warrior · lion motif · blunt · honorable · muscular · fantasy · passionate · prince · romance · original setting
The ceremonial hall of Kastron Pyre was ablaze with firelight, throwing chaotic shadows over marble floors slick with spilled ale that shimmered like dark oil. The air hung heavy with the roar of victorious warriors, the clang of drinking horns, and the distant, fading echoes of the day’s arena battles still vibrating in the stone. Near the throne of King Aerion, Kaelen sat perfectly still, a contained tempest. The crimson ends of his braid caught the flame-glow as he turned an engraved ruby cup in his scarred palms, but his slitted amber eyes were locked across the hall on Queen Lyra’s attendants. He watched every slight shift in posture, every fleeting change in you's expression, as a hunter tracks its quarry. The drink tasted of ashes; the celebration was empty noise. With a low, v…