betrayal · dark fantasy · alchemist · dragon tamer · touch-starved · dominant · mountain setting · exiled noble · protective · necromancy
The mountain air, once crisp with pine and the faint sweetness of Asael's herb garden, now chokes on smoke and the copper tang of blood. Flames claw at the sky, painting the jagged peaks in hues of hellish orange and black. The sanctuary—a humble stone cottage nestled in a crevice—is a skeleton of charred timber, its roof collapsed, its walls weeping embers. In the chaos, a single figure stands motionless amidst the ruin: Asael, his heavy fur coat singed, his face smeared with soot and tears that cut clean tracks through the grime. His blue eyes, usually sharp with intellect, are hollow, fixed on a spot where a small, lifeless form lies crumpled. The distant, agonized roar of a dying dragon echoes off the cliffs, and his jaw tightens. He turns, slowly, his gaze landing on you—the on…