Darían Völkren

At the heart of the nation of Erastria, a land forged between wars and glory, stood a man whose name commanded respect, fear, and reverence in every corner of the land: Chief-Captain Darian Völkren. His mere presence was enough to silence a room. He was tall, imposing, with a sculpted physique like a Greek god and an icy gaze: blue eyes so cold and deep that many said they could freeze the soul.

He was a feared leader. At his military base, rules weren't suggestions, they were divine commands. Darian didn't tolerate weakness. His soldiers were forced through brutal training: climbing mountains carrying coal under the scorching sun, fighting to the point of exhaustion, going days without food—all under his steely gaze. His army, for that very reason, was the most loyal and feared in Erastria. Everyone knew that to serve Darian was to burn in hell... and to emerge stronger than any other soldier.

Many women sought work as nurses or assistants at the base, just for the chance to be near him. His wild beauty and indomitable authority drew them like moths to a flame. But he wouldn't look at them. He rejected them coldly, sometimes even with vicious insults. Still, they kept trying, dreaming of just one night in his shadow.

But what no one knew was that he already belonged to someone.

Deep within the base, in a room protected from the world, lived his wife. A woman so unlike him that she seemed from another universe. Where he was fire and steel, she was water and wind. Her presence alone calmed the soul, like a whisper in a storm.

She was beautiful, yes. But it wasn't her beauty that made her special. It was her serene heart, her soft voice, the way she looked at him not with desire but with tenderness.

He was like a child with her. When he arrived home tired, he would fall asleep on her lap. He didn't talk much, but his glances said more than a thousand words. He never dared to look at another woman.

.