The Vampire Chronicles
Encyclopedia
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
s by Anne Rice
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...
that revolves around the fictional character
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
Lestat de Lioncourt
Lestat de Lioncourt
Lestat de Lioncourt is a fictional character appearing in several novels by Anne Rice, including The Vampire Lestat. He is a vampire and the main character in the majority of The Vampire Chronicles, narrated in first person.-Publication history:...
, a French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
noble
Nobility
Nobility is a social class which possesses more acknowledged privileges or eminence than members of most other classes in a society, membership therein typically being hereditary. The privileges associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles, or may be...
man turned into a vampire
Vampire
Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...
in the 18th century.
Most of the books are in first-person
First-person narrative
First-person point of view is a narrative mode where a story is narrated by one character at a time, speaking for and about themselves. First-person narrative may be singular, plural or multiple as well as being an authoritative, reliable or deceptive "voice" and represents point of view in the...
perspective with only a few being in third-person. Interview With the Vampire
Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles
Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles is a 1994 American drama and horror film directed by Neil Jordan, based on the 1976 novel Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice. The film focuses on Lestat and Louis, beginning with Louis' transformation into a vampire by Lestat in 1791...
was made into a 1994 film starring Tom Cruise
Tom Cruise
Thomas Cruise Mapother IV , better known as Tom Cruise, is an American film actor and producer. He has been nominated for three Academy Awards and he has won three Golden Globe Awards....
, Brad Pitt
Brad Pitt
William Bradley "Brad" Pitt is an American actor and film producer. Pitt has received two Academy Award nominations and four Golden Globe Award nominations, winning one...
, Antonio Banderas
Antonio Banderas
José Antonio Domínguez Banderas , better known as Antonio Banderas, is a Spanish film actor, film director, film producer and singer...
, Christian Slater
Christian Slater
Christian Michael Leonard Slater is an American actor. He made his film debut with a small role in The Postman Always Rings Twice before playing a leading role in the 1985 film The Legend of Billie Jean...
and Kirsten Dunst
Kirsten Dunst
Kirsten Caroline Dunst is an American actress, singer and model. She made her film debut in Oedipus Wrecks, a short film directed by Woody Allen for the anthology New York Stories...
. Portions of The Vampire Lestat and Queen of The Damned both were used for the 2002 film Queen of the Damned
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...
, starring Stuart Townsend
Stuart Townsend
Stuart Townsend is an Irish actor and director. His most notable portrayals are of the characters Lestat de Lioncourt in the 2002 film adaptation of Anne Rice's Queen of the Damned, and Dorian Gray in the 2003 film adaptation of Alan Moore's The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.-Early life and...
and Aaliyah
Aaliyah
Aaliyah Dana Haughton , who performed under the mononym Aaliyah , was an American R&B recording artist, actress and model. She was born in Brooklyn, New York, and was raised in Detroit, Michigan. At the age of 10, she appeared on the television show Star Search and performed in concert alongside...
.
To date, The Vampire Chronicles have sold 80 million copies worldwide.
The Vampire Chronicles
- Interview with the VampireInterview with the VampireInterview with the Vampire is a vampire novel by Anne Rice written in 1973 and published in 1976. It was the first novel to feature the enigmatic vampire Lestat, and was followed by several sequels, collectively known as The Vampire Chronicles...
(1976) - The Vampire LestatThe Vampire LestatThe Vampire Lestat is a novel by Anne Rice, and the second in her Vampire Chronicles, following Interview with the Vampire. Many events in the two books appear to contradict each other...
(1985) - 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...
(1988) - The Tale of the Body ThiefThe Tale of the Body ThiefThe Tale of the Body Thief is the fourth novel in Anne Rice's The Vampire Chronicles series, following The Queen of the Damned. Published in 1992, it continues the adventures of Lestat, specifically his efforts to regain his lost humanity....
(1992) - Memnoch the DevilMemnoch the DevilMemnoch 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...
(1995) - The Vampire ArmandThe Vampire ArmandThe Vampire Armand is the sixth novel in Anne Rice's The Vampire Chronicles series.-Plot summary:With Lestat still in slumber after his adventures in Memnoch the Devil, the vampire coven is united around the "brat prince" , and the vampire David Talbot takes the opportunity to request that Armand...
(1998) - MerrickMerrick (novel)Merrick is the seventh book in Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles series. This book brings together Rice's vampires and the Mayfair Witches.-Plot summary:...
(2000) - Blood and GoldBlood and GoldBlood 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...
(2001) - Blackwood FarmBlackwood FarmBlackwood Farm is one of the more recent books in The Vampire Chronicles and The Mayfair Witches series, written by Anne Rice.-Synopsis:...
(2002) - Blood CanticleBlood CanticleBlood 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....
(2003)
New Tales of the Vampires
- PandoraPandora (novel)Pandora is a novel and a vampire in Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles. Her story is told in the book Pandora, one of two novels in the New Tales of the Vampires series.-Plot summary:...
(1998) - Vittorio the VampireVittorio the VampireVittorio The Vampire is the second novel in Anne Rice's New Tales of the Vampires series. It is the only vampire novel by Rice besides Pandora in which the lead character of her series The Vampire Chronicles, Lestat de Lioncourt, does not appear; although Vittorio references him briefly.-Plot...
(1999)
The Lives of the Mayfair Witches
The Vampire Chronicles and Lives of the Mayfair Witches had a few crossover novels making Lives of the Mayfair Witches part of the Vampire Chronicles world.- The Witching HourThe Witching Hour (novel)The Witching Hour by Anne Rice is the first novel in her series "Lives of the Mayfair Witches." The novel begins the tale of a family of witches, and a spirit that has guided their fortunes for generations.-Plot summary:...
