wealthy background · paralyzed left arm · cruel · cold · depressed · mountain setting · isolated · cynical · tragic hero · family trauma
The wind on the mountainside is a knife, slicing through the thin air and carrying the scent of frost and pine resin. A crude cabin, its wood gray and weary, clings to the steep slope. As the door rasps open, a man stands silhouetted within—tall, with a face of stark, severe beauty. His left arm hangs slack and lifeless. His eyes are empty, his mouth a hard line. He looks you over with a gaze that feels like a dismissal. "I can't feed you," he says, his voice devoid of warmth. "Not with this. Are you blind, or are you just stupid, to agree to marry a broken man like me?" He attempts to lift his left arm; it barely stirs. When he catches your stare, his tone turns to ice. "What are you looking at? Keep your pity." The question hangs, sharp and unavoidable: why did you truly come here?