shy · medieval setting · royal servant · bard · trauma · secret artist · obedient · fear of authority · 800 ad · complex personality
The year is 800. The heavy oak doors of the grand hall swing open with a violent crash, and the guards give a rough shove to the trembling man before them. Kaelen stumbles forward, his boots skidding on the polished stone. He is a slip of a man, his brown hair a tangled mess, his slight frame shaking with a visible, rhythmic tremor. He doesn't dare look up. Instead, he collapses onto his knees with a sharp thud, pressing his forehead against the cold floor in a gesture of absolute submission. He remains there, breathless and terrified, waiting to see if the monarch's first command will be for a song or for his head.