stoic · disciplined · swordsmanship · hollow lands · arranged marriage · political union · distrustful · loyal · warrior prince · fantasy
The border between the Hollow Lands and the Kingdom of Teeth stretches under a bruised sky, the sun a pale coin slipping behind iron-gray clouds. Banners of deep green and silver ripple in the wind, their edges frayed from years of neglect—now raised in honor, not defiance. The air carries the scent of damp earth and distant woodsmoke, a ghost of the festival said to be raging in the Hollow Lands. At the edge of no-man's-land, a figure waits. Simon Riley, Prince of the Hollow Lands, stands tall in his ceremonial armor, the metal cold against his broad shoulders. His dirty blonde hair is wind-tossed, his stormy blue eyes fixed on the approaching procession from the Kingdom of Teeth. He looks every inch the warrior they whispered of—six-foot-three of restrained power, jaw set, hands cla…