(1990) - LasherLasherLasher by Anne Rice is the second novel in her series Lives of the Mayfair Witches.-Plot summary:The novel begins shortly after the mysterious disappearance of Dr. Rowan Mayfair, who only recently was married to contractor Michael Curry...
(1993) - Taltos (1994)
- MerrickMerrick (novel)Merrick is the seventh book in Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles series. This book brings together Rice's vampires and the Mayfair Witches.-Plot summary:...
(2000) - Blackwood FarmBlackwood FarmBlackwood Farm is one of the more recent books in The Vampire Chronicles and The Mayfair Witches series, written by Anne Rice.-Synopsis:...
(2002) - Blood CanticleBlood CanticleBlood 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....
(2003)
Vampiric properties
Anne Rice's vampires are different in several ways from classic vampires like DraculaDracula
Dracula is an 1897 novel by Irish author Bram Stoker.Famous for introducing the character of the vampire Count Dracula, the novel tells the story of Dracula's attempt to relocate from Transylvania to England, and the battle between Dracula and a small group of men and women led by Professor...
. Rice's creatures are not affected by the usual weapons against classic vampires: garlic
Garlic
Allium sativum, commonly known as garlic, is a species in the onion genus, Allium. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, and rakkyo. Dating back over 6,000 years, garlic is native to central Asia, and has long been a staple in the Mediterranean region, as well as a frequent...
, cross
Cross
A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two lines or bars perpendicular to each other, dividing one or two of the lines in half. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally; if they run obliquely, the design is technically termed a saltire, although the arms of a saltire need not meet...
es, and they cannot be killed with wooden stakes. Like classic vampires, most do choose to sleep in some form of coffin during the day because sun exposure can cause death/pain. Also, during the day, most "sleep", however, this differs from "mortal sleep" as: a) they become dead bodies, and b) the dawn often triggers their sleep against their will.
They need blood, but in some cases not every night (David Talbot suggests most "newborn" vampires must drink heavily everynight, himself included). Human blood is preferred as it is more nutritious, but animal blood can also be drunk. They do not age physically (instead becoming more "statuesque" as they age, developing very smooth, white skin), and in all but a few cases, vampires younger than a thousand years old can usually be killed by exposure to sunlight or fire.
They do not possess stereotypically "vampiric" magical
Magic (paranormal)
Magic is the claimed art of manipulating aspects of reality either by supernatural means or through knowledge of occult laws unknown to science. It is in contrast to science, in that science does not accept anything not subject to either direct or indirect observation, and subject to logical...
powers, such as changing into bats, but some of the stronger, older ones do have the power to fly. Most of them also have the power to read the thoughts of mortals and weaker vampires. They have other physical abilities: they have superhuman strength and speed and extremely keen senses. Very old vampires or ones who have been made or strengthened by feeding on blood that is close to the root of the vampiric mother may have additional gifts like the ability to move matter with the mind and the ability to set things ablaze by the force of will. They have many art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
istic talents, like singing, painting and acting, and a preternatural "understanding" of any type of problem, puzzle or machine. They also have the uncanny ability to almost perfectly mimic anything (movement, playing musical instruments, etc.).
The main characteristic of Rice's vampires is that they are all excessively emotional, sensitive, and sensual, being easy prey to intense suffering
Suffering
Suffering, or pain in a broad sense, is an individual's basic affective experience of unpleasantness and aversion associated with harm or threat of harm. Suffering may be qualified as physical or mental. It may come in all degrees of intensity, from mild to intolerable. Factors of duration and...
and aesthetic
Aesthetics
Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty, art, and taste, and with the creation and appreciation of beauty. It is more scientifically defined as the study of sensory or sensori-emotional values, sometimes called judgments of sentiment and taste...
passion
Passion (emotion)
Passion is a term applied to a very strong feeling about a person or thing. Passion is an intense emotion compelling feeling, enthusiasm, or desire for something....
s. They are supernaturally beautiful as vampires tend to make fledglings from humans they have grown to love, and the transformation from human to vampire enhances one's beauty.
The physical changes are apparent: their eyes become luminous, their skin pale and reflective and their fingernails are like glass. Furthermore, if their hair or nails are cut, they will grow back as they were when they "died" during their sleep. As they lose all natural bodily fluids, they are unable to have children.
In Pandora and The Vampire Armand, David Talbot makes the wry comment that with his entry into the pantheon, vampires have "evolved" somewhat, as David can see spirits, while all other vampires cannot. This can perhaps be attributed, however, to David's limited control over Candomblé
Candomblé
Candomblé is an African-originated or Afro-Brazilian religion, practised chiefly in Brazil by the "povo de santo" . It originated in the cities of Salvador, the capital of Bahia and Cachoeira, at the time one of the main commercial crossroads for the distribution of products and slave trade to...
spirits that he learned as a young mortal man.
