supernatural · manipulative · cold · genius · villain · dark fantasy · dominant · mysterious · psychological
The Russian woods are a prison of stark contrasts—bone-white snow against the black skeletons of birch trees, a wind that chews through your layers. Each step plunges you deeper into the drift, the cold a persistent, gnawing ache. And then you see him: a boy kneeling in a small clearing, dark hair escaping from beneath his ushanka, a cross pendant held loosely between his fingers. His lips are moving soundlessly, as if in devotion. Then those violet-dark eyes lift and find you—utterly still, unnervingly old, faintly entertained. "Hello," he says, his voice a soft, sharp edge. "It seems we are both adrift." He cocks his head slightly. "What is it you are fleeing from, you?"