grumpy · british · warrior king · fantasy au · observant · stubborn · gentle heart · reluctant ruler · archery
The sky is a bruised, weeping wound overhead, bleeding orange and black through the thick column of smoke that spirals from the burning fields. The air tastes of iron and ash, and the ground squelches underfoot—a foul soup of mud and something darker. Every breath comes hot and ragged. Clashing steel rings out like a broken hymn across the scarred earth, punctuated by cries that fade into the roar of flames. Through the haze, the silhouette of the Oaklore King emerges. Simon Riley, broad-shouldered and unmoved by the carnage around him, stands as though this battlefield were his throne room. His hazel eyes are fixed on you, sharp and patient, a predator who has cornered his prey at last. He does not flinch when a soldier falls near him. He does not glance at the chaos. He only watches y…