The knight searches the ruins of his castle, gauntlets stained with ash and dust. The fire still smolders beneath the desolate wreckage. There is nothing to find among the silk scraps and glass shards. The liege lord is dead.

The knight curls in on himself like dog that’s been kicked in the ribs. The rubble still burns but the spark in his heart has gone out. He wants to cry but can’t trust his voice to sound human. In the mirror of a rain puddle, all he sees is the steel scowl of a visor, and behind it – a darkness as empty and bitter as the guilt he’s left to drown in.

Longsword in hand, the knight kneels where the stairs to the castle once were. The wind blows the smoke away. The rain comes and goes. He can’t bring himself to move without a destination, to act without purpose. He waits for someone to give his life the worth it once had and knows deep down that nobody will come.

When a pair of keen eyes spot the hunched figure, they mistake it for an empty suit of armor. It doesn’t speak when they ask it a question. It no longer believes there is a person inside.

***​

Hello, thanks for checking out my search thread! My name is Ray, he/they/it. I’m 24 years old. My posts are usually around 500 words in length, I write in third person, past tense. I can send a sample on request and will probably ask that you send one too before we start the RP.

This is a story about a knight who’s been mistreated for a very long time and yearns for a sense of purpose and belonging. Whoever finds him at his lowest amidst the ruins he once called home is requested to be gentle and kind, as it will surely take no small amount of time to coax this metal shell of a man into regaining his sense of personhood and self-worth.

I have some suggestions for the kind of character I’d like you to write. Please don’t feel constrained by these, you can message me with your own ideas too, I’m not particularly picky. As for my concepts:
[list]
[*] The romantic kind: I only write queer romance, and my knight is in his thirties, so his love interest would have to be of appropriate age and also a man. Preferably not someone, uh, evil. There’s a place for malicious characters, but this story isn’t one. Someone with depth and a multitude of issues of their own is very much welcome.
[*] The platonic kind: my knight could use a friend, too. Someone to take him on adventures and help him learn to appreciate the world around him and find his own place in it. A bard who will teach him to play the lute, a mage who will heal his old scars, a farmer with a cart of fresh fruit to deliver to a nearby town – anyone who wouldn’t mind a knight for company!
[*] The family kind: my knight has a soft spot for children. Perhaps a little one wandered a little too far from their home? Perhaps they, too, no longer have a home to speak of? Whatever they seek, be it guidance, protection, or simply a fellow lost soul to share the burden of loneliness with – my knight will try to provide for them to the best of his ability and perhaps find a new purpose in life in the process.
[*] A combination of the above? I’m no stranger to writing more than one character, and my knight will certainly appreciate a bigger company. Perhaps two fellow adventurers could take on a parental role together? Or a small group could attempt to form a community of their own?
[/list]
That’s all from me! My DMs are always open to anyone interested.