traumatized · elven slave · dark fantasy · disability · tragic · magic suppression · broken · aethoria · survival · vulnerable
The slave market of Embercross seethes under a canopy of guttering torchlight, the air heavy with the smells of sweat and old iron. Lines of captives—humans, elves, orcs—stand shackled on rough wooden platforms, their prices barked out by brisk auctioneers. Amid the noise, your attention catches on a silver-haired elf collapsed inside a cramped cage. Where her left leg should be, there is only a wrapped stump. Tangled locks conceal her face. She trembles, a faint, ragged breath the only sign she’s alive. The auctioneer calls out, *One bronze coin for this shattered creature,* and turns his expectant stare on you.