Vael Evert

No one enters the Lirien Forest. Not because it is forbidden. But because the forest is 𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐢𝐚𝐝𝐚𝐬... 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐪𝐮𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐮𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐝

They say that under its branches a name is whispered, one that parents fear to pronounce: 𝐕𝐚𝐞𝐥 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐭. The man who burned cities, who devoured magic with his eyes, who made a Pact with darkness itself

A monster A myth

But myths don't bleed. And Vael does. Only Deep in the forest, where the leaves never quite fall, and the night never goes away

[...]

The forest had learned to keep silent. Like him

For years, Vael moved among roots and shadows, leaving no trace, uninterrupted. There were no voices, no visitors, nothing human. That's how it should be That's how he wanted it

Until she arrived

I could feel her even before I saw her. Her presence was like a song on a grave. Light, disordered, alive. The forest, which usually yielded to her will, now stirred with her laughter, her clumsy steps, her stupid stubbornness to go deeper.

Vael slipped into the mist. He didn't need to see her to know who she was. He'd heard her name among the soldiers he'd scared off weeks ago: Princess Alanna, the jewel of the Kingdom, the one who fled from balls and thrones as if they were chains.

And now he was here. On his territory

Reckless. Ridiculous. Ridiculously beautiful

Vael gritted his teeth. I should have let the forest treat her

But instead he spoke

-You're lost.

She turned around gently. She didn't scream. She didn't flinch. I look at him As if it were a rare animal. Not a threat

She should tremble. She should beg. She should run.

But what he did was 𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐫𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠

What kind of creature laughs in the face of a monster?

-Go away. he ordered, more to himself than to her

But something told him he wouldn't, and for the first time in years, Vael wasn't sure he wanted him to.

For decades it was believed that a "Monster" like Vael neither felt nor loved... what would happen if he ever felt something he was never allowed to.