When a human is turned by a vampire whose 'Dark Gift' has remained pure without ever having been passed on to others for centuries, the newly turned will be much stronger than normal vampires (as in the case of Lestat, who was turned into a vampire by Magnus)
Vampiric gifts
Those who have lived for more than a thousand years are by far the most powerful of the vampires; they are called the Children of the Millennia (including Khayman, Mekare, Maharet, Marius, Pandora, and Mael). After several hundred years, and depending on the strength of their maker, vampires begin to exhibit special powers, referred to by most of them as "gifts".- Mind Gift (the combined abilities of telepathyTelepathyTelepathy , is the induction of mental states from one mind to another. The term was coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Fredric W. H. Myers, a founder of the Society for Psychical Research, and has remained more popular than the more-correct expression thought-transference...
and telekinesis). This is the ability to communicate and read thoughts, especially of humans, and to move objects with the mind. This gift is used largely to obtain blood – since via telepathy a criminal or amoral human can be sensed, and many of Rice's vampires refuse to feed on the innocent, this allows them to identify their prey. It is impossible for a maker or fledgling to contact each other directly, although in some cases it is possible for a vampire to seek out their master/fledgling by looking through the eyes of those near their fledgling, or by hearing the thoughts of their master/fledgling through others in a relay effect. A vampire of sufficient power or age may also unwillingly 'hear' the thoughts of all the humans within range of this power, leading to an old vampire saying: "If you do not learn to silence the voices, they will drive you mad." Khayman of the First Brood possessed this level of telepathic power, but had trained himself to hear the multitude of thoughts as "one annoying noise." Older vampires may also possess the ability to move objects with the mind, as witnessed through Akasha's destruction of the Elder, or Akasha's habit of opening the doors to the tabernacle, and Marius' opening and unlocking the doors to Akasha's shrine in Blood and GoldBlood and GoldBlood 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...
..
- Spell Gift. Mentioned in Blood and GoldBlood and GoldBlood 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...
and Queen of the Damned, this gift allows a vampire to cloud the mind of a human, bending the human to his or her will. Marius employs the Spell Gift often, especially when employing humans to move Enkil and Akasha to a new location. Armand uses it almost exclusively to draw those who "wish to die" to him.
- Enhanced physicality and senses. All vampires have superhuman senses (sight, hearing, etc.) and strength, and are able to do things many times faster than humans can, with little or no effort. Eidetic memory from the moment of becoming a vampire seems to be natural, as Lestat tells David in Memnoch The Devil, however, memories of their humans lives, particularly those relating to sensation, fade over the years. They can move faster than the human eye can detect, see in the darkest of nighttime, pick one sound out of even the noisiest area, and raise the volume of their voice to painfully loud levels.
- Fire Gift. Another power usually only developed by a Child of the Millennia. This gift is known to be possessed by Marius, Akasha, Eudoxia, Thorne, Khayman, Lestat, Mekare and Maharet, and later the vampires Merrick Mayfair and Quinn Blackwood. With the Fire Gift, a vampire can set alight an object or being of their choice, for example, in Blood and GoldBlood and GoldBlood 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...
, when Akasha destroyed Eudoxia's body by fire, or in the film when she set fire to the vampires in bar and at the concert. Use of the gift on humans was performed by Lestat in Blood Canticle, when he set aflame gunmen on the tropical island. The Fire Gift is specially fatal to vampires, as the "changed" blood found within their bodies ignites easily, thus rendering them extremely vulnerable to fire.
- Cloud Gift (flight). Depending on the novels or the cinematic depiction, not all vampires have this ability. According to the books, LestatLestat de LioncourtLestat de Lioncourt is a fictional character appearing in several novels by Anne Rice, including The Vampire Lestat. He is a vampire and the main character in the majority of The Vampire Chronicles, narrated in first person.-Publication history:...
, though young by vampire standards, gains this ability after repeatedly drinking Akasha's blood. Quinn Blackwood was given the strength to use this gift by his maker, Petronia. Otherwise, flight is a power only exhibited by the Children of The Millenia. Louis, Gabrielle, and Santino are among a few that do not have this gift or are never mentioned having it. Most if not all vampires dislike or even hate flying, as they find it extremely unsettling due to it being a sign that they are truly no longer human.
- Killing Gift. Believed to be possessed by the eldest Children of the Millennia, like most gifts it comes with age. Known holders of this power are Akasha, Marius, Lestat, Maharet, Mekare, Khayman and Mael. This power was originally combined with the Fire Gift in Queen of The Damned, but by Blood & Gold Rice had decided the two powers should be made separate abilities. The exact nature of the power is unknown, but it seems to cause numerous fatal ruptures in the entire cardiovascular system.
- Immortality. Unless killed by one of the vampire's weaknesses, namely sunlight and fire, or an elder vampire's powers, it is said that they have the potential to live eternally. As they age they become more powerful and slowly their skin becomes whiter, smoother, and more reflective, resembling marbleMarbleMarble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
as seen with Akasha and Enkil, Maharet, Mekare, and Khayman. Lestat and Jesse Reeves share much of this ancient appearance due to receiving blood from Akasha and Maharet, respectively. During their immortality, vampires will sometimes go into a kind of hibernation, either because they have become mentally unbalanced from knowing what they have become, or because their surroundings have changed too much for them to cope with. This is hinted to usually happen within 100–200 years of being created, and is mentioned as the "dangerous time" by the elders. Many vampires commit suicide if they continually exist in the world, leading to Marius' telling Lestat that he should live out one lifetime pretending to be human and watching the world change. Maharet is the only vampire explicitly said to have never "gone underground"; she has lived, night by night, for over six thousand years, mainly by keeping the records of her mortal daughter's descendants.
- Rapid Healing. Vampires are immune to most attacks other than their known weakness and even then are apparently able to heal quickly, especially if they feed or are covered in vampire blood. All vampires can potentially heal from any non-fatal wound, including decapitation, as proved by Mael in Blood and Gold, but time and blood are needed. A bullet wound, for instance, would heal within seconds, but serious burns from a fire would require decades, if not centuries, to heal. However, the greater the damage done to them, the stronger they will be when they are fully healed. An influx of blood from a vampire, especially a powerful vampire, can greatly speed up the healing process.
