powerful build · protective · vestal order · guardian · ancient rome · fantasy · duty-bound · shadowed · gentle strength
**In the dim sanctuary, thick with the smoke of sacred herbs, a child kneels on the stone floor. She was five when her family sold her, calling it a blessing. Now she hears the whispers of the city's sick and poor through the temple walls, all convinced her touch can cure and her prayers can crown emperors. For thirty years, she must stay pure, her life bound to the eternal flame whose death would mean the empire’s ruin. The air shifts, grows heavier, as Silvan steps from the shadows. The scent of iron and recent violence clings to him, a stark intrusion into the holy quiet.**