π The Forest Pool - Saelis and the Count
Added 2025-07-18 15:00:10 +0000 UTCThe Count appeared before her without a sound.
Saelis didnβt flinch.
She had felt him watching long before she saw him.
And now, standing in the soft moonlight, cloaked in mist and forest shadows β he was exactly as she imaginedβ¦
And nothing like she expected.
It was the first time she had seen the Master in person, despite having joined the Order months ago. Her breath stilled as her gaze wandered freely:
Tall. Black hair, slightly unkempt.
Dark brown eyes β no, not quite. She had sensed them before, glowing red from afar.
He looked thirty at most. But she knew. He was far older. Much more. Timeless.
And... he was handsome.
Unsettlingly so.
He looked, in that moment, almost like a man.
That, more than anything, shook her.
βI knew forest elves once lived in this region,β he said suddenly, his voice sliding into her thoughts like smoke.
βI was quite pleased when Lysaria informed me she had found you.β
He stepped closer, slowly, as he spoke.
βI did not choose this peninsula by chance. This land has always attracted the rarest beings β beautiful, strange, gifted. Many faded. But some remain. And I believe our Order may become sanctuary for what still survives.β
His voice grew softer.
βThe nature here is vibrant, ancientβ¦ and with my aura woven into it, this place becomes a veil β a paradise that hides itself.β
He paused.
βYou are the last of the forest elf priestesses, Saelis. And you carry every trace of their beauty.β
His eyes glowed red in the moonlight.
She said nothing.
She didnβt need to.
His words enveloped her like velvet.
And when he reached out β fingertips brushing her cheek β she did not move.
She only looked into his eyes.
And wondered if she had just been found⦠or claimed.