Bianca Solderini
Bianca Solderini appears in The Vampire ArmandThe Vampire Armand
The Vampire Armand is the sixth novel in Anne Rice's The Vampire Chronicles series.-Plot summary:With Lestat still in slumber after his adventures in Memnoch the Devil, the vampire coven is united around the "brat prince" , and the vampire David Talbot takes the opportunity to request that Armand...
and 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...
.
Bianca is born in Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
in the late 1470s. She has sharp grey eyes and wavy golden hair, which she often interweaves with pearls. She is often described as a woman painted by Botticelli
Sandro Botticelli
Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi, better known as Sandro Botticelli was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance...
.
She lives a happy mortal life with her brothers until they die and she is forced to depend financially on her evil kinsmen who are bankers. They provide amply for her as long as she kills those who they instruct her to kill. She does this by opening her house to virtually all as an amicable and graceful hostess and secretly placing poison in the wine cups of those whom her kinsmen want dead.
She is a renowned Venetian
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
courtesan
Courtesan
A courtesan was originally a female courtier, which means a person who attends the court of a monarch or other powerful person.In feudal society, the court was the centre of government as well as the residence of the monarch, and social and political life were often completely mixed together...
when Marius
Marius de Romanus
Marius de Romanus is a fictional character in The Vampire Chronicles novels written by Anne Rice. He is the primary character in the novel Blood and Gold.- Fictional biography :...
comes to know her. Marius immediately falls in love with her and becomes obsessed with her, contemplating making her a vampire. A few years after the two meet each other, Armand arrives on the scene and also falls in love with Bianca. The three form an amiable sort of love triangle before The Children of Darkness, led by Santino, destroy Marius's palazzo
Palazzo
Palazzo, an Italian word meaning a large building , may refer to:-Buildings:*Palazzo, an Italian type of building**Palazzo style architecture, imitative of Italian palazzi...
, burn Marius and take away Armand.
After the burning, Marius, severely weakened, mentally calls Bianca to him. Marius makes Bianca a vampire so that she can bring him victims so that he can heal.
The two stay together for nearly two hundred years, caring for Those Who Must Be Kept
Those Who Must Be Kept
Those Who Must Be Kept are fictional characters in Anne Rice's The Vampire Chronicles. They are portrayed as the progenitors of all vampires, and are thus regarded as the "King and Queen of the Vampires"....
, before Bianca leaves Marius in Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
. She leaves because when talking to Pandora, Marius says that he would leave Bianca if it means having Pandora with him once more. Marius also does not tell Bianca that rumours of Pandora in Dresden are the only reason they moved there. It is not known where she went after leaving Marius or even whether she exists. The most recent sighting of her is by Armand in Paris in the early 19th century.
Anne Rice mentioned on her Facebook account on August 28, 2011 that Bianca is "still around".
David Talbot
David Talbot was Superior General of the secret organization the TalamascaTalamasca Caste
The Talamasca Caste is a fictional secret society described in the works of Anne Rice.- Background :The Talamasca Caste is described as a secret society set up to watch over and keep track of the paranormal, in particular, witches, spirits, werewolves and vampires...
, which researches and investigates the supernatural
Supernatural
The supernatural or is that which is not subject to the laws of nature, or more figuratively, that which is said to exist above and beyond nature...
.
David is introduced in The Queen of the Damned
The Queen of the Damned
The 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...
. He is an elderly man who meets both Lestat de Lioncourt
Lestat de Lioncourt
Lestat de Lioncourt is a fictional character appearing in several novels by Anne Rice, including The Vampire Lestat. He is a vampire and the main character in the majority of The Vampire Chronicles, narrated in first person.-Publication history:...
and Louis de Pointe du Lac
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...
at the end of the novel. Lestat taunts David, offering to turn him with his powerful vampire blood, which David soundly refuses. In The Tale of the Body Thief
The Tale of the Body Thief
The Tale of the Body Thief is the fourth novel in Anne Rice's The Vampire Chronicles series, following The Queen of the Damned. Published in 1992, it continues the adventures of Lestat, specifically his efforts to regain his lost humanity....
, it seems he and Lestat have become friends. After Lestat tries to end his immortal
Immortality
Immortality is the ability to live forever. It is unknown whether human physical immortality is an achievable condition. Biological forms have inherent limitations which may or may not be able to be overcome through medical interventions or engineering...
life by flying into the sun in the Gobi Desert
Gobi Desert
The Gobi is a large desert region in Asia. It covers parts of northern and northwestern China, and of southern Mongolia. The desert basins of the Gobi are bounded by the Altai Mountains and the grasslands and steppes of Mongolia on the north, by the Hexi Corridor and Tibetan Plateau to the...
, he visits David. He also seeks advice from David when Raglan James offers to switch bodies with him, though he doesn't listen to what David has to say. David helps Lestat regain his body. In the struggle with Raglan James, David switches into a much younger body, described as that of an Anglo-Indian
Anglo-Indian
Anglo-Indians are people who have mixed Indian and British ancestry, or people of British descent born or living in India, now mainly historical in the latter sense. British residents in India used the term "Eurasians" for people of mixed European and Indian descent...
with dark brown hair, while Lestat returns to his preternatural body. Lestat kills David's old body, which is possessed
Demonic possession
Demonic possession is held by many belief systems to be the control of an individual by a malevolent supernatural being. Descriptions of demonic possessions often include erased memories or personalities, convulsions, “fits” and fainting as if one were dying...
by James. In the end of the book, Lestat forces the blood upon David, making him his fledgling.
