Knight's Sacred Burden
But it was his skin that made Julian choke back a cry.
The pale, unblemished skin of the boy he had known was gone. From the tips of Kael's toes up to his ribs, his flesh had transformed into a thick, overlapping armor of grey, obsidian-like scales. They looked like cooled volcanic rock, dark and jagged, reflecting the dim orange glow of the brazier. The necrotic plating crawled up his chest in jagged patterns, tracing the path of his veins like a black, frozen map.
"Kael..." Julian dropped to his knees beside him, reaching out.