Post by Galuwen on Jan 7, 2006 18:49:42 GMT -5
(I do not clam anything listed below. I got it all from the web site "The Page of Eternal Life")
"If we truly joined, no one could stand against us. That much power is very tempting." He looked up suddenly, letting me see his eyes. Emotions rolled across his face. Excitement, fear, lust, and finally, just weariness. "We could be bound together for all eternity. Bound together in a three-way struggle for power. It is not a pleasant thought."
Jean-Claude, The Killing Dance
The Triumvirate
The triumvirate allows Jean-Claude, Anita and Richard to share power. A triumvirate is bound together but does not require vampire marks. Why did they each decide to take this step?
Richard Richard was facing a fight to the death with Marcus. He hoped that the extra power from the triumvirate would cause Marcus to back down. It obviously didn't work, but it was a nice idea.
Jean-Claude He would gain enough power that no master vampire, short of the council itself, would dare challenge him.
Anita She's just an old softie helping out the guys!
So how does it feel to become part of a triumvirate? Here's what Anita felt:
"The power roared through me, raising every hair on my body, creeping through my skin until I thought I'd come apart. I sent it all outward to the dead that I'd found. I filled them up and still there was too much power. I reached outward, outward, and found what I was looking for. The power left us in a cool, burning rush. I lay gasping on the floor. Jean-Claude lay on my left, propped on one elbow. Blood stained his lips, trickling down his chin. Richard lay on his stomach to my right, pinning my arm underneath his cheek. His chest rose and fell in great gasps, sweat glistening along his spine."
Jean-Claude gave a shaky laugh and said, "It was glorious for me, was it good for you, ma petite?"
The Marks
Becoming a triumvirate does not require marks but it certainly doesn't hurt. Here is the sequence of marks the triumvirate has gone through.
Anita's First Mark
Anita received the first mark after being slammed into a wall by Aubrey. She was injured with a concussion and Jean-Claude feared for her life. Here is how Anita experienced receiving the first mark:
"Jean-Claude held me around the waist, one cool hand on my forehead, holding the bones of my head in place. His voice held me, a soothing sheet against my skin. He was speaking French, very softly. I didn't understand a word of it, and didn't need to. His voice held me, rocked me, took some of the pain."
Jean-Claude explained the mark simply:
"I shared my life force with you."
Theresa was much more informative:
"He has taken the first step to making you a human servant. I don't mean one of those pathetic half-creatures that have a few bites and do our bidding. I mean a permanent human servant, one that will never be bitten, never be hurt. One that will age almost as slowly as we do. He has shared with you what we consider a great gift to be given only to people who have proven themselves invaluable. You are now immune to his glance, his voice, his mind. You will serve him out of willingness, nothing more. As an animator you had partial immunity to our gaze. Now you have almost complete immunity."
Anita's Second Mark
Anita received the second mark when Nikolaos attacked Jean-Claude and locked him in a coffin. Jean-Claude gave her the marks to survive the experience without starving or going mad.
"Anita." Jean-Claude's velvet voice whispered. "Anita." Something glimmered, blue fire. Two points of blue flame, hung on the wind. Eyes - were those Jean-Claude's eyes? The blue flames began to float downward. The wind didn't touch them. The blue flames came lower and lower, and suddenly I didn't want it to touch me, just as suddenly I knew that that was what it was going to do. Something told me that would be a very bad thing."
"There was one other sound, Jean-Claude's voice in my head. "Forgive me." The blue lights were suddenly in front of my face. I flattened myself against a wall, hitting at the fire. My hands passed through the burning. The fire melted through my hands like they weren't there, and into my eyes. The world was blue glass, silent, nothing, blue ice. A whisper: "Run, run."
Cancellation of all Marks
Alejandro managed to give Anita all four marks. When he died, both his marks and Jean-Claude's were cancelled.
Richard's First and Second Marks
Richard took these two marks to assist him in his confrontation with Marcus. The marks between a master and lycanthrope are different from those between a master and human servant. I'll let Jean-Claude explain:
"The joining of master and animal is not the same as between master and servant. It is not quite as intimate. I will not be able to taste food through Richard, as I could through you. Richard is an alpha werewolf. He is an equivalent power to mine in some ways. He will have more control over my entering his dreams, his thoughts. He would be able to keep me out, as it were."
Anita's First Mark (again!)
Anita received this mark to save herself from Gabriel. She accepted the mark willingly for she had become too powerful to have the marks forced upon her. The mark was given to her from both Jean-Claude and Richard, with Richard as the primary focus.
"I screamed and let Richard do me. Better the monster that you know than the monster about to go down your pants. A line of warmth ran through my body. It had been even simpler when Jean-Claude did it on his own, once upon a time. Even knowing what it was, it didn't feel like much."
Anita's Second Mark (again!)
Still fighting off Gabriel, Anita accepts the second mark.
"The power flower over me. With Jean-Claude, I had watched his burning blue eyes enter me. With Richard as focus, there was nothing to see, but smells, the forest, his skin, Jean-Claude's perfume. I could taste them both in my mouth like drinking two strong wines one mouthful after another."
Anita's Third Mark
Anita received the third mark in order to save the lives of Jean-Claude and Richard. Without the mark, Jean-Claude could only save himself or Anita. He chose Anita.
"Jean-Claude's midnight eyes filled with fire. He swept my hair to one side and said, "Open for me, ma petite, open for us both." I did, sweeping my mind open, dropping every guard I'd ever had. I fell forward, impossibly forward, down a long, black tunnel towards a burning blue fire. Pain cut the darkness like a white knife, and I heard myself gasp. I felt Jean-Claude's fangs sink into me, his mouth sealing over my flesh sucking me, drinking me."
