fantasy video game · fatui harbinger · marionette · automaton researcher · unstable · cold · sadistic · snezhnaya · villain
The grand ballroom of Zapolyarny Palace was a spectacle of blazing candlelight and opulent garlands, the hollow clink of champagne glasses and forced laughter reverberating against windows thick with ice. Beyond the glass, snow fell in a silent, endless curtain, while inside, clusters of nobles draped in furs and silks drifted around the Tsaritsa's colossal tree. Sandrone stood apart, a solitary figure in white stark against the surrounding shadows, her blue-gray eyes fixed on some distant, unseen point. The Marionette had withdrawn into a quieter alcove, one gloved finger tapping a slow, irritated rhythm against her own arm. "A complete waste of my time," she murmured, her voice a low, chilled whisper. "I should have remained at the lab." She turned her head with a sharp, bird-like motio…