isolationsandhatred

[nalyra-dreaming]

Hey!

I have recently entered the fandom and have yet to read the books, but I’ve kinda spoiled myself all of tvl. I was wondering what was lestat’s relationship with his older brothers, if anything was ever mentioned. I know his older brother is Augustin and that the second one wasn’t named, and I know the marquis’ viciousness and his relationship with Lestat, but I know close to nothing about how Lestat’s relationship with Augustin and the other one was. If he loved each other, if they didn’t, what Augustin and the other one thought of Lestat and vice versa.

Do you mind telling me more about them? I’m positive I won’t be able to read tvl for another few months, so I’d appreciate it :D

Hey!

Welcome :) Hope you will enjoy your stay here!

Lestat's... relationship with his brothers (six older brothers, but only two of those had survived into adulthood) is... not good, to put it simply.

They are the ones who go and drag him back when he tries to run away, who lock him up, and beat him. They are the ones who mock him, and berate him. They are the ones scolding him.

Augustin is the one directly named, and so there are a few instances where they talk, or better, where Augustin berates Lestat or scoffs when Lestat tells of the wolves, for example.

"You little bastard, " he said coldly. "You didn't kill eight wolves! "

I don't think there was much love lost between them (all), at least from their side, Lestat was too different, and too full of life for the way they lived at the castle. There is this note that Augustin had "spent his wife's small dowry as soon as he married her." Lestat's family is impoverished gentry, and literally living off the meat Lestat brings back from hunting by the time the wolves happen.

Augustine is also the one who initiates the scene with the "impossible", which is referred to in 1x01, when Louis goes out onto the Fairplay balcony - Nicolas gives Lestat the fur-lined cloak, and Augustin scoffs:

"Now he will really be impossible! "

Which then leads to Nicolas famously saying (and that is what Lestat says in french when Louis steps out there):

"I too am impossible, Monsieur, " he whispered as I gave him the parting kiss. "Someday, will you let me come to talk to you and tell me how you killed them all? Only the impossible can do the impossible. "

This comment by Nicolas is important, but Gabrielle's comment after is also, because:

"But why don't you go down to the town and make a friend of him? " she asked. "Why the hell should I do that? " I asked. "Lestat, really. Your brothers will hate it. And the old merchant will be beside himself with joy. His son and the Marquis's son. "

His brothers will hate it... and both Gabrielle and Lestat want to break free, from their life and from his brothers - her sons - have talked about breaking free at that point, and in that conversation, Lestat confessed to dreaming about killing them all:

"Mother, " I said in a low voice, "there is more to it. Before it happened, there were times when I felt terrible things. " There was no change in her expression. "I mean I dream sometimes that I might kill all of them, " I said. "I kill my brothers and my father in the dream. I go from room to room slaughtering them as I did the wolves. I feel in myself the desire to murder... "

The relationship between them is never resolved.

Lestat's brothers die in the revolution.

I am not sure how the show will spin it, but in the book he is turned before that happens - and with the turning came money, from Magnus, and despite all the bad blood, the beatings and insults, the being locked up... he sends gifts back home.

He goes and purchases toys for his nieces and nephews to send home, and sends money directly. Dreams about renovating and furnishing the castle.

When they die, he thinks about them, often, falls into a depression after Nicki's death, refers to them at the same time that he does think about Nicki.

They are on his mind, despite everything. And I think he loved them, despite everything. They were... family. But an abusive one.

[suikamelon6]

I've uploaded Ch.8 of Come (Back) to Me Louis & the de Lioncourts - dinner with inlaws ala S1E1 but the other way around, circa 1780 in Auvergne France. I had fun with this. I hope you do too. https://archiveofourown.org/works/52027846/chapters/133520857

[beguilingcorpse]

love it when a blonde man is evil. that is his natural habitat

[tauremornalome]

to me augustine is gay (bi) the same way elias bouchard is, as in he first decided to suck dick because he thought it would aesthetically go really well with his vibes and themes and symbolism and all, and only later discovered he rather enjoyed it

[bayoubodycount]

Title: Red Sky Morning

Rating: E

Word Count: 38.5k

Chapter 4/11

Characters: Louis de Pointe du Lac, Lestat de Lioncourt, Daniel Molloy, Jonah Macon, Bricktop Williams, Claudia, Madeleine Eparvier, Pandora, Gabrielle de Lioncourt, Daciana, Pierre Roget, Marius de Romanus,  Armand, Sybelle, Benji, Santiago, Eglee, Celeste, Sam, Damek, Rashid, Charlie, Jesse Reeves, Merrick Mayfair 

Ships: Loustat, past Louis/Jonah, past Nicky/Lestat, Nicky/Augustin, Best Friends Louis & Daniel, Louis & Armand, past Marius/Armand, Daniel/Armand, past Claudia/Charlie, Claudeleine, Gabrielle/Pandora, Merrick/Jesse Reeves, Rashid/Damek, Santiago/Celeste/Eglee

Warnings: canon typical violence, homophobic threats & vandalism

Summary: Shrimper Louis is dredging in the bayou dough one evening, when hearing a distress call from a nearby vessel. He drops everything to assist the newest captain in the rinky dink Ragin’ Cajuns fleet, Lestat de Lioncourt. Sparks fly, but it's White Shrimp season in the Gulf states and time, like the shrimp, is gold. Bets have been made and friendly competition is high, to see who brings in the most shrimp by season's end. But lately the body count is rising almost as fast as their fishing quotas and the bayou is steeped in suspicion, ever leery of giving up her secrets. If the fleet can figure out who or what is behind the murders then no matter who wins the season, Louis and Lestat might just find the best catch of all.

