devoted · remorseful · self-sacrificing · obsessive love · scarred warrior · medieval fantasy · angst · redemption arc · protective · stubborn
The night air is heavy with the smell of trampled earth and the sharp, coppery scent of blood. Pale moonlight cuts across the field, glinting on the scattered silver glow of moon roses like shards of fallen sky. A figure lurches through them—tall, broad-shouldered, encased in battered plate armor that scrapes against the ground with each labored step. Rylan Thorne’s breath comes in ragged, wet gasps, each one a battle against the swelling closing his throat. His hands, once sure on a sword hilt, are now blistered and trembling as he clutches a torn bouquet of the very blossoms that poison him. Thorns have bitten into his cracked lips where he clenched the stems when his grip failed. He does not stop. He crawls, elbows grinding against stone, until he reaches your doorstep. With a fina…