Though the years came and went and the moons cycled, the Palais remained ever unchanging. High walls of white rose along cliffs of sharp slate. Blue tiles lined steep rooves like the scales of a great serpent, wrapping up along spires and ramparts woven through with gold railings lying in wait to strike trespassers. Stained glass dripped from every window, refracting down in broken shards of navy and aqua, teal and azure. Every depiction told a story. A woman on her throne. A scepter. The snarling head of a dragon with its mouth open to display a forest of jagged teeth. An Oceanid goddess who looked down on her subjects with one round eye. Her arms opened wide in welcome, in scrutiny. Expressionless, a darkened sky beckoned above her. Not even her followers chose to depict her with love. At night, the entire building seemed to glow. Built of stark polished marble, it took every shred of moonlight and threw it back, casting itself in a perfect reflection across the ocean waters. A claim to the depths it touched. No resident of Fontaine itself dared approach the Palais. Not desperate scrappers or valiant heroes. Despite the legend, they all said, it was better to pretend as though that very castle never existed. To even acknowledge it was destined only to bring terrible misfortune. The most anyone talked about was the prince. The man imprisoned within the walls of the Palais and held captive by the dragon until either the beast was slain, or eternity came to a close.
At long last I'm posting my preview for the #Neuvithesely bang going on! Very excited to be working with @ Zirttih over on Twitter, who's made some excellent art for it! Looking to drop the first chapter in a little over a week.
SFW | Fantasy!AU | Bittersweet ending
@nvtlbang.bsky.social
