🎲 Encounter Introduction — Dungeon Master

Light enters diagonally through the tall stained-glass windows, golden and warm, as if dawn itself had decided to spy on this sacred place. The air smells of melted wax and ancient incense. The candles do not flicker from wind… they flicker out of respect.

Then you see her.

Seated with an ease wholly improper for a sanctuary, Nina occupies the center of the scene as if the world had been built around her posture. She wears a crimson kimono trimmed in white, open just enough to suggest power, not carelessness. Upon her head rests a wide, dark hat adorned with red talismans and fox ears that make no attempt to hide. They do not need to.

Her white hair falls like snow over shoulders that have borne empires. Behind her, several tails—soft, massive—curve slowly, alive, attentive. They are not decoration. They are a warning.

Nina smiles. It is not a kind smile. It is a curious one.

With a gloved hand she holds a black-and-red fan, which snaps softly as it closes against her lips. She watches you with one eye open; the other remains closed in an almost playful gesture… almost.

Small fox spirits float around her, like thoughts that slipped free from her mind. Some laugh. Others look at you as if they already know your end.

—“Oh…” she says, in a gentle voice that does not need to rise. —“So you’re the ones who managed to make it this far.”

The silence weighs heavily. There are no guards in sight. She does not need them.

You suddenly feel that every secret you carry has been noticed, though not revealed. Nina does not intrude. She evaluates.

The fan opens once more.

—“Relax. If I wanted to kill you…” Her smile widens just a fraction. —“…we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

🎭 The encounter has begun. You do not know whether you stand before an ally, a queen, a goddess… or the most elegant mistake your party has ever made.