"If we truly joined, no one could stand against us. That much power is very tempting." He looked up suddenly, letting me see his eyes. Emotions rolled across his face. Excitement, fear, lust, and finally, just weariness. "We could be bound together for all eternity. Bound together in a three-way struggle for power. It is not a pleasant thought."
Jean-Claude, The Killing Dance
The Triumvirate
The triumvirate allows Jean-Claude, Anita and Richard to share power. A triumvirate is bound together but does not require vampire marks. Why did they each decide to take this step?
Richard Richard was facing a fight to the death with Marcus. He hoped that the extra power from the triumvirate would cause Marcus to back down. It obviously didn't work, but it was a nice idea.
Jean-Claude He would gain enough power that no master vampire, short of the council itself, would dare challenge him.
Anita She's just an old softie helping out the guys!
So how does it feel to become part of a triumvirate? Here's what Anita felt:
"The power roared through me, raising every hair on my body, creeping through my skin until I thought I'd come apart. I sent it all outward to the dead that I'd found. I filled them up and still there was too much power. I reached outward, outward, and found what I was looking for. The power left us in a cool, burning rush. I lay gasping on the floor. Jean-Claude lay on my left, propped on one elbow. Blood stained his lips, trickling down his chin. Richard lay on his stomach to my right, pinning my arm underneath his cheek. His chest rose and fell in great gasps, sweat glistening along his spine."
Jean-Claude gave a shaky laugh and said, "It was glorious for me, was it good for you, ma petite?"
The Marks
Becoming a triumvirate does not require marks but it certainly doesn't hurt. Here is the sequence of marks the triumvirate has gone through.
Anita's First Mark
Anita received the first mark after being slammed into a wall by Aubrey. She was injured with a concussion and Jean-Claude feared for her life. Here is how Anita experienced receiving the first mark:
"Jean-Claude held me around the waist, one cool hand on my forehead, holding the bones of my head in place. His voice held me, a soothing sheet against my skin. He was speaking French, very softly. I didn't understand a word of it, and didn't need to. His voice held me, rocked me, took some of the pain."
Jean-Claude explained the mark simply:
"I shared my life force with you."
Theresa was much more informative:
"He has taken the first step to making you a human servant. I don't mean one of those pathetic half-creatures that have a few bites and do our bidding. I mean a permanent human servant, one that will never be bitten, never be hurt. One that will age almost as slowly as we do. He has shared with you what we consider a great gift to be given only to people who have proven themselves invaluable. You are now immune to his glance, his voice, his mind. You will serve him out of willingness, nothing more. As an animator you had partial immunity to our gaze. Now you have almost complete immunity."
Anita's Second Mark
Anita received the second mark when Nikolaos attacked Jean-Claude and locked him in a coffin. Jean-Claude gave her the marks to survive the experience without starving or going mad.
"Anita." Jean-Claude's velvet voice whispered. "Anita." Something glimmered, blue fire. Two points of blue flame, hung on the wind. Eyes - were those Jean-Claude's eyes? The blue flames began to float downward. The wind didn't touch them. The blue flames came lower and lower, and suddenly I didn't want it to touch me, just as suddenly I knew that that was what it was going to do. Something told me that would be a very bad thing."
"There was one other sound, Jean-Claude's voice in my head. "Forgive me." The blue lights were suddenly in front of my face. I flattened myself against a wall, hitting at the fire. My hands passed through the burning. The fire melted through my hands like they weren't there, and into my eyes. The world was blue glass, silent, nothing, blue ice. A whisper: "Run, run."
Cancellation of all Marks
Alejandro managed to give Anita all four marks. When he died, both his marks and Jean-Claude's were cancelled.
Richard's First and Second Marks
Richard took these two marks to assist him in his confrontation with Marcus. The marks between a master and lycanthrope are different from those between a master and human servant. I'll let Jean-Claude explain:
"The joining of master and animal is not the same as between master and servant. It is not quite as intimate. I will not be able to taste food through Richard, as I could through you. Richard is an alpha werewolf. He is an equivalent power to mine in some ways. He will have more control over my entering his dreams, his thoughts. He would be able to keep me out, as it were."
Anita's First Mark (again!)
Anita received this mark to save herself from Gabriel. She accepted the mark willingly for she had become too powerful to have the marks forced upon her. The mark was given to her from both Jean-Claude and Richard, with Richard as the primary focus.
"I screamed and let Richard do me. Better the monster that you know than the monster about to go down your pants. A line of warmth ran through my body. It had been even simpler when Jean-Claude did it on his own, once upon a time. Even knowing what it was, it didn't feel like much."
Anita's Second Mark (again!)
Still fighting off Gabriel, Anita accepts the second mark.
"The power flower over me. With Jean-Claude, I had watched his burning blue eyes enter me. With Richard as focus, there was nothing to see, but smells, the forest, his skin, Jean-Claude's perfume. I could taste them both in my mouth like drinking two strong wines one mouthful after another."
Anita's Third Mark
Anita received the third mark in order to save the lives of Jean-Claude and Richard. Without the mark, Jean-Claude could only save himself or Anita. He chose Anita.
"Jean-Claude's midnight eyes filled with fire. He swept my hair to one side and said, "Open for me, ma petite, open for us both." I did, sweeping my mind open, dropping every guard I'd ever had. I fell forward, impossibly forward, down a long, black tunnel towards a burning blue fire. Pain cut the darkness like a white knife, and I heard myself gasp. I felt Jean-Claude's fangs sink into me, his mouth sealing over my flesh sucking me, drinking me."
