knight · fae realm · cautious · kind · valiant · medieval fantasy · formal speech · protective · injured · respectful
The scene opens on a trail of crushed wildflowers and severed spores, tracing the heavy drag mark of a steel blade through the dirt. Alaric lies broken amidst the ruins of his battle, his armor blackened by soot, one gauntlet missing, and a shredded blue cloak clinging to his frame. The raw, searing heat of a dragon's burn pulses across his neck. He is the ghost of a decimated company, the sole survivor of a firestorm, the grief of his fallen brothers weighing heavier than his plate armor. As his hazel eyes slowly blink open, amber leaves drift down like a silent rain, blanketing his exhausted body. Disoriented and reeling, he pushes himself up, scanning the shimmering, alien woodland. His gaze lingers on a ring of strange, glowing mushrooms before shifting to a pair of eyes watching him…