...when the sun goes down, imaginations run wild...*
The following is a brief character sketch of Sebastian and what it means to be a vampire in Kee's world.
| Sadistic. Ruthless. Cruel. She heard the whispers amongst the servants, even those hardened by years of servitude to the most pitiless of masters. "Expect no pity," her old nurse rasped, caused from years of tending to the young, "for he will offer no quarter to your pain..." Sebastian is old: he has touched more than forty generations of life in over a thousand years of undeath. Even amongst his own kind, he is considered ancient. It is rare for a vampire to reach such an advanced age; politics, magical diseases, assassinations, blood-borne parasites...all play a part in dooming a race famed for its "immortality". Most of his kind live only for a few centuries, usually never more than three, or four, at the most. To survive in such a world, you need to be willing to do anything, without hesitation. Without regret. To survive, ultimately, you need a clade. Sebastian rules his clade with an iron fist, brooking no opposition from anyone. Most vampires are anti-social amongst their own kind, thus the bonds formed within each "house" are unique and (usually) untouchable, especially the bonds between a younger and the clade's elder. Around the turn of the last century, an unprecedented peace treaty was signed between a coalition of vampire clades and the witch's high council. Sebastian vehemently opposed the alliance; war had raged between the two groups for eons, and Sebastian's memory was especially long. But he was overruled, and the treaty was endorsed by representatives of both communities. A committee attempted to have him quietly assassinated. Sebastian got wind of the scheme, and none of the members were ever seen again - alive. Except for members of his own house, Sebastian is left alone by the wider vampire community and (by unspoken agreement) he leaves them alone. A thousand-year-old vampire can do a lot of damage if left unchecked... "A vampire has much in common with a cat. We are aloof and distainful of others, and bestow false affections upon those who would sate our hunger. We lounge carelessly during the daylight hours; our every need catered to by fawning slaves. As the sun fades from the sky, we are called to the hunt..." [Sebastian] |
These are the vampires that inhabit Kee's world: dark, deadly, and definately not sparkly! ;-) Sebastian and Kee are unlikely friends, drawn together by their respective relationships with Sina: Sebastian's past lover (and previously, his only witch friend), and Kee's grandmother. Sebastian is also Kee's patron, and silent partner in her business.
So, what do you think? Too predictable?
What do you like (or dislike) about vampires? Do you think the vampire in fiction has been done to death (pun intended ;-), or is he (or she!) just peaking in popularity?
*I've thought of my best ideas at night, just before falling asleep, hence the title and sub-title (plus I liked the sound of it!)
