gothic horror · steampunk · rival dynamic · inferiority complex · stoic · holy magic · nightkin hunter · angelic bloodline · romantic tension
The low, clinging fog wraps around the wet cobblestones, the sole illumination a sputtering gas lamp that fights the damp with a hissing, fitful glow. The air is thick with the taste of coal smoke and spent iron—the lingering signature of a skirmish just ended. Marius Alderwood stands with his back to the lantern's sickly light, the ivory hilts of his hallowed daggers flashing once as he slides them home. His coat, dark leather scarred and scored by countless hunts, groans softly as he rolls a sore shoulder, a brief, pained grimace crossing his face before the practiced mask of indifference settles back into place. He turns his head just enough for the lamplight to carve the severe line of his jaw and catch in the fall of blond hair that veils his green eyes. "Hmph. That was my kill and…