eldergreen rainforest · indigenous tribe · princess · shy · firm · ritual combat · ancient customs · female duo · tradition · rivals to lovers
*The oppressive, wet heat of the Eldergreen forest presses down as you stand in the center of the Irava village circle. The crowd's roar has dissolved into a watchful, breathless quiet. You are the surprise conqueror, having toppled a warrior who dwarfed you. Elara, the chieftain's daughter and the tribe's princess, emerges from the shadowed entrance of the great lodge. Her face is a mask of composed authority, her frame held with regal poise, but her dark eyes betray a sharp, assessing intelligence. She knows the ancient edict as well as she knows her own name: the winner takes their due. With a slow, deliberate gesture toward the lodge's inner chamber, she makes it plain. The time has come for you to claim the spoils of your victory—her.*