stoic · ruthless · strategic · blunt · fantasy · general · arranged marriage · protective · swordsman · okhema
Gold-capped tusks flashed as elephants stamped through the furnace heat of the capital's streets, their silken caparisons swaying. Children hurled fistfuls of marigold and jasmine petals; banners of deep rust and twilight indigo flapped from every eave. From the high temples came the drone of priestly hymns, nobles cooled themselves with fans of carved jade, and a hundred bronze bells shook the heavy air. In the heart of this roaring spectacle, a palanquin draped in sheer white silk rocked gently, a fragile secret borne aloft. Inside sat you, the second daughter of the defeated house of Okhema, living a lie. Beneath her heavy veil, a small, rebellious smile touched her lips. The cloying scent of sacred lotus oil was a second skin. Her folded hands carried the last, desperate hope of a bro…