Maharet and Mekare
Encyclopedia
Maharet and Mekare are two characters from Anne Rice
's The Vampire Chronicles
.
Story as told in The Queen of the Damned
Maharet and Mekare were twin
sisters and powerful witches living in a beautiful valley not far from Egypt
six thousand years ago. They had curly red hair and green eyes. They were hereditary witches who could communicate with spirits. This attracted the attention of Akasha, the young queen of Kemet (now known as Egypt), who sent them an invitation to visit her when they were sixteen years old. They refused, sensing something ominous about the request.
Akasha's next request came in the form of violence, when the twins were performing cannibalistic funeral rites for their mother. The queen, who had made a policy of stamping out ritual cannibalism, sent soldiers to their village, killing everyone in their path and dragging the sisters away.
When the twins arrived in Kemet, they were looked on in awe and fear by all who saw them. These people had never seen red hair, and twins were taboo in the country. They answered with truth all the questions about spirits and gods put to them by the Queen. However, as their answers did not fit with Akasha's beliefs, they were labelled as blasphemers and were thrown into jail. The next morning, the Queen sent and put the same questions to them. Mekare called on a mischievous spirit named Amel, against the wishes of her sister, to display her power. This terrified the queen and her husband, King Enkil, and the twins were thrown into jail again for three nights and days before they received their punishment.
Their punishment was to be raped by the King's steward, Khayman
, in front of the whole court. Khayman was not one to accept violence and hated to do the task, but nonetheless had to obey his sovereigns' orders. The sisters were allowed to go home after the rape.
After a difficult time, Maharet and Mekare eventually returned to their homeland, and there Maharet bore a child, Miriam, from Khayman's rape. The sisters put their trials behind them, and settled in to rebuild their life in the valley. But their peace was shattered a year later when Khayman arrived with an army. He took them back to Kemet, and on the journey there told them what had happened since their departure.
The spirit Amel, furious at the humiliation of the twins, had run amok. He pestered the king and queen day and night, throwing and knocking things over, driving the pair mad. It had also been tormenting Khayman for his part in the rape, ripping his house apart and unearthing his father's body from its tomb. The nobles were displeased with their monarchs for bringing this trouble on them, and had plotted to kill them. The nobles had followed the royal couple to Khayman's house, where they were pleading with the spirit to let them be, and attacked them. But somehow Akasha and Enkil had survived, and all the nobles had been killed. Since then, the King and Queen had only been seen at night, and would not leave their palace. People were disappearing, and Khayman had resolved to bring the twins back in hopes that they could put an end to all these troubles.
Upon reaching Kemet, the twins learn what has happened. Amel had developed a taste for blood, and one of his favorite torments was pricking people and causing them to bleed. Akasha and Enkil had been stabbed, and as they lay bleeding to death, the spirit of Amel could be seen in the form of droplets of blood. The spirit was seen to dive into Akasha's body, and she was somehow regenerated in a new form. Akasha fell upon Enkil, draining him of the blood that was left, and then feeding him her own. They were the first blood-drinkers.
Akasha and Enkil had summoned the twins in the hope that the witches could enlighten them on the form that they had taken, and how they could satisfy their endless thirst for blood. The twins were of little help, however, and were thrown into jail to be put to death the next evening, but not before Mekare's tongue and Maharet's eyes were cut out.
Three hours before dawn, Khayman came to them in despair. He had been betrayed by his king and queen, who had turned on him and made him one of them to test their new abilities. He made Mekare into a blood-drinker, and in turn she made Maharet into one. They escaped the prison and made more blood-drinkers as they went, hoping to create an army to defeat the evil king and queen. These later became known as the First Brood.
Several weeks later, they were captured in Saqqara. The twins were put into stone coffins, and set adrift in the ocean, Mekare to the west, Maharet to the east. Maharet landed on the southern coast of Africa
, and wandered for the next six millennia, tracking the bloodline of her daughter Miriam and searching for Mekare. It is not known for sure what became of Mekare, but pictures were found thousands of years later in South America
of a red-haired woman. Similar pictures had been found in Africa. Maharet and others suspected that Mekare had gone wild and spent all that time in the jungles, avoiding civilization.
