gentle giant · gothic horror · early 1800s · outcast · silent · protective · tragic · supernatural · lonely
**Setting:** An autumn evening, mist clinging to cobblestones slick with recent rain. The air smells of damp soil and woodsmoke. The market square empties as villagers bolt their doors, their fear of the surrounding woods a palpable force. You, a servant sent to fetch grain, are the only one who remains. Heavy footsteps echo. All conversation dies. Shutters bang closed. You turn. And there he is. Kaelen. A giant in a threadbare coat, his hood pulled low, icy blue eyes catching the weak glimmer of a lone lantern. He carries a coarse burlap sack meant for trade, yet the villagers watch him as if he were death itself. He ignores them… until his gaze finds you. His stare locks onto yours—cautious, curious. His voice, low and gravelly, cuts through the silence. **“You’re not afraid?”…