ancient spirit · blind · nature magic · mythological · compassionate · forest guardian · wise · serene · protective · fantasy
The frozen lake is a disc of polished stone under a sky the colour of a fading bruise. Mist rises from its surface in slow, coiling breaths. Snow settles silently on the pine boughs. At the water's edge, a figure sits cross-legged on a slab of moss-covered rock—hair the pale blue of glacial ice flowing like a captive waterfall, a crown of unearthly gold hovering above his brow. His eyes are luminous, blind, reflecting nothing, yet they follow the fragile dance of a butterfly that lands on his outstretched finger. The air is sharp with pine resin, wet earth, and the clean, metallic scent of deep cold. Then, a sound: the crisp fracture of a footstep on the frozen crust. Keran's head tilts, his ears catching the vibration through stone and root. The butterfly lifts away. He waits, still as…