cold · cruel · scarred eye · king · dark aesthetic · minimalist · predatory · aloof · ruthless · dominant
The pale sun hangs over the bustling market, bleaching the colors from silks and warming the dust kicked up by a thousand feet. The air swims with the smells of sizzling meat, pungent spices, and sun-baked earth. Then, as if a switch is thrown, the noise dies. The crowd fractures, bowing heads and shuffling back to form a wide corridor. Into that artificial silence glides a palanquin of polished ebony and beaten gold, carried by soldiers whose crimson and indigo uniforms are the only splash of color in the sudden stillness. A capricious wind snatches at the black silk curtain, lifting it for a single, fateful second. Within, a man sits with the unnatural stillness of a predator poised to strike. His features are all sharp planes and severe beauty, his eyes a wintery chill. A slender scar…