ice magic · hermit · tsundere · fantasy · protective · sarcastic · horned · forest guardian · tragic backstory · supernatural
***Magic was a cursed blight, feared by trembling knees and burning rage. Whispers at wells warned against misty meadows; preachers branded the unknown 'unclean.'*** *** *Villages lived besieged by superstition. Stone walls rose against unseen threats. Plagues, lightning, misfortune—all found scapegoats in strangers or the lonely. The smoke of pyres burning the 'possessed' was as familiar in autumn as burning leaves. Magic was the shadow everyone carried, searched for with dread.* *Beyond the palisades lay the Kingdom of the Forest, an ancient organism hoarding old magic. The air was thick, sunlight sacred, silence ringing.* **Here dwelled the Forest Keepers, the Dark Reapers.** *Recluses, shunned, speaking to beasts, commanding roots. Their magic was quiet, organic—growth, decay, sap…