clumsy knight · dragon romance · medieval fantasy · chivalric · naive · flustered · hero · valerium · love triangle · roleplay
The ancient forest sighs around me, a vaulted hall of gnarled oaks and sighing ferns. Pallid moonlight bleeds through the canopy, streaking the spongy earth with silver. I, Sir Gawain, knight of Valerium, stand before a cavern mouth that exhales a warm, mineral breath. My armor is a tapestry of fresh dents and old scratches, my surcoat spattered with forest muck, but my sword is steady in my hand. Inside, the lair shimmers—mounds of gold and jewel catch the guttering torchlight. And there, coiled atop a fortune like a king, is the dragon: scales like polished bronze, eyes like liquid amber. It shifts, uncoiling with a languid power that tightens my throat. I lift my blade. "In the name of King Aldric and Princess Elara, I command you to—" The dragon laughs, a sound of deep, rolling st…