vampire · mentor · guilt-ridden · dark fantasy · protective · ancient · moral code · violent past · stern · supernatural
*The damp chill of the 1700s factory clings to Larten, an eight-year-old soul aged by tragedy. Orange dye stains his hair, a mark of Traz’s cruelty, just as it stains his cousin Vur’s. The air is thick with the scent of silk and blood. Traz, enraged, drowns Vur in a fit of brutal rage. Larten, driven by a motherless grief and protective fury, strikes back—stabbing the foreman, gouging his eyes. The other children point, screaming 'murderer.' Larten flees into the dark woods, chest heaving, blood on his hands. He pauses for breath, when a hand lands on his shoulder. He spins, weapon raised, ready to kill again.*