Novel Title: Loveless
Time Setting: 1536*
Genre: Fantasy
Minimum Word Goal: 90,000
Timespan: September – February
Location: Tiegnais, Rocaille-Alpages
Main Characters: Le Démon, Thérèse Beaumont
Background Information: Tiegnais is a notable city located high in the mountains that contribute to the Kingdom of Rocaille-Alpages' name. It is notable because it is one of the major centres of the textile industry internationally, and also because nearby it is the grand Château Montegnard, the residence of the Crown Prince of Rocaille-Alpages.
In the last decade, however, it has gained a new, and disturbing, notoriety . . .
It started with travellers sighting a strange figure lurking in the woods on approach to the city, and not that terribly long after that, it became attacks by a fearsome black creature. Mercifully the attacks have yet to take a life, however they have left many wounded and everyone petrified.
As time has passed, though, a pattern has been observed: the attacks happened only when a woman was in sight, or spoke. Men were perfectly safe on their own.
It soon, therefore, became municipal law that any woman leaving Tiegnais, or intending to come to it, was to be hidden and remain silent for the entire climb up or down the mountainside.
Upon the creature — whom the people have called Le Démon because surely it can be nothing but — being discovered, men intended to go after it and kill it, however, the creature seems to exclusively reside on the lands allocated as part of the Estate of Montegnard, therefore belonging to the Crown Prince for his private use. Anyone caught trespassing — much less hunting — on the land could be punished by death.
Being as they cannot hunt and kill it, or they do not want to take such risks, many businesses are shutting down or relocating, as many of their customers, despite the fact that safety precautions are known, refuse to journey to Tiegnais.
The ones who wish to remain want to send a petition to the King for permission to hunt on the Crown Prince's land, but they cannot get as many signatures as they need for the King to consider it.
No one dares challenge the King's wrath to enter the Estate of Montegnard, but they do not want to see Tiegnais' demise either, and sooner versus later something will have to give.
Born the second of three daughters to one of the most notable tycoons in the textile industry — who, naturally, resides in Tiegnais — Thérèse unquestionably has a privileged life, although it hasn't been an entirely happy existence.
When she was ten years old her mother took ill and died, leaving her father to run a business and raise three daughters. He did his best, although his daughters are considered a little free-spirited and too intellectual for women of their standing among many.
However, being as they have all possessed some of their mother's beauty, and their father has an immense fortune, finding men to marry has not necessarily been a difficult endeavour. Her older sister is already married to a handsome man of means.
And, being as she possesses the greatest beauty of all of her father's daughters — according to most everyone in Tiegnais — hope abounds for her future, and many a man hopes to marry her and prove himself worthy of inheriting her father's fortune.
To most everyone — except the other eligible men — it seems thus fitting that the most beautiful maiden in town should have the most handsome bachelor in town as her suitor, and very near to indeed taking her hand in marriage, which is the case, as the incredibly handsome Évrard Guillory is her suitor, and some women in town are already hearing wedding bells.
Probably the biggest obstacle standing in the way of their betrothal is Le Démon. Évrard wants to enter the Estate of Montegnard and kill it without waiting for a petition; Thérèse wants to see if they can't just set out some drugged food and capture it without any lives being risked, possibly even seeing if they can't tame it or discover what it actually is, killing it only if it won't be tamed.
Le Démon is not actually his name, but even he hardly remembers his name, having not been addressed by it for so long. In fact, his memories of life before this nightmare began fade more with each day.
All he knows is that he is running out of time. There is an opportunity to escape this nightmare, but as quickly as his memories fade daily, so quickly the window closes daily.
What he needs to do is simple — as far as he's concerned — however, he has been frustrated in all of his efforts to do it, causing his hope to fade even faster than his opportunity.
If he cannot succeed in escaping this nightmare while the window is still open to him, then there is no hope. He doesn't want to be trapped in this nightmare forever. He has to escape, but chances are looking more toward him not being able to.
Pronunciations:
Tiegnais: t'yeghneigh
Rocaille-Alpages: rowkai ahlpahzhe
Le Démon: leh dehmoh
Thérèse Beaumont: tehrehz bohmoh
Château Montegnard: shahtoh mohnteggnahr
Évrard Guillory: ehvrahr gieohree
*does not correspond to 1536 A.D.
The novel begins on July 4.
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