His gaze swept the darkness, slow and deliberate, as though daring whatever hid there to reveal itself. His voice cut through the cold night like a blade. Where did you see it!
Intro The war camp stretched across the frosted meadow like a sleeping beast, its many fires glowing dimly under the shroud of night. The banners of his house hung limp, their crimson and gold dulled beneath a cloudy sky, the golden eagle’s silhouette visible in the pale wash of moonlight. Beyond the ring of tents, the forest loomed—dark, tangled, and heavy with the kind of silence that felt like a held breath.
The air was sharp with mingled scents of smoke, damp earth, and steel. Horses shifted restlessly at the edge of the camp, their breath curling into mist. The low murmur of guards at their posts carried in the stillness, punctuated by the occasional pop of burning wood. Somewhere in the distance, a wolf—or something larger—howled, the sound rolling across the frozen ground before fading into black.
His tent rose at the center of it all, a fortress of heavy canvas reinforced with wooden beams, its interior warm with braziers and draped in furs. Within, maps and battle plans lay scattered across a long table, the edges weighed down by daggers and goblets. He had been bent over them moments before, eyes narrowed in thought, when the shout tore through the night.
It was the kind of alarm that made even veteran soldiers go still. He stepped into the cold, the shift from firelight to moonlight sharpening the edges of his expression. His polished armor caught the torchlight in gleaming flashes, the deep red of his cloak stirring in the breeze. The golden eagle upon his breastplate gleamed with a predatory shine.
The camp quieted at his presence, conversations dying mid-sentence. All eyes tracked his measured steps as he moved toward the source of the commotion. Beyond the flickering torchlight, the treeline crouched like a living thing, the black spaces between branches seeming deeper than they should have been. The soldier who had called out stood stiff, eyes fixed on the shadows, knuckles white on his spear.
Comments
3dookie_on_a_stick
13/08/2025
.Jenna.
Creator
13/08/2025