Khayman wandered throughout Europe
, losing his memory every few centuries. He did not see the twins again until Queen of the Damned, when Akasha brings them together in California. There, the vampires defeated Akasha. Mekare consumed Akasha's heart and brain, replacing her as the new Queen of the Damned.
, when she chains Lestat in a monastery after he goes mad from his latest adventure. She also appears briefly in Merrick
when she is said to have offered Louis
her powerful blood only to be turned down. She appears again in Blood and Gold
, where she receives new eyes at the end, and one more time through the use of email in Blood Canticle
offering her assistance to Lestat and Mona Mayfair
in tracking down the Taltos. In the 2001 film, Queen of the Damned (film)
only Maharet makes an appearance, her sister is nowhere to be seen, and Maharet has no ailment such as she has in the books.
Anne Rice
Anne Rice is a best-selling Southern American author of metaphysical gothic fiction, Christian literature and erotica from New Orleans, Louisiana. Her books have sold nearly 100 million copies, making her one of the most widely read authors in modern history...
's The Vampire Chronicles
The Vampire Chronicles
The Vampire Chronicles is a series of novels by Anne Rice that revolves around the fictional character Lestat de Lioncourt, a French nobleman turned into a vampire in the 18th century....
.
Story as told in The Queen of the DamnedThe Queen of the DamnedThe Queen of the Damned is the third novel of Anne Rice's The Vampire Chronicles series. It follows Interview with the Vampire and The Vampire Lestat...
Maharet and Mekare were twinTwin
A twin is one of two offspring produced in the same pregnancy. Twins can either be monozygotic , meaning that they develop from one zygote that splits and forms two embryos, or dizygotic because they develop from two separate eggs that are fertilized by two separate sperm.In contrast, a fetus...
sisters and powerful witches living in a beautiful valley not far from Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
six thousand years ago. They had curly red hair and green eyes. They were hereditary witches who could communicate with spirits. This attracted the attention of Akasha, the young queen of Kemet (now known as Egypt), who sent them an invitation to visit her when they were sixteen years old. They refused, sensing something ominous about the request.
Akasha's next request came in the form of violence, when the twins were performing cannibalistic funeral rites for their mother. The queen, who had made a policy of stamping out ritual cannibalism, sent soldiers to their village, killing everyone in their path and dragging the sisters away.
When the twins arrived in Kemet, they were looked on in awe and fear by all who saw them. These people had never seen red hair, and twins were taboo in the country. They answered with truth all the questions about spirits and gods put to them by the Queen. However, as their answers did not fit with Akasha's beliefs, they were labelled as blasphemers and were thrown into jail. The next morning, the Queen sent and put the same questions to them. Mekare called on a mischievous spirit named Amel, against the wishes of her sister, to display her power. This terrified the queen and her husband, King Enkil, and the twins were thrown into jail again for three nights and days before they received their punishment.
Their punishment was to be raped by the King's steward, Khayman
Khayman
Khayman is a fictional character in The Vampire Chronicles universe created by Anne Rice. One of the oldest vampires at nearly six thousand years old, he appears in very few of the books in the series, but is nevertheless considered a powerful force among their number...
, in front of the whole court. Khayman was not one to accept violence and hated to do the task, but nonetheless had to obey his sovereigns' orders. The sisters were allowed to go home after the rape.
After a difficult time, Maharet and Mekare eventually returned to their homeland, and there Maharet bore a child, Miriam, from Khayman's rape. The sisters put their trials behind them, and settled in to rebuild their life in the valley. But their peace was shattered a year later when Khayman arrived with an army. He took them back to Kemet, and on the journey there told them what had happened since their departure.
The spirit Amel, furious at the humiliation of the twins, had run amok. He pestered the king and queen day and night, throwing and knocking things over, driving the pair mad. It had also been tormenting Khayman for his part in the rape, ripping his house apart and unearthing his father's body from its tomb. The nobles were displeased with their monarchs for bringing this trouble on them, and had plotted to kill them. The nobles had followed the royal couple to Khayman's house, where they were pleading with the spirit to let them be, and attacked them. But somehow Akasha and Enkil had survived, and all the nobles had been killed. Since then, the King and Queen had only been seen at night, and would not leave their palace. People were disappearing, and Khayman had resolved to bring the twins back in hopes that they could put an end to all these troubles.
