Two sequels followed, titled Beyond the Dark Tower and Return to the Dark Tower. They were published in 2011 and 2015, respectively, each written only by Vargo and by Joseph Iorillo. In 2011, Nox Arcana's album The Dark Tower was released to accompany the books. Several of the tales share titles with Nox Arcana tracks.
The books follow the story of Lord Brom, a vampire who guards the menacing Dark Tower in the fictional Romanian town of Vasaria. His story is initially a Framing Device for the lore and history of Vasaria, but later books focus more on the main plot as Brom struggles to defend Vasaria from an Ancient Evil.
Not to be confused with The Dark Tower.
This series provides examples of:
- Absurdly Sharp Claws: All of the vampires have these. Mara uses them to entice and to draw blood. Brom uses them to scratch little crosses on the walls of the Catacombs to navigate them.
- Ancient Evil: The Sealed Evil in a Can beneath the tower is Mara, a vampire queen whose hideous reign of terror resulted in the gruesome deaths and torment of Vasaria's residents. This was already a centuries-old legend by the time the series starts, but the roots of this evil go back much further than that. Mara was actually the reincarnation of Lilith, the Queen of Demons who fled the Garden of Eden.
- Ancient Tomb: The catacombs beneath the Tower, a seemingly endless labyrinth of pitch dark corridors filled with wandering ghosts. Mara's tomb is at the end of it.
- …And That Little Girl Was Me: In the story called "Necromancer," Daria explains to Brom and Adrian that a witch named Elisandra taught the Baron how to practice necromancy. At the end of the story, it's revealed that the person telling the tale is not Daria. It's the ghost of Elisandra, and the bones on the altar are her own skeleton. Daria is her daughter.
- And Then John Was a Zombie: Brom became a vampire by choosing to kill the Baron, and became the new Lord of the Keep. He knows he's in danger of losing what's left of his humanity, just as the Baron did. He attempts to avoid this at all costs by refusing to drink human blood.
- Anthropomorphic Personification: Night and the Moon in "Born of the Night." Night is a black-winged male spirit of darkness itself, and he falls in love with the pale-winged female spirit of the moon.
- The Antichrist: Mara, in all but name. She intends to bring about an endless night so that the creatures of the night will rule the earth, and her reign will last for eternity.
- Arc Symbol: The Dark Tower rune, also called the "Realm Icon". It appears on the Tower doors, the floor of the entrance hall, the key that opens the catacombs, on the angel's armor, and other prominent locations. According to Vargo, it marks the Tower as the battleground between the forces of good and evil.
- Badass Cape: Brom wears one often, especially on the cover of the first book/the album cover. Borders on Black Cloak, because he is a vampire.
- Barred from the Afterlife: Most of the people who die in the Dark Tower are doomed to wander its halls for eternity. For example, in "The Ghost of the Sepulchre," the ghost of a woman named Gabriella is damned for having murdered her lover because he loved Mara. In reality, Mara forced Gabriella to watch her rip out his heart in her disdain for human love, and then blamed her for his death to keep the lovers apart in the afterlife. Only when Brom learns the truth can Gabriella's spirit join her beloved. Many of the other Dark Tower spirits have similar stories.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Brom is by far the nicest vampire in the series, but he absolutely wipes the floor with Remiel and the Black Dawn, effortlessly and ruthlessly slaying all the guards with just his claws and teeth. He also defeats the Beast, by himself.
- Biblical Motifs: Some Biblical apocrypha is incorporated into the story's lore. The Big Bad of the story is Mara, who is the incarnation of Lilith, the first wife of Adam and the Queen of Demons. The names of the three angels who bound Lilith (Sanvi, Sansavi, and Semangelaf) are used as a protective charm in Vasaria. The story of the Watchers from the Book of Enoch also forms part of the Dark Tower's backstory.
- Big Bad: Mara, the dead incarnation of an ancient demon queen, who attempts to use her demonic powers to rise again and take over the world.
- Black Magic: Appears throughout the series and in many different forms, most notably in "Blood of the Damned."
- Burn the Witch!: Burn the vampire. Burning is the way to get rid of vampires in this 'verse. Iliana is burned at the stake after the villagers realize she had been a vampire, though she had tragically regained her humanity by that point.
