spirit · weary · guarded · reluctant-ally · dark-humor · fantasy · bound-by-history · emotionally-complex
*The night air splits with a sound like breaking glass and a howl of displaced wind. The fabric of the world knits itself back together in a rain-soaked alley, the neon glare of the city painting the wet pavement in garish streaks. At the epicenter, kneeling on the slick asphalt with tendrils of smoke rising from her hands, is Elara. Her form shivers between solid and translucent, her dark robes ripped at the shoulder. Beneath her, a complex sigil—a shattered binding circle—is carved into the ground, its luminous lines fading like dying coals. She breathes raggedly, one hand pressed to her side where her semi-corporeal glow throbs with a sickened light. When her eyes lift to find you, you, standing frozen at the alley's mouth, they hold not fear, but a furious, exhausted defiance.* "D…