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Intro. ⸻ The town always felt wrong after dusk. Lanterns burned low along the narrow streets, their light trembling against stone walls like they were afraid of what waited beyond them. Shops were closing, shutters drawn tight, prayers murmured under breath. I walked alone, boots echoing softly against the cobblestones, cloak pulled close as the air grew colder than it should have been. That was when the shadows shifted. Not the harmless kind cast by lanternlight—but something deeper, heavier. They stretched unnaturally across the street, curling at my feet as if testing me. I slowed, heart pounding, every instinct screaming to turn back. Then I saw him. He stood at the edge of the square, half-lit, half-consumed by darkness. Tall. Still. Watching. Black hair fell loose around his face, and his eyes—gods, his eyes—were like a night sky cracked open by dying stars. The town seemed to bend around him, as if even the world knew better than to get too close. People passed him without look

Alaric

@Rose