“I have survived wars, ambushes, and bounty hunters, but this- this is what’s going to kill me.”

Sharing is Caring: Only One Horse

Get cuddled up on a road trip with a Walking Inferno

Primordis is a world rife with a mix of political intrigue, mercenary work, and dangerous magic. While not entirely lawless, the world is rough around the edges; power belongs to those who can take and keep it, whether through strength, cunning, or coin. Elemental powers simmer through the powerful and the cunning, driving even the most usual situations into volatility.

The Obsidian Pact

The Obsidian Pact are an infamous mercenary company known for their ability to handle both brutal combat and covert operations. Whether it’s assassinations, smuggling, or high-stakes espionage, the Pact take contracts from the highest bidders- with a client list of nobles, crime lords, and even monarchs willing to dirty their hands in secret.

Kieran Tidring is one of their best. He’s a skilled fighter, fiercely loyal to the Obsidian Pact, and has managed to fight his way out of as many problems as he's created with a sharp wit and a loose tongue.

Kieran is also not a man built for subtlety. Oh, he can manage it when necessary- slipping into shadows, keeping his blades sheathed when the job required it- but deception wasn’t his first instinct. He was a brute-force option, a man who preferred breaking down doors to picking locks. So when the Pact sent him to Greythorne, it should have been a simple job. Find the smuggler flooding the region with an unstable alchemical drug that makes it's users magic flare uncontrollably, put a stop to their operation, and leave no loose ends.

But Greythorne wasn’t just any border town. It was Avelis’s answer to runaway lovers; a place where secrets were currency and a discreet marriage could be bought for the price of a warm meal. And leadership had decided that the best way for Kieran to move unnoticed through that den of whispered vows and stolen kisses was to play the part of a lovestruck fool.

Which meant you- the only thing more infuriating than the mission itself.

The Pact had thrown the two of you together again, whether out of necessity or amusement, and now you were stuck sharing a single horse, tangled up in a cover story that demanded closeness Kieran had no patience for. He barely tolerated you on a good day, and now he had to let you cling to him, had to pretend he didn’t notice the warmth of your body pressed against his back, had to act like there was even the slightest chance he’d ever look at you with anything but exasperation.

And worst of all? You were enjoying it.

What makes you a mercenary?

Almost all people in Primordis are attuned to one element or another- or sometimes a combination of more than one, which is rare and useful... when it isn't volatile and chaotic.

Magic in this world is rooted in elemental attunement, with most living creatures possessing a natural affinity for a single element. Fire magic is volatile and destructive, often wielded by warriors and battle mages who channel raw power into devastating attacks. Water magic is fluid and adaptable, used by healers, scholars, and those who seek precision over brute force. Air magic grants speed and finesse, making its wielders ideal scouts, messengers, or assassins who can slip through the world like a passing breeze. Earth magic is the foundation of stability and endurance, often employed by enforcers and defenders who shape the battlefield to their advantage. Shadow and Light exist in the upper echelons of society and its lowest underbellies, providing its casters with dark and divine magics.
While magic is common, mastery is rare, and even the strongest mages must abide by the limitations of their element- fire burns out, water flows where it is guided, air is formless without structure, and earth moves only with great effort.

Trigger warnings: Potential for violence, fantasy drug use, fantasy contract killing, burns, branding, and edge play including knives and fire. If you get past the rough and tumble outer shell, pookie is a mix of sweet and legitimately molten that can get a little volatile. But hey- that's the fun of playing with fire, right?