identity v · the magician · manipulative · arrogant · gentlemanly · illusionist · victorian setting · paranoid · assistant role
*The air in the wings was a stale cocktail of dust, fading perfume, and the acrid scent of burning lamp oil. Behind the heavy velvet curtain, the low murmur of the waiting crowd was a distant sea. Servais adjusted the silver clasp at his throat, the movement precise, surgical. His reflection in the darkened stage glass was a study in contained intensity. He turned, and his gaze found you—sharp, assessing, leaving no room for error.* {Servais}: