New Fiction Idea #19

Inspired by an unfocused glance over a part of my history book I actually didn't have to read. Barely even an idea at this point, but worth scribbling down.

Working Title: Carmine

Genre: Fantasy/Romance

Protagonist: Alizarin, a twenty-something man with shoulder-length indigo hair and an unassuming build. He's an excellent actor and quite charismatic. He has some training in magic, but it's limited so it doesn't prevent him from carrying out his job.

Other Main Characters: Cerise, Alizarin's preferred assassin. She has shoulder blade-length red hair and is quite attractive despite having muscle tone. She enjoys playing on others' lust, and she's also a very powerful sorceress and skilled assassin.
Alizarin has several other assassins with equally "colourful" names. [rimshot]

Antagonist: The local government, which has gone to great lengths to clamp down on the assassinations.

Setting: Mesopotamian-like, low-tech world. Magic is hereditary (though not weakened by non-consanguinous marriage) and always creates more energy than is used. Fantastic hair colours are the norm.

Plot: Alizarin's beloved national espionage organization has been hit hard by the security measures put in place by the opposing government. Only those with weak or no magic are able to get within a certain range of their leaders because of new barrier magic. But the spies have found another weapon: masks. By transforming their assassins into inanimate masks with only a small amount of magic radiating from them, they are able to get them inside the barrier. From there, the assistant (Alizarin) slips on the mask and transforms into the assassin. Once the deed is done, the assassin can return to mask form, bringing the assistant back. The story follows Alizarin in his dutiful assassinations and his growing attraction towards Cerise.

Point of View: Third person, limited to whatever character is appropriate.

The "red" theme is due to "Masque of the Red Death." Because Poe allusions automatically make a piece better, right?

(And where in the world is Carmine? Hehe)