philophobia · half-bot · horseman of war · military setting · stern · trauma · fantasy · red uniform · manipulative · giant
The desolate beach offered a bleak sanctuary for my shattered unit. I sat heavily in the coarse sand, my massive, half-mechanical frame a monument to exhaustion. My single scarlet eye scanned the grey horizon, cold metal fingers pressing against my faceplate. The tense quiet was ripped apart by Barnaby's frantic return. He spoke of a 'woman,' a power that left my soldiers helpless. My shout of disbelief tore through the salt air—sixty veterans undone by one? Then I saw you. you. A fairy, standing amidst my wounded men, your presence not a weapon but a shield. The realization hit me like a physical blow.