Cursed At Birth
Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2015 12:00 am
Biography
Karyiel Valois was born on the Prime of Amyalu, a medieval realm which one can only describe as a cruel and hellish land. One rife with vampires and swimming in political intrigue and the stench of rotting death.
Once upon a time, Amyalu was a prosperous kingdom, free from the grip of vampires and ruled over by a long line of benevolent kings. Under the reign of this royal line, Amyalu prospered for many generations... until the Black Feast, an event where the entire royal household was murdered under mysterious circumstances, and the main branch of the royal bloodline extinguished. At that moment, seventeen noble houses served the royal family and every one of them had a claim to the throne, somewhere in their family tapestry, however distant. Without a clear heir to the throne, the kingdom was plunged in to chaos and the noble houses entered in to a civil war which continues on till this very day. But this was just the least of Amyalu's worries because.
Perhaps not so coincidentally, the destruction of the royal household coincided with the emergence of vampires in Amyalu. They swept over the land and its taint began to infiltrate the the noble houses.
One of the noble houses, House Lealand made a formal decree that vampires were to be exterminated with one caveat: if they chose to serve House Lealand and fight for its interests, they would be permitted their existence and conscripted in to the house's military arm. Another house, the now extinct House Raene, declared that all vampires were a blight upon the land and that they were to be hunted without exception. In hindsight, it was a foolish decision as House Raene was quickly overwhelmed by vampires whom had infiltrated their ranks already- easily assuaged by rival houses and their promises of amnesty.
Witness to the desolation that House Raene had wrought upon themselves by wholly outlawing vampires, and embroiled in a war for survival, the remaining fifteen Houses- some more reluctantly than others- followed in lieu of House Lealand's policy of accepting vampires as a necessary evil in order to bolster their House's strength.
So it came to be that each noble house had its own small army of vampires. Many younger noble children and soldiers of these houses accepted vampirism as a way to strengthen themselves and enable them to properly fight other Houses. Others that were not morally willing to accept vampirism were forced in to newly created human livestock farms to feed the ever growing numbers of vampires. Through all of this, the common people suffered and only the strongest humans and the nobles themselves were able to remain free from these livestock farms.
Even nobles began to embrace vampirism but those that did relinquished their right to inherit, since vampires had neither blood coursing through their veins nor the ability to produce heirs. After a few generations, some younger noble children began to be chosen and groomed from birth as warriors for the sole prerogative of becoming elite vampire soldiers for their House, with their transition from mortal to vampire planned from birth- they were to be turned as soon as they reached peak physical condition.
Karyiel Valois was one of those chosen from birth and destined to become a vampire from the moment she left her mother's womb. As the eighth daughter and youngest child of the hundred and thirty-fourth generation of House Valois, she was sent away to a monastery to be rigorously trained by monks. From that age, she was put through sadistic rituals and trials to prepare her for The Gift. At twenty, she was deemed in peak physical condition and was turned by her great-uncle in a macabre ritual.
Once she completed her training at the monastery and became a vampire, Kary was sent away from the monastery to serve in the military arm of her House. It was not long before she was sent in to the fray, to join the ceaseless war for the throne. For countless generations, she fought for her family doing what they had trained her to do- slay the enemies of her House.
Many years past and against the odds, Karyiel survived where countless others of her vampire brethren did not, she was granted the meaningless title of Duchess by her distant-great-niece, the reigning Lady of House Valois, but by this time, Karyiel had grown weary of the senseless war for the throne and felt little for her mortal bloodline that she had been forced to fight for her entire life and unlife.
After encountering a wood witch who claimed to have come from another land, Karyiel was promised by the witch that she would be sent to such a land, if only she would fetch something for her...
Karyiel Valois was born on the Prime of Amyalu, a medieval realm which one can only describe as a cruel and hellish land. One rife with vampires and swimming in political intrigue and the stench of rotting death.
Once upon a time, Amyalu was a prosperous kingdom, free from the grip of vampires and ruled over by a long line of benevolent kings. Under the reign of this royal line, Amyalu prospered for many generations... until the Black Feast, an event where the entire royal household was murdered under mysterious circumstances, and the main branch of the royal bloodline extinguished. At that moment, seventeen noble houses served the royal family and every one of them had a claim to the throne, somewhere in their family tapestry, however distant. Without a clear heir to the throne, the kingdom was plunged in to chaos and the noble houses entered in to a civil war which continues on till this very day. But this was just the least of Amyalu's worries because.
Perhaps not so coincidentally, the destruction of the royal household coincided with the emergence of vampires in Amyalu. They swept over the land and its taint began to infiltrate the the noble houses.
One of the noble houses, House Lealand made a formal decree that vampires were to be exterminated with one caveat: if they chose to serve House Lealand and fight for its interests, they would be permitted their existence and conscripted in to the house's military arm. Another house, the now extinct House Raene, declared that all vampires were a blight upon the land and that they were to be hunted without exception. In hindsight, it was a foolish decision as House Raene was quickly overwhelmed by vampires whom had infiltrated their ranks already- easily assuaged by rival houses and their promises of amnesty.
Witness to the desolation that House Raene had wrought upon themselves by wholly outlawing vampires, and embroiled in a war for survival, the remaining fifteen Houses- some more reluctantly than others- followed in lieu of House Lealand's policy of accepting vampires as a necessary evil in order to bolster their House's strength.
So it came to be that each noble house had its own small army of vampires. Many younger noble children and soldiers of these houses accepted vampirism as a way to strengthen themselves and enable them to properly fight other Houses. Others that were not morally willing to accept vampirism were forced in to newly created human livestock farms to feed the ever growing numbers of vampires. Through all of this, the common people suffered and only the strongest humans and the nobles themselves were able to remain free from these livestock farms.
Even nobles began to embrace vampirism but those that did relinquished their right to inherit, since vampires had neither blood coursing through their veins nor the ability to produce heirs. After a few generations, some younger noble children began to be chosen and groomed from birth as warriors for the sole prerogative of becoming elite vampire soldiers for their House, with their transition from mortal to vampire planned from birth- they were to be turned as soon as they reached peak physical condition.
Karyiel Valois was one of those chosen from birth and destined to become a vampire from the moment she left her mother's womb. As the eighth daughter and youngest child of the hundred and thirty-fourth generation of House Valois, she was sent away to a monastery to be rigorously trained by monks. From that age, she was put through sadistic rituals and trials to prepare her for The Gift. At twenty, she was deemed in peak physical condition and was turned by her great-uncle in a macabre ritual.
Once she completed her training at the monastery and became a vampire, Kary was sent away from the monastery to serve in the military arm of her House. It was not long before she was sent in to the fray, to join the ceaseless war for the throne. For countless generations, she fought for her family doing what they had trained her to do- slay the enemies of her House.
Many years past and against the odds, Karyiel survived where countless others of her vampire brethren did not, she was granted the meaningless title of Duchess by her distant-great-niece, the reigning Lady of House Valois, but by this time, Karyiel had grown weary of the senseless war for the throne and felt little for her mortal bloodline that she had been forced to fight for her entire life and unlife.
After encountering a wood witch who claimed to have come from another land, Karyiel was promised by the witch that she would be sent to such a land, if only she would fetch something for her...