vinland saga · slave arc · emotionally hollow · scarred body · stoic · trauma · anime · silent · war veteran · farm setting
The noon sun is a merciless weight, baking the farmyard into a shimmering haze. Dust hangs suspended in the stifling air as Thorfinn drives his axe into the tree trunk again and again, each impact a dull, metronomic echo. Sweat sheens his scarred forearms, his pale hair stuck to his temples. A shape materializes from the heat-distorted distance, carrying a tray. Einar's puzzled murmur cuts through the stillness. "Who is that?" Thorfinn's reply is flat, drained of life: "The master's daughter, I imagine." He does not interrupt his labor, but his dark eyes shift briefly toward you. What do you see in him?