**Deadliest Catch/Ragin' Cajuns AU**

[thelioncourts]

honoring my horrible and beautiful husband, ldl, on his birthday...

(and to offset the insane negatively being perpetuated) here's a snippet of doxology, my soon-to-be submission for @iwtvfanevents day 3: confession/penance prompt.

St. Augustine had seen Louis de Pointe du Lac for all he was.

It had been witness to his christening at only three months old, his parents choosing to ring in the New Year with a midnight ceremony for their firstborn, tears in their eyes as Father Dumaine had taken their baby in his arms and blessed him, welcomed him into St. Augustine’s safety.

It had been witness to Grace and Paul’s christenings as well, surrounding young Louis as he watched on with a curious gaze, had listened with his heart at the words Father Dumaine spoke, their impact seeping through his skin just like the warmth of his father’s hand on his shoulder.

It had been witness to his growing up, had been large and imposing as he hid behind his mother’s leg, had been familiar and sure as he had aged into the ‘big kids’ section of the CCD, had been proud and strong as he became an altar boy, had been silent and uncertain as he’d made eye contact with Jonah Macon and heat had pooled in his stomach, had been a source of anxiety and despair as Louis had come to realize he wasn’t how he was supposed to be.

His father’s funeral had been in St. Augustine, that cold body carted over after the wake. St. Augustine had watched on as Louis became a man, Louis’ momma cupping his cheek and telling him how much they needed him now.

Paul’s funeral had been in St. Augustine too. St. Augustine had watched as Louis had been hollowed out, left a husk of himself as his little brother’s body had been brought into its walls, a mockery of what would happen only hours later when he’d be entombed in the Pointe du Lac mausoleum; it had watched as his momma sent her disdain at him with her eyes, had spewed her venomous words with coldness that left him desperate to crawl into the casket alongside Paul.

And then --

And then Louis had died too, the scene of his murder St. Augustine's own pulpit, the likeness of Christ staring down as Louis’ blood was drained from his mortal body.

Then, like a miracle, St. Augustine had witnessed Louis being reborn, that hollowed-out husk filled and held by Lestat de Lioncourt, the man who had come into Louis’ life and turned it into something Louis couldn’t comprehend, had revitalized within him the very sin that had turned St. Augustine into a place of uncertainty in his youth.

They had desecrated St. Augustine’s nave that rainy night.

When Louis thought back on the blur that was 1911, May stood out as the most vivid month.

Grace’s wedding, Paul’s death and subsequent funeral, and --

If he thought about it hard enough, Louis could still smell the rain of that particular night, could feel its cold in his bones. The memory of the way his clothes clung to his skin, the way they had dried in the humidity of St. Augustine’s confessional booth, had become damp again with his sweat as he’d spoken in the walls of his childhood home-away-from-home about his immense failures, of his wish to die, all came to him in fitful dreams some mornings.

Louis could remember the way St. Augustine had looked with his new vampire eyes.

It had been as if he was seeing the church for the first time.

The marble pillars, the newly shined pews, the fading paint on the walls had all begun to live, the pulse of being thrumming around and behind them all, giving them a life that hadn’t existed before the end of Louis’ own.

The Christ figure’s eyes had seemed to follow him everywhere.

The barbaric destruction, the blood stains on the floor, the lifeless bodies of the priests Louis had known for most of his life, had held St. Augustine in an eerie silence, one that had only been faint for Louis as the drumming had been pounding away in his ears still.

And yet none of that -- nothing of St. Augustine, nothing of Christ himself -- had held such a hold over Louis’ memory a year later as the view of Lestat.

Radiant Lestat.

Lestat had taken all of Louis’ attention away from the church, from all the feelings the church and its history brought out of Louis, and had morphed and shaped the life Louis had lived within the walls into that singular moment.

St. Augustine had witnessed as Louis, then and there, chose the feelings of Lestat’s lips on his, the pleasure-pain of his teeth on Louis’ neck, over everything else.

For the remainder of 1911, Louis had fumbled his way through fledgling vampirism, had lived out a summer, fall, and winter in Lestat’s arms.

He had been too busy to think of St. Augustine, too busy to think of anything that wasn’t Lestat.

