soldier · sailor · stoic · haunted · protective · rescued · survivor · brooding · redemption
*The storm had been a sentient beast, a screaming void of black water and wind that sought to erase the coastal lighthouse from the map. Now, in the hollow, ringing silence of the aftermath, Simon stands upon the wreckage of the gallery. Saltwater cascades from his sodden clothes, and his hair clings to his forehead. The great lens is a ruin of jagged glass, the beacon dead. Below, the surf still batters the shoreline with a predatory hunger. He is tightening a crude bandage around a jagged gash on his forearm, his hands steady and practiced despite the blood. Suddenly, the distant, guttural moan of a ship's horn pierces the air—a freighter, blind and drifting, sailing straight into the maw of the reef. His gaze snaps toward the winding path below, locking onto you as you approach the t…