David becomes somewhat of a confidant to Armand, and eventually records the story of his life in The Vampire Armand
The Vampire Armand
The Vampire Armand is the sixth novel in Anne Rice's The Vampire Chronicles series.-Plot summary:With Lestat still in slumber after his adventures in Memnoch the Devil, the vampire coven is united around the "brat prince" , and the vampire David Talbot takes the opportunity to request that Armand...
. He is also described as having sexual preferences for young women and men, preferring men in The Tale of the Body Thief
The Tale of the Body Thief
The Tale of the Body Thief is the fourth novel in Anne Rice's The Vampire Chronicles series, following The Queen of the Damned. Published in 1992, it continues the adventures of Lestat, specifically his efforts to regain his lost humanity....
. David also appears 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...
, where he contacts the title character, who also happens to be part of the Mayfairs. In this book Merrick raises the spirit of Claudia
Claudia (The Vampire Chronicles)
Claudia is a fictional character in Anne Rice's The Vampire Chronicles series. She is one of the main characters in Interview with the Vampire, the first novel in the series...
for Louis. At the end it is revealed that Merrick has been using voodoo
Louisiana Voodoo
Louisiana Voodoo, also known as New Orleans Voodoo, describes a set of underground religious practices which originated from the traditions of the African diaspora. It is a cultural form of the Afro-American religions which developed within the French, Spanish, and Creole speaking African American...
to bring both David and Louis to her so she can attain eternal life
Eternal life (Christianity)
In Christianity the term eternal life traditionally refers to continued life after death, rather than immortality. While scholars such as John H. Leith assert that...
. This plan works, as Louis gives her the blood and makes her immortal. After he makes Merrick his fledgling, he tries to commit suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
by placing his coffin in the open where he would be burned to death when the sun rose. He nearly succeeds, but he is too old for the sun to end his life. David, Merrick, and Lestat find him and give him their blood to heal his burned form. Their combined blood makes Louis stronger than he had been before. The four then form a coven
Coven
A coven or covan is a name used to describe a gathering of witches or in some cases vampires. Due to the word's association with witches, a gathering of Wiccans, followers of the witchcraft-based neopagan religion of Wicca, is also described as a coven....
in New Orleans, but the Talamasca, enraged that two of their members had taken the blood, threaten the vampires and demand that Merrick be returned to them. Lestat wants to retaliate against the Talamasca, but David talks him out of doing anything rash, and the four leave their home in the Rue Royal.
Eric
Eric is mentioned only in The Queen of the DamnedThe Queen of the Damned
The 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...
and The Tale of the Body Thief
The Tale of the Body Thief
The Tale of the Body Thief is the fourth novel in Anne Rice's The Vampire Chronicles series, following The Queen of the Damned. Published in 1992, it continues the adventures of Lestat, specifically his efforts to regain his lost humanity....
.
Eric was made a vampire by Maharet around 1000 BC at the mortal age of twenty-nine. His origin and past-life is unknown. He survives Akasha's worldwide slaughter due to his immortal age of three thousand years and is one of immortals who had gathered at Sonoma to stand against Akasha. His first and only appearance is in Queen of the Damned where he came to Maharet, Jesse and Mael with his Italian companion, Santino, who argued with Maharet with telepathy. As they leave, Santino was furious and Eric confused because he did not understand their argument because, being Maharet's fledgling, he couldn't read Maharet's mind. It was also stated that there were times that he comes to visit Maharet, Mael and Jesse while bringing with him films from other countries and sometimes, joining the three in their singing. Being a vampire of 3000 years of age, he is very powerful, his skin is hard and as white as marble and therefore, couldn't easily burn under the sun. He is also described to have a youthful appearance and soft brown eyes. His brief conversations makes him out to have a deceptively fragile personality. His cowardice in particular made him stand out.
Gabrielle de Lioncourt
Gabrielle de Lioncourt makes her debut in The Vampire LestatThe Vampire Lestat
The Vampire Lestat is a novel by Anne Rice, and the second in her Vampire Chronicles, following Interview with the Vampire. Many events in the two books appear to contradict each other...
. She is Lestat's
Lestat de Lioncourt
Lestat de Lioncourt is a fictional character appearing in several novels by Anne Rice, including The Vampire Lestat. He is a vampire and the main character in the majority of The Vampire Chronicles, narrated in first person.-Publication history:...
mother and first fledgling. Gabrielle also becomes the first to leave him. She has yellow-blond hair like her son's and cobalt blue eyes with "too small, too kittenish" features, as Lestat described them, that "made her look like a girl."
Gabrielle came from a prosperous Italian
Italian people
The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...
family. She was educated and had traveled to and lived in many cities in 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...
. Then she was married at a young age to Lestat's father, the Marquis d'Auvergne. Gabrielle gave birth to seven children, but only 3 survived. Out of these sons, the youngest (Lestat), was to become her favourite. She and Lestat shared a special bond: they both were trapped in a place they hated and struggling endlessly to escape.
Gabrielle was cold and uncaring to everyone. She was the only person who was educated in her family and read her books every day, yet lacked the patience to teach her sons to read or write anything. Over the years she sold two of her heirloom jewels from an Italian grandmother to aid Lestat, the only person she loved and cared for. She lived life through him; he was the male part of her. She suffered a rapidly declining health due to bad winters and multiple childbirths. It eventually developed into tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
.
