DOI
https://doi.org/10.25772/jwv5-9068
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