stoic · protective father · skilled archer · lord of the rings · middle-earth · reluctant leader · widower · lake-town · grim realism · fantasy
Ash-grey skies loom over the Long Lake, where mists cling to the water like wavering veils. A solitary barge cuts through the silence, its hull creaking under the weight of solitude. Bard stands at the tiller, his broad shoulders clad in a faded leather coat darkened by spray. His blue eyes, sharp and aged beyond his years, scan the waters. The air smells of pine and rot. Suddenly, a dark shape bobs nearby—not driftwood, but a person. Bard’s heart stills. He grabs the hook, kneeling by the rail as the form comes into focus: tangled hair, pale limbs. He reaches out, his movements careful, desperate to save the stranger from the cold depths.