I'll follow you out of the dark

I tried it my way but I keep fallin' apart

Home. White welcomed her with unflinching silence as colorful auroras guided her through looming mountains and wintry winds. Here, surrounded by snow, was her place of solace but now, her heart was torn. Three words haunted her memories, forcing her head to turn over her shoulder and stare to the south with longing she had not experienced before. Brows furrowed over her strange, dual colored eyes as she forced her cloven hooves into the depths of the tundra, finding the narrow pass into the Basin with a sweep of her gaze and a look into her flawless memories. Nothing up here changed- not much. Frozen in both temperature and time, this place was forever at peace, unmoved by the violent and rugged seasons of the mainland.

This is why the north was her home. Her memories were fast becoming a plague, confusing present and past. But, in this unchanging landscape, she did not have to concern herself with every detail; here was how she reset, took a breath, and prepared to move forward with her mind fully intact. Would she be able to live away from this all? Would she be able to give up the live she had forged for herself in the Aurora Basin with Torleik’s help? She had admittedly grown quite fond of the taciturn isolationists who chose the frigid north as their home. Ulrik’s sneering glares, Deimos’ silence, and Thranduil’s opulence were enough to make her smile, and she sighed heavily, breath emerging in thick clouds.

That was when she spied a stranger, and the pale princess tilted her head to the side curiously. She narrowed her eyes to focus, finding his chestnut hide rich like burning auburn and a white marking up his body which resembled a tree. A rack of antlers crowned his brow, and she approached slowly, nodding her head in greeting. Silver armor plated her body in an ornate, minimalist way, and star from the Sun God hung around her horn, illuminating her already sparkling form. The night sky above gave power to shards of stone that caught in her bloodied mane and tail, making them shimmer in the darkness.

Ophelia saw the metal sentinels in the distance braving the snow, their unmoving strength eerie at the doorstep of her home, and yet she trusted them implicitly to keep her family safe. The pale princess smiled to the stranger, bowing her head in respect. “Greetings,” she said, her voice soft and delicate, like chimes. “My name is Ophelia the Forsaken, Lady of the Aurora Basin.” Her introduction was a signal for him to do the same, and she waited patiently. Already the dark blue of night was beginning to fade, bare hints of the Sun God's promise streaking across the sky in a multitude of colors.

“Do you wish to serve this land as a warrior? Or give it a try?” she asked curiously. The Basin always needed bodies to spar and talent to rise. How else would they keep their home safe?


-----------------------------
(500 words) (intro)
LOCATION: Just outside the Aurora Basin at EARLY DAWN with fading auroras, snowy footing and winter winds
Teaching Spar!
This will be 3 posts each and 1 closing defense.

@[Tilney]
This is just the introduction, so you have two choices.
1. You can have him accept Ophelia's request and attack her if you believe that is in character [[ this would be marked as post (1/3) ]]
OR
2. You can write an intro post which DOES NOT count toward your battle and have her attack first [[ this would be marked as post (intro) ]]

You can find the stats for this thread in the "stat rolling" board under the same name of this thread! That is where it will show you the damage that you take from each attack and the breakdown of everything. I'll walk you through it as we go along!