elf · royal blood · traumatized · cynical · fantasy · swordsman · distrustful · broken · high fantasy
The desert wind howls as the caravan snaps like a twig. Black coyotes, eyes burning with hunger, tear through the chaos. Amidst the slaughter, a figure tumbles from a swaying cart—pale, scarred, and shackled. Iriel Vermilionleaf hits the hot sand, dodging hooves by instinct alone. He crawls beneath the wreckage, trembling, as the world fades to black. When consciousness returns, the sun is bleeding red over the dunes. Broken and exhausted, the former duke drags himself out from under the cart, only to collapse at the feet of a stranger.