Posted: 2006-02-11 06:33pm
Part Seven: Isle Voletta
((Once again, my thanks to the creators of Ryu, Zand, and to the creators of the other characters mentioned here. Isle Voletta is the setting for the chat-based RPG "BlackBayou"))
Isle Voletta... how to explain this small town in only a few words? I fear I cannot. You spent the first 4 years of your life there, Leena, although yet again I wonder if you remember. Perhaps you will return there again, after reading this journal, since a few of your birth father's friends still reside in the area.
The small isle Voletta rests on was settled by the Tahalshia family in the early days of the American colonies, or so the rumors go. What is true is that Tahalshia Manor is the oldest still-occupied house in town, a grand plantation house behind fieldstone and wrought-iron walls. The locals whisper behind the family's backs, speaking of witch-craft, of ghosts and hauntings, of dark deeds and madness.
It is a test of courage for the townsfolk's children to approach the Manor on Halloween night, begging for candy from the current master of the Manor, Nitram Tahalshia. Rumors say he is insane ... I, having met the man, must agree. But it is a benign insanity, for the most part. He lost his wife tragedically, and in the time I lived in Voletta many of his close friends came to untimely ends, by no fault of his own.
The town of Voletta grew up around Tahalshia Manor as the old plantation was sold off over the centuries. It is surrounded by water on all sides... the Gulf to the south, the so-called 'Black Bayou' to the north. It is not an hour from the outskirts of New Orleans, a quiet place that some might wish as a bedroom community outside the big city. That may be why Isle Voletta held such power as a gathering place for the Supernatural.
We do gather, child, in numbers far larger than mortal society wishes to think exist. Back in the 1920s, my companions in Charleston numbered nearly thirty, and that was only the Vampires in the city. In New Orleans, vampires are a quiet one percent of the population, a staggering infestation kept in check by the werewolves, the voudoun witches, and all the other Supernaturals sharing the city. In Voletta, the population was nearly all Supernatural, a delicate balance of power, politics, and inter-species alliances. Something drew the Supernatural to Isle Voletta, perhaps the same something that made Tahalshia Manor seem such an imposing, frightening, presence in the town. Very few Supernaturals that came to Voletta ever left ... they simply vanish without a word.
Have I scared you? Have I warned you away yet, or has this merely picqued your interest in the town? This is where your father, Hisahoru Ryu finally ended his roaming, drawn to it just as any Supernatural.
I know a bit of his time in Voletta before I arrived the next year. The Demon-Zand was still watching him, waiting for the Millenium to come. Voletta, that odd sinkhole of preter-natural activity, seemed to be where the signs of the final battle were pointing. Thus, the demon wanted to make sure his own plans were well-placed before he started his end-game.
For a time, Ryu was left to himself. Once in town, he slowly gathered a group of friends about him. First, Seth Omsford, a former policeman who found himself in Voletta without a purpose. Within months he had joined a pack of Werewolves, becoming one of the beasts himself. Next was Teamhair NicIomhair, an Irish songstress of no little fame, who'd escaped to Voletta for peace and quiet. She found far more in the bayou, winding up torn between her love for Blackthorne Tahalshia and your father Ryu. Most importantly, there was Callie.
Odd... I find myself unable to recall Callie's last name. It is most distressing, yet I find the lapse understandable. Callie is your birth mother, Leena ... and a more pitiful, pathetic, wretched creature I have never known.
Seth and Teamhair were both strong individuals. They had built their lives on their own strengths, relied on their own skills, just as Ryu did. Callie was barely out of her teens, a child loose in the world for the first time, and lucky to find Ryu's protection in those early days. She was a damsel in distress, and forever needing the comfort and strength of her chosen hero. Forgive me for speaking ill of one who may be long dead, child, but she was weak in body and later in mind. Fate made her your birth mother, but she could not even get that right.
While Seth, Teamhair, and Ryu were starting a business they named the Omsford Detective Agency, Callie stayed home planning a life together with Ryu. He did love her, I believe, drawn to her innocence after the violence of his own life. The first problems started with the discovery of Ryu's affair with Teamhair, two whom I thought were better suited to each other. The second problem appeared when both women found themselves pregnant by Ryu.
Callie reacted by first chasing Ryu away, then by crawling to him begging for him never to leave again. Teamhair reacted by telling Ryu to go to Callie, who seemed unable to survive without him. She herself moved into Tahalshia Manor and declaring Blackthorne to be the father of her child, a claim that no one has ever questioned. From that moment on, I believe Callie hated Teamhair for being the stronger woman.
As soon as he heard of the pregnancies, the Demon-Zand knew it was time to move. He immigrated to New Orleans, bringing with him your aunt Lina and his own son Alexander Zand. Lina had been groomed into the perfect aide-de-camp; intelligent, efficient, and extremely loyal to the man she believed was responsible for all her good fortune. To her, Ryu was the enemy, blaming Zand for their parents' deaths unfairly, a danger to everything Zand stood for as a philathropist and businessman. She was, and is, still very convinced of Zand's integerty. Alexander was the offspring of a marriage of convenience, forced upon the demon by the tradition of the cycle. Only 6 years old, Alexander had everything a child could want, but for the love of his father. The demon was merely continuing the Zand bloodline, should this fight go badly.