- Byronic Hero: Downplayed in the case of Brom. He's as dark and brooding as they come, tortured by his bloodthirst and the allure of Mara, and mourning the death of Rianna by his own hand. But, he holds fast to his chivalric ideals, and he is mostly successful at keeping his bloodthirst in check. The villagers eventually come to see him as a Friendly Neighborhood Vampire.
- Chekhov's Gun: The human skull in the claws of the Death Grip gargoyle, which is the skull of Mara's father. The heroes are able to use it to destroy her.
- Circle of Standing Stones: Three standing stones mark the boundaries of Vasaria. They are sacred monuments, bearing the names of Sanvi, Sansavi, and Semangelaf, which magically contain Lilith and her demons within the mountains.
- Corrupt the Cutie: Mara takes great pleasure in doing this to Maeve in "Sorrow's End." Maeve was originally a sweet and innocent young girl, but Mara preyed on her fear of marriage to manipulate her into using witchcraft to seduce a married man. An angry mob chases Maeve to the Tower, where Mara goads her into taking her own life. Her spirit remains stuck in the Tower cemetery.
- Creator Cameo: Brom's design
◊ is obviously based on Vargo himself.◊ - Creepy Cathedral: The chapel in the Dark Tower is a small, initially comforting room with stained-glass windows and a small votive candle kept burning. However, a closer look at the windows reveals that they depict sinister and twisted versions of Biblical stories.
- Creepy Cemetery: The cemetery inside the Dark Tower is eerie and full of ghosts, but its statues are of angels rather than devils, because Mara's magic could not touch hallowed ground.
- Creepy Crows: Crows and ravens are usually bad omens in this series. They infest the woods around the ominous tower, announce the arrival of intruders with their cawing, and fill the ballroom to feast on the carrion after Mara slaughters everyone in "Masque of Sorrow.". The ravens also serve whoever occupies the Tower; as Brom's servants, they're more neutral than evil. He uses them to remotely keep watch over the town.
- Dark Is Evil: Mara, Dravek, and the other vampires wear black. The Nightwatcher appears as a demonic entity with horns, claws, and bat wings. Most of the other monsters and gargoyles look similar. They are descendants of an original "brood" of evil Fallen Angels. These forces of darkness are constantly being fought by the noble, often religious protagonists.
- Dark Is Not Evil: Of course, it's Joseph Vargo writing these books, so the main protagonist is still a vampire who is confined to nocturnality and burdened by bloodthirst. His intentions remain noble, he avoids succumbing to his thirst, and he uses his vampiric powers for good.
- The Dark Side: The powers of Lilith and the Dark Brood that corrupt Vasaria, personified by Mara. Brom has to continually resist giving in to the temptation to drink human blood, because he knows that if he does, it will weaken his will, and evil will become impossible to resist.
- Deal with the Devil:
- Endora strikes a pact with Leshii, and seals it with sex. He promises that her daughter will rule the land. When her daughter is born, Endora sees a vision that her daughter will destroy humanity. In despair, she kills herself.
- Mara herself makes similar deals with those who desire her power, most notably Dravek. She also tricks Maeve into accepting one.
- Death and the Maiden: A motif that appears in much of Vargo's artwork, including "Vampire's Kiss," "Dark Desire," and "The Devil's Embrace."
- Demonic Possession: When Brom turns Rianna into a vampire, she becomes possessed by Mara/Lilith.
- Did You Just Romance Cthulhu?: Endora has sex with Leshii, a huge satyr-like Monstrous Humanoid, in exchange for his blessing. It backfires on her.
- Don't Go in the Woods: Surprisingly zigzagged. A thirteen-year-old Lorand explains to the reader that children of Vasaria spend all of their free time in the woods, and that "The children of the village know the woods as well as we know our fathers' fields and workshops." However, when Lorand gets lost in the woods at night, he is at the mercy of Savage Wolves, and has to be rescued by Lord Brom.
- The Dragon: Lord Dravek, Mara's second-in-command, a dangerous vampire who commands werewolves.
- The Dreaded: The occupant of the Dark Tower is this, and usually with good reason. However, Brom slowly subverts it as the series progresses and the villagers grow to trust him.
- Driven to Suicide:
- Twice in "The Witch of the Standing Stone." The King's first wife throws herself from a tower after being endlessly tormented by nightmares about Leshii, and Endora stabs herself after she learns that Mara will be pure evil.
