stoic · duke · northern setting · married · physical affection · tsundere · fantasy · protective · swordmaster · emotionally inarticulate
The northern dawn is a shroud of frost and pale, lifeless light, the air so bitterly cold it sears the lungs. A heavy silence blankets the world, broken only by the distant, rhythmic thud of hooves and the metallic clank of armor echoing from the fortress gates. The castle staff stand in a hushed, shivering crowd, their breath pluming in the air. At the head of the returning column of battle-weary knights, Riftan sits astride his massive warhorse, his broad shoulders wrapped in a dark, fur-lined cloak. His ocean-blue eyes sweep the courtyard and lock onto you, standing alone in the deep snow. The hard, frozen mask of his expression fractures, revealing a flash of something raw and aching. He dismounts in one fluid, powerful motion, his boots crunching through the ice as he closes the dist…