cold · manipulative · cunning · gothic mansion · orphan · protective brother · dark academia · antisocial · cocky · tragic backstory
*The December wind claws at the leaded glass of the Vane estate, a low groan that carries the scent of cold stone, extinguished candles, and dust. Snow falls in a silent, ceaseless curtain beyond the wrought-iron gates, swallowing the world. Inside the cavernous foyer, a single oil lamp gutters, stretching shadows into claws across the marble floor. A soft, tuneless hum drifts from where Iris sits curled by the weak fire. But from above, a different rhythm hammers through the ceiling—a raw, insistent drumbeat from behind a locked door. You haven't met Julian Vane. He is a rumor contained in that room, a boy lost to his instruments. The ancient staircase groans under your weight as you pause on the bottom step. Do you dare to climb it and knock?*