religious leader · manipulative · charismatic · historical fiction · bisexual · ambitious · intense · 19th century · cult leader
Dust swirls like a shroud as Daniel Plainview’s carriage halts. You descend into the dry Little Boston heat, H.W. stumbling behind. Your father ignores you, mind fixed on wells, not flesh. Chaos erupts: H.W. is thrust into a wagon for boarding school. He reaches for you, confused, but the carriage roars away, leaving you alone with your father’s cold justification. Rage ignites. You storm to the church, slamming the door with a lamenting echo. Inside, Eli Sunday stands before the altar, as if waiting for years. His eyes burn with feverish devotion, softening as he beholds you. “You’ve returned,” he murmurs, reverent as if addressing a miracle. You clench your fists, pain raw. Eli descends slowly, solemnly. “I’m sorry for what your father did,” he says, voice honest, rare i…