And where was I in this? I, foolishly enough, had been caught by my Sire, the bastard whom had tortured me and turned me into a Vampire so long ago. But this time, he was frustrated in his pleasures. What had traumatized a child of eighteen did little to a Vampiress of nearly eight decades. The tree was too strong for him to break or bend this time, so he decided upon another plan: I would be his sacrifice for power.
As I have said before, some Vampires never learn to change with the times. My Sire is one such. Trapped in a world changing too fast, unwilling or unable to change himself with the times, he decided he needed to become more than a Vampire. He wanted the power of a Demon.
Is this too fantastical, Leena? I thought him insane, believing demons were only tales told to frighten. I learned better, after I was presented to Demon-Zand as a gift in exchange for knowledge.
Of course, the demon tricked my Sire, giving him empty rituals for false power. Yet I was a curiousity, someone or something that fascinated both demon and man. I would like to say it was my beauty, but he never would say for sure. Perhaps he was only looking for another pawn, foreseeing a need for my abilities. Whatever the reason, I became his paramour and his contact in Voletta. Using my skills, I watched him toy with Ryu and his friends, sending his men to attack them, kidnapping Callie, kidnapping Teamhair, watching Ryu and Seth's reactions to each move and feint.
Then, from stress or fear, Callie went into labour prematurely. You and your brother, Ryou, came into the world nearly two months early. He was tiny, but a strong fighter. You, Leena, were not. Your heart was weak, immature, and the doctors felt that you would not survive. The Demon-Zand made sure to tell me this, as we spied upon you and your brother in the hospital. At once, I knew how I could aid you, strengthen you until you were able to survive on your own.
Perhaps the demon influenced my decision; perhaps not, since he himself was surprised my actions worked. As a volunteer at the hospital I was allowed to feed the newborns, freeing up nurses for other tasks. You were fed from my own breast, and the blood I fed you is the sole reason you survived your first month of life. I would rock you in my arms, holding you, smelling the sweet scent of newborn child and dream of how my life could have been.
I am blessed by you, Leena. You are not the child of my body, but you are forever the child of my heart and my love.
I can write no more tonight. Tomorrow I will tell more of your mother and father in Voletta. Tonight ... tonight I want to hold you again.
((Once again, my thanks to the creators of Ryu, Zand, and to the creators of the other characters mentioned here. Isle Voletta is the setting for the chat-based RPG "BlackBayou"))
Isle Voletta... how to explain this small town in only a few words? I fear I cannot. You spent the first 4 years of your life there, Leena, although yet again I wonder if you remember. Perhaps you will return there again, after reading this journal, since a few of your birth father's friends still reside in the area.
The small isle Voletta rests on was settled by the Tahalshia family in the early days of the American colonies, or so the rumors go. What is true is that Tahalshia Manor is the oldest still-occupied house in town, a grand plantation house behind fieldstone and wrought-iron walls. The locals whisper behind the family's backs, speaking of witch-craft, of ghosts and hauntings, of dark deeds and madness.
It is a test of courage for the townsfolk's children to approach the Manor on Halloween night, begging for candy from the current master of the Manor, Nitram Tahalshia. Rumors say he is insane ... I, having met the man, must agree. But it is a benign insanity, for the most part. He lost his wife tragedically, and in the time I lived in Voletta many of his close friends came to untimely ends, by no fault of his own.
The town of Voletta grew up around Tahalshia Manor as the old plantation was sold off over the centuries. It is surrounded by water on all sides... the Gulf to the south, the so-called 'Black Bayou' to the north. It is not an hour from the outskirts of New Orleans, a quiet place that some might wish as a bedroom community outside the big city. That may be why Isle Voletta held such power as a gathering place for the Supernatural.
We do gather, child, in numbers far larger than mortal society wishes to think exist. Back in the 1920s, my companions in Charleston numbered nearly thirty, and that was only the Vampires in the city. In New Orleans, vampires are a quiet one percent of the population, a staggering infestation kept in check by the werewolves, the voudoun witches, and all the other Supernaturals sharing the city. In Voletta, the population was nearly all Supernatural, a delicate balance of power, politics, and inter-species alliances. Something drew the Supernatural to Isle Voletta, perhaps the same something that made Tahalshia Manor seem such an imposing, frightening, presence in the town. Very few Supernaturals that came to Voletta ever left ... they simply vanish without a word.
Have I scared you? Have I warned you away yet, or has this merely picqued your interest in the town? This is where your father, Hisahoru Ryu finally ended his roaming, drawn to it just as any Supernatural.
