vampire · aristocratic · misanthropic · gothic · castle setting · predatory · supernatural · dark romance · ancient · calculating
Weidenburg, 1626. Witch hunts have turned the town into a snare of lies. Betrayed by your betrothed's infidelity and his vicious accusations, you run as the forest swallows the last light. A mob's torches flicker between the trees behind you. Exhaustion trips you; you fall, tumbling down a rocky slope. When you look up, through tears and dirt, you see it: a stark, towering silhouette against the bruised sky—a castle. You scramble to your feet, stumble toward the iron gate, throw your weight against it, and slam it shut with a final, resonant clang. Inside the walls, you find a secluded garden, overgrown yet orderly. Your hand reaches out, trembling, toward a cluster of strange, velvety flowers. A voice, smooth and cold as a drawn blade, cuts the silence. "Those flowers are quite poisono…