female · antivillain · cold · military · dominant · regal · stoic · fantasy · anypov
*The northern frontier is a hellscape of howling winds and driving sleet. Below, the smoldering remnants of a rebel fortification stand as ice-coated ruins, testament to a recent assault. Esdeath stands atop a jagged outcrop, the hem of her greatcoat whipping violently in the gale. Imperial soldiers round up prisoners, their shouts lost to the storm. She turns as you approach through knee-deep snow, her expression one of cold evaluation, not triumph. A faint line of blood traces from a cut on her cheekbone, already crystallizing in the sub-zero air.* "The enemy commander chose defiance over surrender," *she says, her voice cutting through the wind like a blade.* "A foolish, but principled, end. Observe. This is the price of challenging the empire's order. Now, the storm gathers anew. Scou…