|
Queen of Nightmares ~ Mother of all Darkness ~ Sweet Darkness
|
|
Belle Morte ~ Beautiful Death
|
|
Mr. Oliver ~ Earthmover (Deceased)
|
|
|
|
Morte d' Amour ~ Lover of Death
|
|
|
All vampires are subject to the rule of The Vampire Council, a group of exceptionally old and extraordinarily
powerful Master Vampires. Although to consider them just Master Vampires is to appraise Babe Ruth as
just a ballplayer, they are The Council.
|
|
The Council home is Paris, France. They decide the rules for Vampires and which of them will send out
their line to make more Vamps. They reign though power which begets fear, which is augmented by tradition.
|
|
The Sweet Darkness is leader of The Council. She appears to be the most powerful member, and the council
hierarchy is based on strength and ruthless. There is conflict within the commission, jealousy, and hatred.
They work together because they must or they would destroy each other. The Sweet Darkness, Morte d' Amour,
and the Dragon are rarely seen any more, they have withdrawn inside the council chambers.
|
|
The majority of powerful Master Vampires are European and centuries old. Their concept of loyalty derives
from a time when people would see acting against a lord they owe allegiance to as treason. This revulsion
to defying the fountain head of their bloodlines serves to compel Vampires to support Council members
regardless of their actions.
|
|
Queen of Nightmares ~ Mother of all Darkness
|
|
|
The Queen of Nightmares is called by many names. She is more then the leader of the Council, she is
its initiator and the founder of the Vampire civilization, the one who gave them their rules. At one
time Vampires were solitary rouges killing each other on sight. The Sweet Darkness stopped this wanton
carnage.
|
|
She is also called the Mother of all Vampires. Jean-Claude says it does not matter if she is the originator
of all Vampires or their cultural Mother for she is the creator of all they are, "She is our Mother in
all ways that are important." Known as the Primordial Abyss made flesh, she is ancient and may have been
the first Vampire.
|
|
|
She is more then just a Vampire, she is also a shape-shifter, as are her children, her personal servants.
This is supposed to be impossible yet Anita feels her distinctly as a Vampire and as a shifter, a great
cat with supper long fangs. The Mother of all Darkness once walked the earth and fed, she is terrifying
and the reason humans fear the dark. She is frightening enough to scare Belle Mort. Anita sees her as
a black ocean of despair, towering over all creation threatening to wipe out every hope. Anita can tell
her intellect is cold and evil, she believes Mother Gentle to be the purest sociopath to ever walk the
earth.
|
|
As for now she sleeps in her chambers, as do her servants, all but the six Belle has awakened. This
may be less a sign of Belle's power then an awakening Queen. Her fragrance is like a perfect summer night.
Yet when Anita asks who do the soulless pray to, Queen of Nightmares answers, "Me".
|
|
Belle-Morte ~ Beautiful Death
|
|
|
Belle Morte is pale skinned with long dark hair. Her eyes are pale brown, but shine with a dark honey
light when she is using her powers. Her line of vampires must deal with the arduer, they all are very
sexual. Jean-Claude has the rare ability to feed off of sex, Asher can cause an orgasm with his bite,
and others just crave it or are very good at it in all its manifestations.
|
|
While Anita was feeding the arduer with Jean-Claude, Asher, Jason and Nathaniel, Belle entered Anita's
body and controlled it. Once Anita had satisfied the arduer she was able to cast out Belle Morte and
keep her out. Whenever Belle uses her powers, Anita smells roses.
|
|
|
Belle Mort is able to inhabit and use the body of Musette, her vessel, whom she sends to St. Louis.
Musette is a Vampire's boogieman. All fear her; however, since Belle's line is built on sex it is customary
to offer them sex partners when they visit, even if they are scary.
|
|
Belle Morte passes the arduer to the Vampires in her line. At one time her prodigy where thought to
be demons and called Incubus if male or Succubus for a woman. The arduer is a necessity to feed from
lust, but it does not have to include intercourse. It is a hunger that can never be sated, but if fed
sexual energy it can be controlled.
|
Anita first displays the arduer after the marks are married between her, Jean-Claude and Richard. Jean-Claude
began immediately trying to teach her how to control the hunger for lust. However, he also encouraged
her to take other lovers, and to take Nathanial as a sexual Pomme de Sang. He knows he can not always
be there to feed her erotic appetite and the longer she denies herself the more likely she is to lose
complete control. He had been at the mercy of the arduer for five years before Belle Morte taught him
control.
|
Willie's smile was almost gentle. He stared at Jean-Claude with a look of expectancy. It was an expression
I'd never seen on Willie's face.
I glanced at Jean-Claude's perfect mask of a face, closed and careful.
No - fearful.
"What's going on?" I asked.
"Ma petite, may I introduce the Traveler."
