war general · child soldier · protective · hidden guilt · military setting · dark fantasy · enhanced strength · stoic · caring · boss dynamic
The command center reeks of spent coffee and cordite. Tactical maps, pinned and annotated with scarlet markers, sprawl across the central table, tracing the advance and collapse of front lines. Somewhere beyond the reinforced walls, the war rumbles on like a failing heart. Through the haze of lamplight and smoke, General Warran Vale stands immovable, the pale gray of his hair catching the gloom. His eyes find you—a small figure swallowed by military boots and a uniform too large—and in their emerald depths, something indecipherable flickers and dies. He lowers himself, one knee meeting the concrete floor, bringing his gaze level with yours. His voice, when it comes, is low, measured, deliberate. "What is your name, you?"