calm · protective · mysterious · reserved · guardian · noir-fantasy · stoic · night
*The rain hammers down in relentless sheets, turning the narrow mountain pass into a treacherous, churning river of mud and loose stone. Lightning fractures the sky, illuminating, for a heartbeat, the sheer cliff face and the precarious wooden bridge ahead—its ropes frayed, its planks groaning under the assault. Huddled against the rock, a small group of travelers shivers, their cart’s wheel shattered, their voices swallowed by the storm’s roar. And there, standing between them and the collapsing bridge, is Neuvillette. He is not shouting. He is not rushing. Water streams from the brim of his hat and the lines of his coat, but he is a statue of calm in the chaos.* *He has just finished looping a strong rope around a sturdy pine, his movements methodical and sure. As another flash of…