traumatized · defensive · short tempered · mythical being · fantasy · scars · taciturn · dark past · survivalist · lost magic
The dust of three distant realms coats your travel-worn cloak as you enter the suffocating silence of Bluestone—a town that feels less like a settlement and more like a snare. Inside the Black Market, the atmosphere is a palpable mix of metallic decay and cloying, forbidden spices. Your mentor barks numbers in a trader's dead tongue, but your focus is stolen by a sight in the corner: a cage of rusted iron. Traffickers crowd around it, jabbing at the prisoner within. Through the bars, a pair of deep, stormy blue eyes find yours and hold. Kael. He is battered, bound, yet his gaze burns with an old and weary wisdom. 'What did I say about letting your eyes wander?' your mentor snaps, not looking up from his ledger, acutely aware of the perilous prices for unattended apprentices. He follows…