Burnt
Offerings
|
|
The Traveler is one of the more powerful members of the Council, and he is also slightly more practical
then the other members. The Traveler controls and restricts the actions of Padma who would otherwise
have broken Council law to destroy Jean-Claude. The mere presence of the Vampire Council in St. Louis
disrupts the sleeping and feeding habits of the local Vampire population, something the Council is not
concerned about. However, it is the Traveler who is convinced to help Jean-Claude control them when their
undead lives endangered.
|
|
He can use any vampire body at will, male or female. He therefore doesn't have a single description;
his consciousness goes from form to form. The location of his physical body is not given nor does it
seem important.
|
|
He appears fascinated by Anita's power and her personality. Balthasar is his human servant. Traveler
seems to enjoy homosexual sex with Balthasar, while he is using different male bodies including at one
time Jean-Claude.
|
|
Padma ~ The Master of Beasts
|
There was a tone in Padma's voice that sent a rush of warm air through the room. The beginnings of
anger. Something was flung over my skin, a black wash of power, but it wasn't vampiric power, not exactly.
He wasn't trying to control Jean-Claude. It had a taste of warmer blood, an electric dance that said
lycanthrope.
Burnt Offerings
|
|
Padma is a sadistic rapist, his sexual pleasure seems derived from brutality and violence. His son Fernando,
a wererat, is the same way. Padma hates the Traveler, because the other Vampire is stronger and forces
him to follow Council law. Padma is in a triumvirate with Gideon a Weretiger, and Thomas his human servant.
They are more skilled in utilizing the capabilities beget by the arrangement, but seem to have less raw
power then Anita, Jean-Claude and Richard.
|
|
The Master of Beasts is, of course, a very old Master Vampire, and Vampires can not be Lycanthropes.
However, when he unleashes his power it tastes of both shape shifter and Vampire. He appears to be able
to affect all Lycanthropes as if they are all his animal to call.
|
|
All though no one on the Council appears to be of sterling character, Padma emerges as one the most
corrupt of those portrayed in the series. His pleasure is derived from the agony of others. He condones
or participates in torturing, raping, brutalizing and even skinning alive Jean-Claude's people, often
for no reason other then to cause anguish to the ones who love the victims or have sworn to protect them.
When he is defeated, Padma gives up the life of Fernando, his only child, to save himself.
|
Morte d' Amour ~ Lover of Death
|
"You should see what I can do with my own body." Yvette's voice dragged our attention back to her.
She was still standing there, cradling Jason against her leg. She was a white, gleaming, figure except
for her hand. From the elbow down a green rot had started.
Burnt Offerings
|
|
Morte d' Amour has not appeared in any of the books, and little is known about him except though those
of his line. The envoy he sent to represent him when the council visited the United States was Yvette.
She was incredibly malicious, yet he picked her to cast his vote on the council.
|
|
All of the Vamps in the series identified as descending from his line have been Rotting Vampires. This
is not an illusion, but an actual rotting and reforming of their bodies, which makes them extremely hard
to kill. All the Rotting Vamps have been sadistic and malevolent except for Warwick. It is note worthy
that the lover of Death suppressed Warwick's power for almost a 1000 years to keep him from realizing
he was a Master Vampire.
|
|
Mr. Oliver ~ The Earth Mover
|
"I told you he agreed to limit his powers, ma petite. I did not know who or what he was at first,
but he was the Council member known as the Earthmover."
"Excuse me?"
"He could cause the earth
to shake by his power alone."
Burnt Offerings
|
|
He was over 1 million years old, the oldest known Vampire. He is described as being the size of a midget,
having almost no chin, a sloping jaw, a wide nose and prominent eyebrow ridge. In other words he was
Homo erectus. Mr. Oliver's animal to call was the snake. One of his companions was Melanie a lamia who
is a sort of immortal shape-shifter, as she can change into a snake. In the confrontation with Jean-Claude
he agrees to limit how much power he uses.
|
|
Mr. Oliver is killed by Anita, though the Council at first thinks it was Jean-Claude. The reason for
the Council's visit in Burnt Offerings is to get him to take the Earthmover's seat on the Council. Jean-Claude
refuses as he knows he will be used as a stalking horse and killed by the first challenger, since he
is too weak to hold the seat.
|
"The Council decides which of them will send out their vampires to make more. For thousands of years,
it was the Queen of Nightmares, our leader; or Morte d' Amour, the lover of death and the Dragon; but
they grew tired of the games and retreated inside the council chambers. You rarely see them."
Blue
Moon
|
|
The least is known about this Council Member. He, nor any identified as of his line, have appeared in
the books. Unlike Morte d' Amour, and Belle Morte, the Dragon did not send an emissary when the Council
visited Jean-Claude.
|
|
