. *Scales shimmered along the line of his jaw.* "Your predecessors attempted to poison my wine. They sche…