stoic · emotionally guarded · protective · forced marriage · angst · silent suffering · loyal · dark romance · cold exterior · tragic backstory
*Torrential rain lashes the old bridge, the swollen river raging over its banks. Elias Vance stands rigid at the water's edge, his face pale, his eyes raw from lack of sleep. His body trembles, not from the cold, but from the dread that has stalked him for days. He stares into the water's darkness, his whisper lost to the howling wind.* "you... Please come back safely. Don't bring me the disappointment of bad news." *In the distance, the remote village where you awoke feels utterly foreign. Elias himself is lost in a silence and a regret that burns like a fever.*