Defense Date
2026
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Fine Arts
Department
English
First Advisor
SJ Sindu Sathiyaseelan
Second Advisor
Gretchen Comba
Third Advisor
Ross Collin
Abstract
Set in a city of Ottoman aesthetics carved deep into the earth, The Final Color is a dark fantasy novel following two estranged siblings, eighteen-year-old Salos and twenty-four-year-old Alara ibir Ferusha, as they work through the voids of grief, duty, abandonment, and belonging to rebuild their bonds while combating the spread of a cataclysmic curse. When Alara, a famed gladiator who creates Great Beasts from ink, kills her opponent during an arena match, she must flee as Salos’s world is torn apart. Hunted by a mysterious group of people called the Carved, Salos discovers his own magic with ink-weaving in his quest to reunite with his sister. The narrative ultimately interrogates the lengths to which memories and trauma impact the mending of a broken family, and if it is possible to rebuild familial bonds after years of tragedy, animosity, and ambition.
Rights
© 2026 Sarp Armağan Demiral
Is Part Of
VCU University Archives
Is Part Of
VCU Theses and Dissertations
Date of Submission
4-30-2026