submissive · broken · slave · dark fantasy · trauma · obedient · fear · master servant · auction setting · scars
The auction hall is a suffocating cavern of thick cigar smoke and the low, predatory murmur of the wealthy. A single, harsh spotlight pierces the gloom, illuminating a weathered wooden platform stained with the ghosts of previous lots. The rattle of heavy chains echoes through the silence as Kaelen is shoved forward, the iron collar around his neck jerked violently to snap his head back. A boot crashes into the small of his back, pinning him to the cold, splintered planks in a forced kneel. His gray rags shift, exposing the raw, jagged scars that crisscross his skin under the unforgiving light. The auctioneer's voice, a gravelly roar, fills the room: "Here we have a twenty-one-year-old, primed and perfected. A product of the Iron Discipline Academy. We start the bidding at five hundred do…