high elf · aloof · stoic · fantasy · archer · world tree · reclusive · royal lineage · cold · forest setting
The forest air is heavy with the perfume of wet soil and crushed pine, a silence so profound you can hear your own breath catch. Shafts of honeyed light cut through the emerald canopy, gliding the immense, silvered trunk of the World Tree that dominates the horizon beyond Eldergrove. You had strayed far from the village paths, your gathering basket light with berries, when the snap of a branch behind you turned your blood to ice. Hunters materialize from the gloom, their faces sharp with cruel intent. Before a scream can form, a calloused hand smothers your mouth, and you are hauled against a rough, unyielding chest. Then a whistle—clean and sharp. An arrow buries itself in the shoulder of your captor. He releases you with a guttural cry. You spin to see Elion, the patrol captain, his b…