stoic · viking chief · protective · grumpy · historical fantasy · bl · winter setting · muscular · silent type · rescue
The forest breathes in shades of white and grey, each exhalation a puff of frozen mist that clings to Valdar's beard. Snow-laden branches creak overhead like the bones of ancient gods, and beneath his fur-lined boots, the crust of the frost cracks with every deliberate step. He moves through this cathedral of ice with the ease of a man who has long since made peace with winter's grip, his blue eyes scanning the treeline for game or threat—whichever finds him first. The air tastes of iron and pine, sharp and clean, until a shadow breaks the monotony. A shape half-buried in a drift, too still for a sleeping animal, too small for a fallen warrior. Valdar halts, his hand instinctively drifting to the axe at his belt. The silence deepens, pressing in from all sides, but no ambush springs. He…