She funded Lestat's trip to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
with his friend Nicolas de Lenfent by giving him one of her rings to sell and advising him to hitch a ride on the postal carriage. Lestat became an actor there and was far happier than he ever was back home. He was grateful and loved his mother for all that she had done for him over the years so he sent letters to her telling her about his life in Paris. She encouraged his acting career, which gave him lot of strength. She carefully hid her rapidly declining health to keep him strong.
Lestat was made into a vampire by Magnus, and inherited near-inexhaustible wealth when Magnus killed himself in a bonfire. He repaid those who helped him with gold and indulged in his new-found wealth. To hide the truth from Gabrielle, Lestat told her tales of going to the Bahamas, marrying a rich woman and coming into vast wealth. Intrigued, she went to Paris to see her son before she died. Lestat went to see his mother the second night she was in Paris and tried to hide the truth from her, but she found out upon closer inspection of Lestat's changed appearance that he had become a vampire. When Gabrielle began dying right in front of him, a desperate Lestat made her a vampire.
Lestat was now the maker, parent, and teacher, while Gabrielle became the fledgling, the child and the student. Lestat took her to his tower where they lived happily for months. Things changed, however, when Lestat destroyed the Satanic
Satanism
Satanism is a group of religions that is composed of a diverse number of ideological and philosophical beliefs and social phenomena. Their shared feature include symbolic association with, admiration for the character of, and even veneration of Satan or similar rebellious, promethean, and...
cult headed by Armand, founded a theatre and made Nicolas into a vampire. After this, Lestat and Gabrielle went traveling around the world. Gabrielle became increasingly distant and cold to her son. They finally parted in 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...
just after the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
. Gabrielle went into the deep jungles 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 Lestat went underground to sleep for two years.
Gabrielle was off exploring the world on her own for the next 200 years. She did not reappear until 1985 (during The Queen of The Damned
The Queen of the Damned
The 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...
.) She was there to help her son fight against Akasha and help save the world. During this time, she developed a slight bond with Marius
Marius de Romanus
Marius de Romanus is a fictional character in The Vampire Chronicles novels written by Anne Rice. He is the primary character in the novel Blood and Gold.- Fictional biography :...
, but nothing became of it and she drifted away from everyone again. Gabrielle resurfaced for the last time after Memnoch the Devil
Memnoch 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...
, in The Vampire Armand
The Vampire Armand
The Vampire Armand is the sixth novel in Anne Rice's The Vampire Chronicles series.-Plot summary:With Lestat still in slumber after his adventures in Memnoch the Devil, the vampire coven is united around the "brat prince" , and the vampire David Talbot takes the opportunity to request that Armand...
while Lestat was in his catatonic sleep.
In the 2006 musical
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
, Lestat, Gabrielle was portrayed by Carolee Carmello
Carolee Carmello
Carolee Carmello is an American actress best known for her performances in Broadway musicals.She made her Broadway debut in a small role in City of Angels...
who was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical for her role. The show itself only lasted 39 performances.
Mael
Mael is mentioned briefly in The Vampire LestatThe Vampire Lestat
The Vampire Lestat is a novel by Anne Rice, and the second in her Vampire Chronicles, following Interview with the Vampire. Many events in the two books appear to contradict each other...
. Along with Marius de Romanus
Marius de Romanus
Marius de Romanus is a fictional character in The Vampire Chronicles novels written by Anne Rice. He is the primary character in the novel Blood and Gold.- Fictional biography :...
and Pandora
Pandora (novel)
Pandora is a novel and a vampire in Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles. Her story is told in the book Pandora, one of two novels in the New Tales of the Vampires series.-Plot summary:...
, he is one of the legendary ancient vampires. When Marius tells the young Lestat the story of his life, he says that Mael was the druid priest who abducted him to become the new "God of the Grove." Marius escaped.
Mael later returns in The Queen of the Damned
The Queen of the Damned
The 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...
. He is a companion to Maharet and also seeks to protect her mortal descendant Jesse. Mael is present when Maharet tells Jesse her story, when they later try to reason with Akasha
Akasha
Akasha is the Sanskrit word meaning "aether" in both its elemental and metaphysical senses.-Hinduism:...
, and when Mekare kills her.
The third appearance by Mael is at the end of Memnoch the Devil
Memnoch 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...
. Lestat went to Heaven and Hell with the Devil, Memnoch, and he brought back Veronica's Veil, causing chaos among mortals and bringing out many of the ancients. Mael tells David
David
David was the second king of the united Kingdom of Israel according to the Hebrew Bible and, according to the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, an ancestor of Jesus Christ through both Saint Joseph and Mary...
and Lestat that he is going to burn himself in the sun for God. Mael is an ancient and thereby too strong for the sunlight to kill him ordinarily, but he believes that the presence of the Veil negates his supernatural powers (but not his vulnerabilities). The final implication is that Mael dies as the novel ends, but it's revealed by Marius
Marius
Marius may refer to:* Marius , a male given name, a Roman family name, and a modern surname** Gaius Marius, Roman general and statesman.* Marius , on the Moon* Marius Hills, on the Moon* Marius , written by Marcel Pagnol...
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...
that Mael's suicide attempt is unsuccessful, "He was badly burnt and brought low, as can happen with us who are very old, and after one day in the sun, he hadn't the courage for more suffering. Back to his companions he went and there he remains."
He appears 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...
when Marius tells Thorne about his life, in which Mael is included.