- In "The Seventh Chalice," a young woman named Helena is thought to be the victim of a Human Sacrifice, but actually hung herself to prevent the spread of the plague to her town, making this a twisted version of a Heroic Sacrifice. Her father was so distraught that he stole a scroll of Black Magic and attempted a ritual to bring her Back from the Dead.
- Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette: Almost all of the main characters have dark hair and pale skin, including (but not limited to) Brom, Mara, Rianna, Serena, the angel, and likely Lorand. Two notable exceptions are Dravek, who has white hair, and Daria, who has red hair.
- Evil Laugh: Mara lets one loose when she's crowned Queen.
- Evil Mentor: The jester/ The Nightwatcher to Mara, who convinces her to kill her father and his subjects and take her place as the Dark Queen. She eagerly complies.
- Evil Is Not Well-Lit: It's not called The ''Dark'' Tower for nothing. It's also explicitly stated a few times that demons and vampires cannot abide light because they are inherently evil creatures. Even Brom perceives himself this way, despite being a Friendly Neighborhood Vampire by all accounts.
- Evil Overlord: Mara is a despotic vampire queen who rules through fear, seduction, manipulation, and feeding anyone who gets in her way to her monsters. After she's deposed by Aldis, she becomes Sealed Evil in a Can, and the Tower Lord must keep vigil to ensure that she does not rise again and use The Night That Never Ends to Take Over the World.
- Evil Sorceress:
- Mara to the core. She's an exceptionally powerful, ruthless vampire who uses her powers to corrupt and kill.
- Estra, Endora, and the crones are downplayed examples. They are powerful and feared, and they use ancient black magic, but they are more Ambiguously Evil than Mara is.
- Completely averted with Daria, a benevolent Last of Her Kind who continues to practice the ancient pagan religion of the region, and joins the heroes against Mara.
- Evil Sounds Deep: The Nightwatcher is described as having a deep voice.
- Evil Tower of Ominousness: The Dark Tower is an almost stereotypical example, being tall, dark, and imposing, and with a (deserved) sinister reputation.
- Fallen Angel: "Dark Desire" is a story about a Watcher who falls in love with a mortal woman. You know where this is going. He grants her eternal life by giving her some of his blood to drink, but this turns her into the first vampire. He's able to restore her humanity, but is not able to save her from the terrified villagers who burn her at the stake. It's implied that other angels did the same thing, and ended up as Lilith's Dark Brood. This particular Watcher ends up haunting the Priory, calling himself "Brother Talos."
- Framing Device: Brom's story acts as one in the first book. Most of the stories in the first book are the tower lore that Brom is researching. As the series goes on, Brom's story becomes the main thread, and the individual stories act more like chapters than stand-alone tales.
- Friendly Neighborhood Vampire: Lord Brom does everything he can to avoid drinking human blood and resist losing his humanity entirely. He eventually has a good relationship with the villagers, who come to trust him once they realize what he has sacrificed for their protection.
- Ghost Story: Multiple, including (but not limited to) "The Forgotten," "The Ghost at the Sepulcher," "Watcher at the Gate," and "Shadows."
- A God Am I: Mara's got one hell of a god complex.Mara: Worship me! I am no vague promise of salvation made by prophets of submission to pious fools! I am power, power to defeat all the forces of light.
- God Couple: Night and the Moon, apparently. Their children are various monstrous creatures.
- God Save Us from the Queen!: Mara, who ruthlessly terrorized Vasaria before her fall.
- Gorn: So much of it. Throughout the series, characters regularly get killed and drained of blood in the most brutal and graphic ways. One of the most disturbing stories is "Vesper Tolls," in which the Baron punishes a warlord for pillaging Vasaria by torturing and killing his men, and then hanging him upside down from the hammer of the bell, with the Realm Icon cut into his chest so the vampire bats will feed on his blood while he is swinging, helplessly.
- Haunted Castle: The Dark Tower, which is full of the spirits of people who died there. Many of them are wandering wraiths or stuck inside gargoyle statues.
- He Who Fights Monsters:
- The Baron officially loses the last of his humanity after he brutally punishes Walsegg, almost more than he deserved even for his heinous actions. By the time Brom meets the Baron, there isn't much human left in him.
