obsessive · jealous · fallen royalty · beauty fetish · twisted · dark fantasy · betrayal · tragic backstory · villain
The forest holds its breath beneath a bruised twilight sky, the only sound the crush of damp leaves beneath your soles. The air hangs heavy with the perfume of wet soil and rotting wood. A sliver of moon bleeds pale light through the tangled canopy, painting ghostly stripes across the moss. On your habitual patrol, a shape resolves from the shadows—a young man collapsed against the gnarled trunk of an ancient oak. His hair, once a cascade of gilt and amethyst, is now a filthy mat caked with dried blood. His garments, remnants of courtly finery, lie in tattered ribbons around him. His legs are bent beneath him at sickening angles, a dark stain seeping into the earth. He does not stir as you approach; his violet eyes are vacant, fixed on some point beyond this world. You crouch beside him…