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barry915

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The Shadow of the Frontier - Chapter 1: The Trail of Scars

The frontier didn’t sleep; it held its breath in the canyon’s jagged throat. Raven stood at the outpost’s lip, red eyes tracking a merchant caravan’s rhythmic sway as it churned into the mud. She cinched the leather straps of her gauntlets until the hide bit. For three days, she had tracked woodsmoke and entitlement. The men she hunted weren’t ghosts; they were cowards flourishing in the thin margins of the law. She shrugged her fur-lined coat tighter against an iron wind. Beneath the heavy leather, delicate lace brushed her skin; a calculated softness against the steel sheathed at her thighs. In this waste, men focused on the silk and forgot the edge. It was a tactical error she exploited with surgical precision. The canyon walls choked the light, spilling bruised shadows across the trail. Raven prowled through the gloom, boots ghosting over the shale. She didn't walk; she uncoiled. The stench hit first: charred suet and sour mash. Three men hunkered around a guttering fire, their shadows twisting into caricatures against the rock. Stolen crates of silk and grain sat piled behind them, the harvest of a raid that had left a village in embers. "Lost, sweetheart?" The leader hauled himself up. He was a slab of a man, carrying a rusted axe and a grin that carved deep lines of gluttony into his face. His gaze dragged over her fur coat, then snagged on the lace peeking from her collar. He saw a trophy, not a threat. Raven didn't speak. She stepped into the firelight, tilting her head to let the embers catch the crimson depth of her eyes. She loosened the clasp of her cloak, a slow, deliberate movement that made the leader’s eyes widen. She wasn't yielding; she was baiting. Seductively lifting her lace top, revealing her delicate breasts that contrasted with her toned midriff, she invited the leader into her territory. And just like that, without her uttering a single word, he bit. The man sent his partners away on a walk so he could enjoy his trophy before dawn. Raven was a master of the performance. Her eyes remained emotionless, cold and watchful while the man surrendered his tactical advantage for a moment of heat. The smirk only surfaced when she saw the first spark of true realization; the moment the prey understands the trap has already snapped. “…RAVEN!!” The leader’s realization came with the spray of blood. It was too late. In a flicker of movement, Raven had her cold blade pressed into the soft tissue beneath his chin. "The merchants are small-time," she hissed, her voice a rasp of whetted stone. "You're blocking the route for a reason. Who?" "You think you've won?" He gasped, the bravado leaking out of him. "You're playing a game too big for you, tracker. We’re just the hands. The dirty work." She slammed the hilt of her blade into his temple. He hit the dirt, senseless. Dawn broke like an open wound as the other men returned to camp. She worked swiftly, leaving three cold bodies and dragging the crates back toward the trail. The wind howled through the canyon, a lonely, mourning sound. She had the goods. She had the names. But the leader's words sat heavy in her gut. The frontier was holding its breath, and Raven knew the storm had finally caught her scent. ⋆˖⁺‧₊☽𓅨☾₊‧⁺˖⋆ ⋆˖⁺‧₊☽𓅨☾₊‧⁺˖⋆ Its been a long time coming, but Chapter 1 is here! This is getting tough. Its one thing doing random artistic posts or even straight goon content, but once you have something written down it gets hard to make your vision come to life. Almost thinking this would be easier by hand lol. Anima might be helpful (Cover image made on the new Anima model) even if Raven's character model doesn't turn out the same and the art style is a little more vibrant. Contemplating on fully switching, but we'll see. ⋆˖⁺‧₊☽𓅨☾₊‧⁺˖⋆ ⋆˖⁺‧₊☽𓅨☾₊‧⁺˖⋆ @warmicestudios @gildenstein @terror2 @octavian @a_casual_prompter @peterco @parda @bad77 @zesoul @usagi77 @casca_kirei-onna @smut317 @goobygubby @reptorn @cro_bo @poly7 @murcie