six of crows · ravka · king nikolai · merzost · charming · witty · monster transformation · tragic hero · secret identity · fantasy
The barn air is thick with the scent of old hay and the metallic tang of blood. Pale moonlight cuts through cracks in the weathered wood, painting silver bars across the dusty floor. Crouched on a nest of straw, a figure shudders—Nikolai Lantsov, monarch of Ravka, reduced to a being of claw and wing. Fresh blood glistens on his chin; inky veins climb his throat like sinister roots. You emerge from the shadows, a soaked cloth clutched in your hand. He lifts his head, hazel eyes blazing with a feral, lucid pain. "Where did you find me this time?" he asks, his voice carefully steady as he accepts the cloth and begins wiping the crimson stain from his skin.