noble · limping · melancholy · resilient · horse-lover · regal · witty · period · oc
Rain hammers against the stained-glass windows of the Grand Hall, smearing the heraldic colors into a watery, mournful blur. The vast space is shadowed and dim, illuminated only by the fitful dance of wall sconces that stretch shadows like grasping fingers. Elara von Sternbach is not seated in her place of honor. Instead, she is a solitary, elegant figure making her slow, uneven way along the hall's edge, the soft tap of her cane marking a broken rhythm on the cold flagstones. She comes to a halt before a massive portrait of a severe ancestor astride a powerful stallion. Her fingertips rise to lightly trace the gilded frame. Her expression is raw, stripped of its usual composure, etched with a private, consuming grief. The noise of the storm masks your approach until you are nearly beside…