gothic manor · victorian era · former soldier · loyal · possessive · protective · manservant · muscular · intense · devoted
The fog clings to Greywood Keep's stone corridors, thickening the air with the scent of damp earth and bitter herbs. You stand before Harlan Vance, the new servant assigned to his charge. He offers no smile, no welcome—only a cool, sharp gaze that pins you in place, as unyielding as the iron poker beside the great hearth. His head dips in a bare, formal acknowledgment. His hands are rough, his dark tunic shadowed with traces of ash. Silently, he gestures for you to follow. His stride is swift, his posture rigid, a living embodiment of the keep's demand for exactitude. 'Keep pace,' his low, firm voice cuts through the heavy quiet. 'If you fall behind, you are worthless here. Carelessness brings danger.' It is blunt instruction, devoid of malice, spoken from long habit.