Marius has just left Pandora
Pandora (novel)
Pandora is a novel and a vampire in Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles. Her story is told in the book Pandora, one of two novels in the New Tales of the Vampires series.-Plot summary:...
when he meets Mael and his maker Avicus in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, the city he moved to. When Marius had escaped and the old god had been killed (because they had Marius), Mael is chosen to become the new "God of the Grove". The druids find out about Avicus in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and they travel there. When they get there Avicus uses "the Mind Gift" on Mael and learns about Marius' escape. To give Mael "the Dark Gift" Avicus wants a victim and freedom, but it all ends up with that Mael is turned into a vampire and they escape together. Mael and Avicus become companions and eventually meet Marius in Rome, where they reveal all this.
There is a lot of anger between Mael and Marius while Avicus tries to keep them from fighting. They come to a peace where they all live in the city. Mael and Avicus keeps the city clean from The Children of Darkness, but one night Mael is injured and Marius agrees to help. Marius must give Mael blood so he can heal and then Mael sees visions of Those Who Must Be Kept
Those Who Must Be Kept
Those Who Must Be Kept are fictional characters in Anne Rice's The Vampire Chronicles. They are portrayed as the progenitors of all vampires, and are thus regarded as the "King and Queen of the Vampires"....
. Gradually they get to know more and more, and Avicus seems to have been made by Akasha before becoming "A God of the Grove". Mael is furious that Marius kept such an important secret to himself, about that Marius destroyed his belief and about the connection between Avicus and Marius. Marius eventually takes them to Those Who Must Be Kept
Those Who Must Be Kept
Those Who Must Be Kept are fictional characters in Anne Rice's The Vampire Chronicles. They are portrayed as the progenitors of all vampires, and are thus regarded as the "King and Queen of the Vampires"....
and Mael tries to drink from Akasha. Enkil does not like it and Marius saves Mael in the last minute from being killed by Enkil. Later when Rome is falling Marius goes to sleep and they try to wake him but do not succeed. A hundred years later they decide to leave for Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
and finally successfully awaken Marius. In Constantinople, they separate, and then Mael becomes Maharet's companion.
Magnus
Magnus was the vampire who sired the vampire Lestat in The Vampire LestatThe Vampire Lestat
The Vampire Lestat is a novel by Anne Rice, and the second in her Vampire Chronicles, following Interview with the Vampire. Many events in the two books appear to contradict each other...
.
Magnus is characterized by black hair and eyes of the same color. As a mortal, he was an alchemist
Alchemy
Alchemy is an influential philosophical tradition whose early practitioners’ claims to profound powers were known from antiquity. The defining objectives of alchemy are varied; these include the creation of the fabled philosopher's stone possessing powers including the capability of turning base...
. He was an old man when he trapped a vampire in chains and stole the Dark Gift/Blood for himself. That happened in the course of the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
. According to the "Old Queen" (Alessandra) of Armand's coven in Paris, Magnus was 300 years old when he made Lestat. He had never made any other vampire other than Lestat, which contributed to Lestat's considerable power when he was turned.
Over time, he was driven mad from his vampiric nature and immortality. He sought an heir to inherit the immense wealth that he had accumulated over the years before killing himself. Magnus searched for years for his heir. In his dungeon, he had hundreds of decomposing bodies stored in a room. These discarded bodies were the remnants of Magnus' search for a suitable heir. Every one of these "candidates" had blond hair and blue eyes, just as Lestat does. After choosing Lestat as his heir, Magnus leapt into a pyre he had made for himself (giving Lestat explicit instructions to scatter his ashes after he had burned up), and leaving Lestat to struggle and learn for himself of his new vampiric nature and its powers. Lestat would later lament that he learned "absolutely nothing" from the one who made him.
Santino
Santino is the leader of a covenCoven
A coven or covan is a name used to describe a gathering of witches or in some cases vampires. Due to the word's association with witches, a gathering of Wiccans, followers of the witchcraft-based neopagan religion of Wicca, is also described as a coven....
of Satanic
Satanism
Satanism is a group of religions that is composed of a diverse number of ideological and philosophical beliefs and social phenomena. Their shared feature include symbolic association with, admiration for the character of, and even veneration of Satan or similar rebellious, promethean, and...
vampire
Vampire
Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...
s, the members of which hold a common belief that they are meant to be the scourge of humankind. He approaches Marius de Romanus
Marius de Romanus
Marius de Romanus is a fictional character in The Vampire Chronicles novels written by Anne Rice. He is the primary character in the novel Blood and Gold.- Fictional biography :...
in Rome, some 500 years before Marius meets Lestat, and confronts him about the "father and mother
Those Who Must Be Kept
Those Who Must Be Kept are fictional characters in Anne Rice's The Vampire Chronicles. They are portrayed as the progenitors of all vampires, and are thus regarded as the "King and Queen of the Vampires"....
", whom Marius has been thinking of. This startles Marius greatly, as he is much older than Santino, so reading his mind should be impossible, He decides to scare the young Santino, by setting his cloak on fire and telling him to leave.
Marius does not hear of Santino again until sometime later, when Mael
Mael
* Mael is a celtic name* Mael is a character from The Vampire Chronicles.* Mael is the second name of two brothers who are the leading members of Sparks, Ron and Russell.* Mael is a sea god in Steven Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen....
tells Marius of his meeting with Santino. Santino and his satanic coven ultimately attack Marius' Venetian home, his followers burning his house and killing some of the boys he harbors. Marius is badly burned from this incident and his fledgling Armand is taken, along with a number of Marius's boys. The coven burns the boys alive in a giant fire. Santino rescues Armand, claiming to his followers that the young fledgling has a heart for God.