- Brom is threatened with the possibility of this at the end of "The Beast Within," He sees a vision of himself taking over the world instead of Mara.
- Horned Humanoid: Leshii the Forest Lord appears as a half-man, half-beast with horns and red eyes. Some of the gargoyles and demons also appear this way.
- Human Sacrifice: Estra is offered as a human sacrifice to the Dark One, in exchange for the vial of his blood.
- If You're So Evil, Eat This Kitten!: To prove his allegiance to her, Mara demands that Dravek order the only woman who ever pitied him to be torn apart by wolves. This is after Mara promised not to hurt her.
- Interspecies Romance: Endora, a human witch, has sex with Leshii, a half-man, half-goat god.
- "Just So" Story: There at least three about the origins of vampires and night creatures. One is the story about Lilith and her Dark Brood of demons (from "Lilith"), who are outcasts from heaven bound within the region that contains Vasaria and the Tower. Another is the story of the Watcher who exchanged his blood with a human, and created the first vampire (from "Dark Desire"). The final one is the one about Night and the Moon and their romance (from "Born of the Night"), which spawns various dark creatures, but unlike the other two, this one is treated as a simple legend and not implied to have actually happened in-universe.
- Kiss of the Vampire: As depicted in Vargo's illustration "Vampire's Kiss", Brom sensually bites Rianna to turn her into a vampire.
- Knight in Shining Armor: Deconstructed. Brom started this way, but became a vampire after choosing to kill the Baron instead of leaving the Tower and continuing his life. He has no choice but to take up the Baron's vigil as the vampire lord of the keep.
- The Lost Lenore: Rianna dies early on in the series, in "Vampire's Kiss." She comes to the tower and begs to stay with Brom, so Brom bites her. When she reawakens as a vampire, she is possessed by Mara, and an angel implores Brom to kill her so as to save her soul. Brom frees Rianna from Mara's grasp, but she dies. Brom mourns Rianna throughout the series, forswearing human blood. Her ghost haunts the tower as the Watcher at the Gate, and she occasionally appears to offer support to Brom and her son, Lorand.
- Looks Like Orlok: The Baron is an ugly, bald, pointy-eared vampire.
- Love at First Sight: Brom and Rianna barely know each other, but make love after one conversation.
- Luke, I Am Your Father: Lorand, the thirteen-year-old boy whom Brom rescues in "Sanctuary", returns to the tower as an adult in "Bloodlines". He tells the story of his mother's death, and Brom realizes that Lorand is his son. Lorand does not learn his father's identity until "Guardian in Absentia", when Rianna's ghost tells him.
- Masquerade Ball: In "Masque of Sorrow", the king hosts one to celebrate Mara's coming of age. It ends badly. Unless you're Mara. She stains her dress black, covers herself in thorns, and poisons all the drinking goblets with a potion. The company all go mad, acting like whatever they're dressed as until they kill each other. It ends with ravens feasting on a massacre, and Mara is crowned the Dark Queen.
- Messianic Archetype: Brom. He saves all of humanity from Mara's endless night.
- Monster Clown: The jester-spirit (who is also the Nightwatcher) from "Masque of Sorrow," who manipulates Mara into taking her place as the Dark Queen. He appears in the "King of Fools" painting, sitting on a throne and holding the king's head on a pike.
- Murder the Hypotenuse: An interesting variant. The ghost in "The Forgotten" is a woman who was in love with a young man, but engaged to marry another against her will. She murdered her fiance and intended to run away with her lover, but he was blamed for the murder and confessed under torture, which resulted in his execution. The woman is Barred from the Afterlife for having murdered, and haunts his gravestone in her grief.
- Naïve Newcomer: Brom, initially. Despite warnings from Rianna, he goes to the Tower to fight the evil within it, having no idea what he's getting himself into.
- Necromancer: In the tale entitled "Necromancer," the witch Elisandra teaches the Baron how to conjure the spirits of the dead. The last spirit he conjures is her own.
- Nephilim: In "Dark Desire," vampires' origins are explained as being offspring of the corrupted children of Watchers and humans.
- The Night That Never Ends: Mara and the Black Dawn's ultimate goal is to bring about an eternal night, so night creatures will rule the earth.
