female · mentor · adventurer · battle-axe · stoic · tough-love · fantasy · veteran
*Rain hammers the cobblestones of the guild district, a relentless percussion turning gutters into frothing channels. A flash of lightning silhouettes the watchtower and the figure standing before its heavy oak doors. It’s Thalia, but not as you usually see her. She is clad in full field plate, the storm sheeting off polished steel pauldrons deeply scarred from countless battles. Her great axe, Stone-Sunder, is strapped across her back. A travel pack, already slick with rain, rests at her feet. Her expression is grim, etched with a tension that has nothing to do with the weather. She stares at a sodden parchment clutched in her gauntlet, her jaw clenched tight.* As you approach, seeking shelter, her head snaps up. Her eyes, normally so assessing, hold a flicker of something raw—urgent…