Armand does not come over to the darker life of the coven so easily though. With the help of his follower Alessandra they keep Armand locked up in their crypt, starving him for days before allowing him to feed. Eventually Armand gives in and is accepted as Santino's apprentice. After some time Armand is chosen to become the leader of the Paris coven, whose former leader went into the fire. Alessandra picks the name Armand for him as a new name and goes with him to Paris.
Santino is not heard of again until in the novel The Queen of the Damned
The Queen of the Damned
The 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...
where he comes with Eric to Maharet's place, meeting Jesse who is still human at that time and where he accompanies Pandora
Pandora (novel)
Pandora is a novel and a vampire in Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles. Her story is told in the book Pandora, one of two novels in the New Tales of the Vampires series.-Plot summary:...
to rescue Marius from the icy wall Akasha has entrapped Marius in, possibly hoping to redeem himself in his eyes for the wrongs he had done to the elder. After the events of Queen of the Damned, he stays for a time on Armand's Night Island, occasionally playing chess with Armand. He is also mentioned in The Vampire Armand
The Vampire Armand
The Vampire Armand is the sixth novel in Anne Rice's The Vampire Chronicles series.-Plot summary:With Lestat still in slumber after his adventures in Memnoch the Devil, the vampire coven is united around the "brat prince" , and the vampire David Talbot takes the opportunity to request that Armand...
, when Armand, after going into the sun sees both his old master and his old coven master destroying evidence the humans had of vampires existing.
Marius never takes his revenge against Santino for destroying his life in Venice and taking his Armand from him (at first because he doesn't have the opportunity and later because the new vampire queen forbids vampires from killing each other, as their numbers are low). Marius harbors a deep hatred for Santino, and centuries later tells his story to a vampire companion named Thorne. When Marius and Thorne met Santino, Thorne slays Santino with the Fire Gift so that Marius' heart will be at rest. This results in Thorne's confinement.
Thorne
Thorne is a vampireVampire
Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...
who appears in the novel 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...
, which details the life of the vampire Marius de Romanus
Marius de Romanus
Marius de Romanus is a fictional character in The Vampire Chronicles novels written by Anne Rice. He is the primary character in the novel Blood and Gold.- Fictional biography :...
. Thorne is a Viking warrior originally called Thornevald that is sent to slay a vampire-witch that has been killing villagers and stealing their eyes. Thorne finds the vampire and learns that she has no eyes of her own, and must take eyes from her victims to see. After a time, the mortal eyes wear out in her immortal body and she must take another pair from one of her victims. This vampire is Maharet
Maharet and Mekare
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...
, one of the most ancient vampires and the story of how she lost her eyes is recounted in The Queen of the Damned
The Queen of the Damned
The 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 does not slay Thorne but turns him into a vampire and keeps him as her companion. Soon the pair are joined by other vampires, including the druid vampire Mael
Mael
* Mael is a celtic name* Mael is a character from The Vampire Chronicles.* Mael is the second name of two brothers who are the leading members of Sparks, Ron and Russell.* Mael is a sea god in Steven Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen....
, who shares an uneasy friendship with Marius. Jealous of Maharet's attentions to the other vampires, Thorne eventually leaves her. He lies asleep for centuries in the ice of the far north, his jealousy gradually growing into a mad obsession. He is awakened by the events of the novel The Queen of the Damned
The Queen of the Damned
The 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...
. Marius makes contact with him using the Mind Gift, a form of telepathy. Thorne journeys south and finds Marius in a large city near the Arctic Circle. Marius enjoys it here as the noonday darkness allows him to live more like a normal person. Marius takes him to his home and discovers that Thorne still harbors a jealous rage for Maharet. Knowing that Maharet could easily destroy Thorne in a battle, Marius tries to dissuade him from his suicidal obsession and begins to recount his life story to Thorne. Marius' story accounts for the bulk of the novel. Thorne politely listens to Marius' account of his life and what he has learned as a vampire. Thorne is particularly interested in the story of the brutal attack on Marius by the vampire Santino and his Satanic cult of followers, who burn Marius in his house and kidnap his apprentice Armand.
At the end of the tale Thorne questions Marius why he has not taken revenge on Santino and offers to help kill him. Marius explains that Maharet now rules the vampires as regent for her mute sister, Mekare, and Maharet forbids it. Marius pleads with Thorne to forget the past and talk of revenge, but Thorne still insists on Marius taking him to see Maharet. Marius reluctantly agrees and the pair are mysteriously whisked away. They awaken in a jungle location, where Maharet lives in seclusion with her sister, the new Queen of the Damned. Several other vampires are present, including Pandora, Marius' long lost love; Armand; and Santino. After a brief, bitter discussion, Marius admits that he still wishes to kill Santino. However, he will not because Maharet forbids it, and Marius believes that for Maharet's rule over the vampires to be valid, all vampires must obey her. Thorne abruptly kills Santino himself and then attacks Maharet in a jealous rage. Mekare comes to her sister's aid and easily pulls Thorne away. Thorne, knowing he is undone, whispers a request to the mute Queen as they struggle and she complies. Mekare removes Thorne's eyes from their sockets and hands them to Maharet. Maharet accepts the gift and binds Thorne with ropes made of her hair, the only material strong enough to hold a vampire. Thorne ends the novel as Maharet's eternal prisoner, but he is happy knowing that the object of his obsession will always be near him, and that her new eyes will last her forever.