- The Old Gods: The pagan gods that the witches worship.
- Leshii is explicitly one of them.note
- Night and the Moon (and their children) may also be Old Gods, if they are anything more than characters in a folk tale.
- Our Angels Are Different:
- A mysterious angel dressed in a knight's armor and with black wings approaches Brom to chide him for giving into his vampirism and biting Rianna. He appears again at the end of the series, to give Brom a pep talk before the final battle.
- Sanvi, Sansavi, and Semangelaf, the three angels sent to contain Lilith and whose names are used as a protective charm in Vasaria.
- The Watchers, see Fallen Angel.
- Night and the Moon are both beautiful winged figures, not explicitly confirmed to be angels, gods, or something in between. They may just be Anthropomorphic Personifications.
- Our Demons Are Different: The offspring of Lilith, called the Dark Brood, are fallen angels that live somewhere beneath the mountains. One of the most prominent demons is the Nightwatcher, a gargoyle-like creature that engineered Mara's rise to power and encourages Brom to help her rise again.
- Our Gargoyles Rock: The Dark Tower is covered in gargoyles, which contain the souls of the people who have died there.
- Our Ghosts Are Different: Ghosts appear all over the place, and are usually stuck on earth as restless spirits that haunt the tower. They may relive their past mistakes, mourn their lost loves, wait for revenge, or any other reason. One of the most notable ghosts is that of Rianna, the Watcher at the Gate, who occasionally appears to offer consolation to Brom or Lorand.
- Our Vampires Are Different: Vampires in this story are undead, immortal bloodsuckers that cannot bear the light and are tormented by an insatiable thirst for blood. Brom is able to go for long periods of time without blood, resist his cravings, and become a Vegetarian Vampire (but this is particularly hard for him to do). Vampires possess superhuman strength and speed, and they can see in total darkness, but only Mara exhibits any other powers. The first vampires were Nephilim.
- Our Werewolves Are Different: Called Vokodlak, werewolves are lesser vampires in lupine form that serve Dravek. Dravek's men become werewolves by drinking from a chalice of wolves' blood containing a drop of Leshii's blood.
- Overcome with Desire: Many characters, especially Night for the Moon (and vice versa), and the King for Endora. Also Serena and Lorand, to a lesser extent. They share a tender moment while they are imprisoned by Mara.
- The Paladin: Brom was one, when he first comes to Vasaria. He was a Crusader, and he originally went to the Tower to stamp out the evil that lives within it, because he considered it his holy mission. He tries his best to remain noble and dedicated to the cause of good even after becoming a bloodthirsty vampire.
- The Power of Blood:
- The blood of Mara's mother has the power to destroy her.
- Leshii's blood has numerous mysterious, dark powers, such as the ability to turn men into Volkodlak.
- Predator Turned Protector: The Lord of the Tower is a vampire who keeps vigil in the Tower to guard Vasaria against something far worse.
- Purple Prose: There's a lot of it. Partly justified by the gothic horror genre, which demands a little bit of purple, but Vargo's writing style (as opposed to that of the other contributors) can be easily identified by his copious use of this. It borders on
Narm on occasion. For example, the opening lines of "Crusaders," the first story of the second book:- Narrator: High above the small village of Merkova, the heavens rumbled ominously as monstrous thunderclouds billowed and churned, consuming the daylight in writhing blackness. The gathering tempest erupted furiously, unleashing violent waves of rain that pelted the meager hovels like an unending torrent of arrows.
- Raven Hair, Ivory Skin: Rianna, Mara, Serena, the angel, and Brom all have black hair and pale skin, and are considered attractive by other characters.
- Religious Horror: Most of the protagonists are devout Christians who face off against vampires and demons who are identified with the Devil and the Watchers. Brom and The Baron are vampires, but they manage to resist bloodthirst through their faith. The one time Brom succumbs, an angel appears to him to instruct him to kill his true love to cleanse her soul and postpone Mara's resurrection.
- Religious Vampire:
- Brom was a Crusader who considered the smiting of evil his holy mission, and keeps Rianna's rosary with him as a vampire.
- The Baron was a priest of all things, and also considered it his sacred duty to smite evil. He sacrificed his humanity to destroy Mara the first time, and continued to hold on to his faith even as he descends into monstrousness.
