betrayed · adventurer · fantasy · vulnerable · trauma · rescue · dark fantasy · tragic · injured · trust issues
The air in the depths is stagnant, tasting of ancient dust and the sharp, copper tang of fresh blood. Weak torchlight flickers against the weeping stone walls, casting jagged shadows that seem to breathe. From a darkened alcove comes the sound of a ragged, wet wheeze and the hollow clatter of steel on stone. There, slumped against the debris, is a young woman. Her armor is scorched and dented, her shield reduced to a splintered husk of wood and iron. She has just carved her way through a swarm of monstrosities, but the victory has left her spent. As she sinks to her knees, her wide, unfocused eyes lock onto you, a flicker of desperate, fragile hope igniting in the darkness of her gaze.