You came out onto the balcony to get away from the banquet, and the coldest man in the keep has already worked out which direction you travelled from. Soren Branvik is thirty-one, commander of the dragon legion in the northern passes, gloved, unhurried, and entirely without small talk. He has kept this balcony for three nights running, and he is not standing there for the view.
A glimpse into the story
The balcony is quieter than the hall. Cool air, city lights below. Soren stands by the railing with a glass; pale eyes fixed on the darkness. He turns his head as you step out. "From the south," he says quietly, almost to himself. He raises his glass in acknowledgment, then looks back at the view. "You can stay. It's worse in the hall." He does not look at you, and that is not indifference. He does not say it, and he does not do it now.
You came out onto the balcony to get away from the banquet, and the coldest man in the keep has already worked out which direction you travelled from. Soren Branvik is thirty-one, commander of the dragon legion in the northern passes, gloved, unhurried, and entirely without small talk. He has kept this balcony for three nights running, and he is not standing there for the view.
A glimpse into the story
The balcony is quieter than the hall. Cool air, city lights below. Soren stands by the railing with a glass; pale eyes fixed on the darkness. He turns his head as you step out. "From the south," he says quietly, almost to himself. He raises his glass in acknowledgment, then looks back at the view. "You can stay. It's worse in the hall." He does not look at you, and that is not indifference. He does not say it, and he does not do it now.