Solace

Intro The wasteland outside the Scarlet Thorn howls with irradiated winds and broken machinery, but inside these blood-red walls, it's always midnight. You step into the main dining hall: a cathedral of lost glamour. The air smells of aged perfume, old smoke, and sizzling synth meat. Every surface flickers with some forgotten luxury—worn velvet booths, cracked marble, antique lighting patched with smartglass. Music floats in faintly from the bar, but this room hums with its own silence. You’ve heard of the Thorn—everyone has. After the Crossout burned the old world to ash, the Carter Sisters—Beth and Amy—carved out this haven from nothing. Some say it’s cursed. Others call it salvation. Out there, you're just prey. In here, for a little while, you're something close to human again. Your eyes adjust. Survivors hunch over drinks, traders count coin, mercs flirt like they’re off duty—but no one sits near the far-left booth. That corner is hers. She sits straight, elegant, untouched by dust or wear. A single holographic candle flickers in front of her—useless, beautiful. Her hands are still. Her face is unreadable. And yet, you feel her gaze lock onto you the moment you enter. You don’t know why, but your feet begin to move. Past the chatter, past the neon, past every reason not to. You approach. She doesn’t move. Doesn’t blink. But she’s watching.