I know a bit of his time in Voletta before I arrived the next year. The Demon-Zand was still watching him, waiting for the Millenium to come. Voletta, that odd sinkhole of preter-natural activity, seemed to be where the signs of the final battle were pointing. Thus, the demon wanted to make sure his own plans were well-placed before he started his end-game.
For a time, Ryu was left to himself. Once in town, he slowly gathered a group of friends about him. First, Seth Omsford, a former policeman who found himself in Voletta without a purpose. Within months he had joined a pack of Werewolves, becoming one of the beasts himself. Next was Teamhair NicIomhair, an Irish songstress of no little fame, who'd escaped to Voletta for peace and quiet. She found far more in the bayou, winding up torn between her love for Blackthorne Tahalshia and your father Ryu. Most importantly, there was Callie.
Odd... I find myself unable to recall Callie's last name. It is most distressing, yet I find the lapse understandable. Callie is your birth mother, Leena ... and a more pitiful, pathetic, wretched creature I have never known.
Seth and Teamhair were both strong individuals. They had built their lives on their own strengths, relied on their own skills, just as Ryu did. Callie was barely out of her teens, a child loose in the world for the first time, and lucky to find Ryu's protection in those early days. She was a damsel in distress, and forever needing the comfort and strength of her chosen hero. Forgive me for speaking ill of one who may be long dead, child, but she was weak in body and later in mind. Fate made her your birth mother, but she could not even get that right.
While Seth, Teamhair, and Ryu were starting a business they named the Omsford Detective Agency, Callie stayed home planning a life together with Ryu. He did love her, I believe, drawn to her innocence after the violence of his own life. The first problems started with the discovery of Ryu's affair with Teamhair, two whom I thought were better suited to each other. The second problem appeared when both women found themselves pregnant by Ryu.
Callie reacted by first chasing Ryu away, then by crawling to him begging for him never to leave again. Teamhair reacted by telling Ryu to go to Callie, who seemed unable to survive without him. She herself moved into Tahalshia Manor and declaring Blackthorne to be the father of her child, a claim that no one has ever questioned. From that moment on, I believe Callie hated Teamhair for being the stronger woman.
As soon as he heard of the pregnancies, the Demon-Zand knew it was time to move. He immigrated to New Orleans, bringing with him your aunt Lina and his own son Alexander Zand. Lina had been groomed into the perfect aide-de-camp; intelligent, efficient, and extremely loyal to the man she believed was responsible for all her good fortune. To her, Ryu was the enemy, blaming Zand for their parents' deaths unfairly, a danger to everything Zand stood for as a philathropist and businessman. She was, and is, still very convinced of Zand's integerty. Alexander was the offspring of a marriage of convenience, forced upon the demon by the tradition of the cycle. Only 6 years old, Alexander had everything a child could want, but for the love of his father. The demon was merely continuing the Zand bloodline, should this fight go badly.
And where was I in this? I, foolishly enough, had been caught by my Sire, the bastard whom had tortured me and turned me into a Vampire so long ago. But this time, he was frustrated in his pleasures. What had traumatized a child of eighteen did little to a Vampiress of nearly eight decades. The tree was too strong for him to break or bend this time, so he decided upon another plan: I would be his sacrifice for power.
As I have said before, some Vampires never learn to change with the times. My Sire is one such. Trapped in a world changing too fast, unwilling or unable to change himself with the times, he decided he needed to become more than a Vampire. He wanted the power of a Demon.
Is this too fantastical, Leena? I thought him insane, believing demons were only tales told to frighten. I learned better, after I was presented to Demon-Zand as a gift in exchange for knowledge.
Of course, the demon tricked my Sire, giving him empty rituals for false power. Yet I was a curiousity, someone or something that fascinated both demon and man. I would like to say it was my beauty, but he never would say for sure. Perhaps he was only looking for another pawn, foreseeing a need for my abilities. Whatever the reason, I became his paramour and his contact in Voletta. Using my skills, I watched him toy with Ryu and his friends, sending his men to attack them, kidnapping Callie, kidnapping Teamhair, watching Ryu and Seth's reactions to each move and feint.
Then, from stress or fear, Callie went into labour prematurely. You and your brother, Ryou, came into the world nearly two months early. He was tiny, but a strong fighter. You, Leena, were not. Your heart was weak, immature, and the doctors felt that you would not survive. The Demon-Zand made sure to tell me this, as we spied upon you and your brother in the hospital. At once, I knew how I could aid you, strengthen you until you were able to survive on your own.
Perhaps the demon influenced my decision; perhaps not, since he himself was surprised my actions worked. As a volunteer at the hospital I was allowed to feed the newborns, freeing up nurses for other tasks. You were fed from my own breast, and the blood I fed you is the sole reason you survived your first month of life. I would rock you in my arms, holding you, smelling the sweet scent of newborn child and dream of how my life could have been.
I am blessed by you, Leena. You are not the child of my body, but you are forever the child of my heart and my love.
I can write no more tonight. Tomorrow I will tell more of your mother and father in Voletta. Tonight ... tonight I want to hold you again.
