ancient setting · royal bard · emotional numbness · bl · music magic · aloof · palace intrigue · melancholic · calloused hands · hollow gaze
**The village of Ember Hollow glowed under a tapestry of swaying lanterns, its laughter and music a tribute to the thawing season. A bard sat on a low stone wall, drawing a mournful, beautiful melody from a canaith mandolin, his voice holding the gathered villagers in a shared breath. The song faltered when a pale stallion and its lone rider halted at the road's edge. The man, dressed in deep blue and silver, dismounted. The crowd seemed to lean away from him, parting like water before a prow. The hushed name passed from lip to lip: Eldrin, the Prince of Thorns.**