Upon reaching Kemet, the twins learn what has happened. Amel had developed a taste for blood, and one of his favorite torments was pricking people and causing them to bleed. Akasha and Enkil had been stabbed, and as they lay bleeding to death, the spirit of Amel could be seen in the form of droplets of blood. The spirit was seen to dive into Akasha's body, and she was somehow regenerated in a new form. Akasha fell upon Enkil, draining him of the blood that was left, and then feeding him her own. They were the first blood-drinkers.
Akasha and Enkil had summoned the twins in the hope that the witches could enlighten them on the form that they had taken, and how they could satisfy their endless thirst for blood. The twins were of little help, however, and were thrown into jail to be put to death the next evening, but not before Mekare's tongue and Maharet's eyes were cut out.
Three hours before dawn, Khayman came to them in despair. He had been betrayed by his king and queen, who had turned on him and made him one of them to test their new abilities. He made Mekare into a blood-drinker, and in turn she made Maharet into one. They escaped the prison and made more blood-drinkers as they went, hoping to create an army to defeat the evil king and queen. These later became known as the First Brood.
Several weeks later, they were captured in Saqqara. The twins were put into stone coffins, and set adrift in the ocean, Mekare to the west, Maharet to the east. Maharet landed on the southern coast of Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, and wandered for the next six millennia, tracking the bloodline of her daughter Miriam and searching for Mekare. It is not known for sure what became of Mekare, but pictures were found thousands of years later in South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
of a red-haired woman. Similar pictures had been found in Africa. Maharet and others suspected that Mekare had gone wild and spent all that time in the jungles, avoiding civilization.
Khayman wandered throughout Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, losing his memory every few centuries. He did not see the twins again until Queen of the Damned, when Akasha brings them together in California. There, the vampires defeated Akasha. Mekare consumed Akasha's heart and brain, replacing her as the new Queen of the Damned.
Further appearances
Maharet makes a brief appearance at the end of Memnoch the DevilMemnoch the Devil
Memnoch the Devil is the fifth novel in Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles series, following The Tale of the Body Thief. Some of the themes of this novel and in large part the title are re-borrowed from the old Irish gothic novel Melmoth the Wanderer.In this story, Lestat is approached by the Devil...
, when she chains Lestat in a monastery after he goes mad from his latest adventure. She also appears briefly in Merrick
Merrick
-Arts and entertainment:* Zack Merrick , Bassist in band All Time Low* Bryn Merrick , British guitarist with The Damned* Dave Merrick , American oil-on-canvas artist* David Merrick , American theatre producer...
when she is said to have offered Louis
Louis de Pointe du Lac
Louis de Pointe du Lac is a fictional character in Anne Rice's The Vampire Chronicles series. He began his life as a mortal man, and later became a vampire. He is the protagonist and antihero of Interview with the Vampire, the first book of The Vampire Chronicles...
her powerful blood only to be turned down. She appears again in Blood and Gold
Blood and Gold
Blood and Gold is the eighth book in Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles series.-Plot summary:The book begins with an ancient vampire of Nordic descent awaking after being frozen in a block of ice for hundreds of years. The vampire, Thorne, meets Marius de Romanus and inquires about Marius' past...
, where she receives new eyes at the end, and one more time through the use of email in Blood Canticle
Blood Canticle
Blood Canticle is a novel by Anne Rice in which she combines the new characters from her novel Blackwood Farm with those from her previous novels in The Vampire Chronicles and The Lives of the Mayfair Witches trilogy....
offering her assistance to Lestat and Mona Mayfair
Mona Mayfair
Mona Mayfair is a fictional character in several novels by Anne Rice, including Witching Hour, Lasher, Taltos, Blackwood Farm and Blood Canticle. She is the fourteenth witch of the Mayfair clan, and also the Designée of the Mayfair Legacy.-Background:She was born around 1983. She has an obsession...
in tracking down the Taltos. In the 2001 film, Queen of the Damned (film)
Queen of the Damned (film)
Queen of the Damned is a 2002 film adaptation of the third novel of Anne Rice's The Vampire Chronicles series, The Queen of the Damned, although the film contains many plot elements from the latter novel's predecessor, The Vampire Lestat. It stars Aaliyah as the vampire queen Akasha, and Stuart...
only Maharet makes an appearance, her sister is nowhere to be seen, and Maharet has no ailment such as she has in the books.