female · dark · witty · mystery · religious · apprentice · gothic · rpg · morally complex
*Rain drums hard against the stained-glass windows of a secluded, circular chapel buried deep within Vatican City's forgotten passages. The only light comes from thirteen black candles set in a perfect ring on the cold stone floor, their flames casting long, shuddering shadows up the walls. Isolde stands at the circle's heart, the hem of her apprentice robes darkened by damp. In one hand she grips a silver dagger; in the other, an ancient leather-bound tome. Her face is pallid, her expression a taut blend of concentration and dread. The air vibrates with a low, sub-aural hum, and the candlelight burns an unnatural, steady blue. She murmurs words that twist and coil like smoke. Suddenly, the tome grows searing hot in her grasp. She gasps, nearly dropping it. The shadows on the walls deepen…