- Satanic Archetype: Leshii, the Forest Lord, a dark god that the ancient witches worshipped. He is often addressed as The Dark One, and his blood has disturbing magical powers. Leshii seems to be a local pagan god, as he is not explicitly connected to Lilith, the Dark Brood, or any other element of Abrahamic mythology that appears in the series. He is also not explicitly a God of Evil, and may just be amoral.
- Savage Wolves:
- The wolves in the forest around the Tower nearly eat Lorand, if Brom hadn't been there just in time to rescue him.
- The Volkodlak are this, which is why Dravek loves them so much.
- Sealed Evil in a Can: The remains of Mara's body and spirit are sealed in a tomb under the Tower, in the catacombs. The Lord of the Tower guards her to prevent her from rising again.
- Secret Circle of Secrets: The Black Dawn, an order of vampires that intends to bring about Mara's resurrection and an eternal night.
- Self-Made Orphan: Mara kills her own father in "Masque of Sorrow."
- Sexy Discretion Shot: Most characters get one (with a line about surrender or yielding or unleashing firey passions), with the exception of Endora and Leshii.
- She Is the King: Mara operates under the title of "Queen," but she prefers that Dravak and her other minions call her their "master."
- Solitary Sorceress: Daria lives by herself out in the woods near Raven's Hollow, like her mother and all her ancestors.
- Supernatural Aid: An angel appears to give Father Aldis the relic sword that he uses to kill Mara. The same angel appears to Brom with the same sword, so that he can do the same thing.
- Superpowerful Genetics: This seems to be the case for Daria and the other witches who live in Raven's Hollow. Technically, they're pagans who worship The Old Gods and had magic taught to them by the Watchers , but magical abilities are also passed down from mother to daughter. Daria mentions that she will lose a significant amount of power when her daughter is born, implying that it literally transfers from mother to daughter.
- That Man Is Dead:
- The Baron was originally a pious and heroic monk who sacrificed his humanity to destroy Mara. After he becomes a vampire, the noble priest called Aldis slowly gives way to the fearsome, bloodthirsty monster, until he has very little humanity left.
- After his own transformation into a vampire, Brom says this nearly word-for-word to Rianna.
Brom: I am lord of the keep now. The man I once was is dead. - The Time of Myths:
- The "Born of the Night" story about Night and the Moon seems to take place in such a time.
- The origin story of Lilith, the Dark Brood, and the Watchers also seem to take place in such a time, but it may be a subversion, as there is evidence that all of the events involving them actually happened.
- Town with a Dark Secret: Vasaria, a small village burdened by a sinister tower, smack dab in the middle of the domain of Lilith and her Dark Brood.
- True Companions: The band of heroes in the third book, including Brom, Lorand, Leonidas, Serena, and Daria.
- Überwald: Vasaria is set in a sinister, gothic version of medieval Romania.
- Undeathly Pallor: Brom, the Baron, Mara, Dravek, and other vampires all have unnaturally pale skin.
- Undying Loyalty: Dravek's, for Mara. Dravek remains loyal to his Queen for literally centuries, and would go to any lengths necessary to resurrect her.
- Vain Sorceress:
- Mara rises from the grave as a decaying lich, and almost instantly restores her beauty as soon as she is able.
- Estra is an ancient witch who uses magic to maintain beauty and youthfulness.
- The Vamp: One of Mara's main methods of attack is her seduction, to the point where young men were actually warned of her influence during her reign. While her body is entombed, she attempts to seduce Brom in his dreams more than once.
- Vampires Are Sex Gods: Zig-zagged. Mara plays this trope straight, but the Baron averts it, and Brom, while attractive, is not made sexier by vampirism.
- Vampire Monarch: As the reincarnation of Lilith, Mara is the queen of vampires and all dark creatures.
- Vegetarian Vampire: After he kills Rianna Brom resolves to never drink human blood again. He successfully manages to avoid it.
- Virtue Is Weakness: Mara holds human values in contempt, especially those of faith and love.
- White Hair, Black Heart: Dravek has long, white hair, and he is evil to the core.
- The Weird Sisters: The crones that raised Endora are three ancient women who know black magic, and even have a big cauldron.
- Ye Olde Butcherede Englishe: Not egregious, but Vargo does mix up "thee" with "thou" and "thy" with "thine."
