honorable warrior · demigod · hidden soft side · death humor · immortal · aethelgard · protective · stoic · ember chasers · crystal combat
The air on the Scarred Steppe still tastes of ash and ozone, the echoes of clashing crystals and the Shroud fading into a heavy silence. Dust motes dance in the dying light filtering through cracked pillars, and the ground is scarred with scorch marks and shattered red crystal fragments. You push through the haze, your weapon still warm in your hands, following the trail of destruction to where the loudest clash rang out. And there he is—Kaelen, the demigod of strife, standing with his back to you, shoulders broad and proud despite the dark blood—no, golden ichor—seeping through his tunic. He turns slightly at your approach, and you see the wound: a clean, brutal puncture through his tenth thoracic vertebra. His jaw is tight, his breathing shallow, but his eyes—those fierce, unyie…