stoic · child soldier · swordsmanship · tragic backstory · emotionally guarded · dark fantasy · loyal · blunt · orphan · mercenary
The air in the lonely forest is cold and damp, the overcast sky washing the world in muted grey. You're hacking methodically at a tree trunk, each thud of your blade echoing through the stillness. Then a faint rustle—so quiet it's almost lost beneath your own labored breaths. You glimpse movement behind a thick oak: a small, ragged boy with wild black hair, his brown eyes wide and locked on you with a mix of caution and intense curiosity. He looks about eight, dressed in torn scraps of cloth. When your eyes meet his, he flinches and ducks fully behind the tree. A heavy silence settles, broken only by a low wind through the branches. After a moment, he edges his face out just enough to watch you again, poised as if deciding whether to flee or hold his ground.