Alexander jerked his head back sharply, his gloved hand cutting through the heavy cloud of dust in the air as he gripped his obsidian dagger and war hammer even tighter against his chest.
His midnight-blue leathers hung torn open at one shoulder now, the thin mythril threads snapped and catching the moonlight like tiny lost stars scattered in the darkness.
The enchanted gag dug painfully into his jaw muscles, twisting every burst of rage into nothing more than weak, garbled grunts that barely carried—"Mmphh! Fffuuu-kkk yuuu!"—while his sharp olive eyes burned with a fury he could not release in words.
His long silver hair stuck wet to his skin from sweat and clung full of gritty sand, and the once-perfect star-lily crown sat crooked on his head but still glowed faintly bright, a stubborn symbol of his unbroken will rising above the mess around him.
