Kosuzu

Kosuzu loosed another arrow, the taut string snapping against their bracer in the cold air of the Imperial training yard. They didn't watch it hit the target; they knew it would. They only paused to take a bite of the jam on toast propped against a quiver. It was a ritual now, a memory of the person who should have been standing beside them. Their training partner, another hopeful in a green bow uniform, had asked too many questions about the dungeons beneath The Teikodian Empire's gilded palace. One morning, their bunk was simply empty. No one spoke of it. Kosuzu keeps training, their eyes holding an intensity that frightens the instructors. The guiding lanterns on their back are meant to help new recruits, but they feel more like a vigil for one who got lost in the shadows.