But as 1911 turned into 1912 and Grace rang the Rue Royale early spring with a tear-thick voice, telling Louis that she and Levi were going away for their anniversary -- they weren’t sure where yet -- because Grace couldn’t bear to stay in New Orleans and pretend to celebrate when Paul --

Paul had been dead a year.

So Louis had seen Grace and Levi the evening before they left, had kissed Grace’s cheek, and assured her that Paul would want her to celebrate her first anniversary. Then he had visited the Pointe du Lac mausoleum, telling Lestat not to wait up, that he’d be home later.

On the actual year anniversary, Louis de Pointe du Lac dreamed of the final sunrise he had ever seen, and in the dream, the pink and orange sky turned a garish, bloodish red and the sphere of the sun became Paul’s cracked skull and Louis had been filled with such a need to be closer to Paul that he had been almost dizzy with it, neglectful of all things as he attempted to figure out just what to do.

Just as it had been when he was younger, Louis had found that the answer he was seeking was somewhere in St. Augustine.

It had to be.

la fin (for now)

[gaiuskamilah]

gaius augustine character of all time. hes a soldier hes a king hes a dog hes st paul hes a priest. hes widowed hes a magical girl hes julius caesar hes lestat de lioncourt hes a canonical social media menace hes frankenstein's monster. hes a father he has an oedipus complex hes in a 3000 year long situationship with his mothergoddess. hes been brainwashed he does brainwashing. hes quick to fall in love quicker to be heartbroken. hes even bisexual

[elrondsscribe]

Heyyy does anyone wanna bitch slap Augustin de Lioncourt with me?? “hurr durr u didn’t kill those wolves” shut the fuck up

[enkyone]

1. BIOGRAPHY;

Early mortal life.

Lestat de Lioncourt was born November 7, 1760, during the reign of Louis XV, in Auvergne, France. He was the youngest of three sons although his mother had given birth to four other boys and one girl--none of whom survived childhood. His father was the Marquis as well as a blind man.

Being the youngest of three, Lestat had no prospects; any land or money that his father left behind after he died would likely go to his eldest brother, Augustin, and his family. At the age of twelve, Lestat was being educated in a monastery and decided he wished to enter the order as a brother. Of course, his father and brother completely dismissed the idea and not only dragged him away from the monastery but ended his education. When Lestat reached the age of sixteen, a band of travelling Italian actors came to the village performing a play which involved two lovers: Isabella and Lelio. Lestat absolutely adored the play and took on the part of Lelio and loved performing so much that he decided to leave with the actors when they took leave of his village. Unfortunately, when he awoke not many days later, he found his brothers waiting for him and all the actors gone.

When Lestat was twenty he could only read and write his own name and a few prayers; at the age of twenty-one, the villagers come to him complaining about wolves in the area. Lestat, feeling no fear, goes out to kill the wolves with his two mastiffs and mare. He succeeds in killing the eight wolves and as a consequence meets a young man named Nicolas de Lenfent, a violinist. Lestat's dying mother, Gabrielle, encourages Lestat to start a friendship with Nicolas and later she encourages Lestat to leave with Nicolas, who Lestat calls Nicki, and go to Paris, as she wants to die knowing her son is free.

Lestat gets a job in a theatre in Paris but not as an actor but as a backstage assistant. Months later, he is given the chance to go on stage and then offered a job as a professional actor, due to the audience's initial adoration of him. Lestat grows even more popular with both the audiences and the critics who describe him as, "the blond-haired rogue who steals the hearts of the ladies in the third and fourth acts." Lestat's life is going perfectly for him and he is utterly happy though he notices a mysterious white face in the audience that is continually watching him. Lestat is kidnapped by the mysterious face, a vampire named Magnus, and is held prisoner until Magnus concludes Lestat is the one he will make into a vampire, as his one and only fledgling.

[i-want-my-iwtv]

This is not related to the AMC show but how about Joseph Morgan as Lestat? He played Klaus Mikaelson in TVD and TO. The only side is that he is dramatic AND clever enough to run vampire politics.

I think you meant the only down side? Being Dramatic is Lestatuesque, and being clever enough to run vampire politics, well, Lestat grows into that role somewhat, so he'd just have to dial it back in the beginning ;D

TBH I didn't see TVD or TO, but looking at gifs/pics, I can see some Lestat capability in Joseph Morgan! It's really important that he have a good smile, full of that dark humor/mischief, and a dash of visible anxiety that he's not talented enough to conceal, bc he's got this intensely self-conscious inner narration going, especially at his happiest moments.

There's also this cheek muscle that dimples when Joseph smiles that I imagine Lestat would have, too.

Bringing up the AMC show anyway, Joseph also looks enough like Sam Reid, to me, that they could almost be brothers. I'd take Joseph as Augustin or Lestat's other unnamed brother who I like to think of as Étienne*, why not?

*Étienne is French for "Steve," bc A) Lestat had a story about how his name was the assemblage of the first letters of his sibling's names, and B) tbh, I imagined the not-Augustin brother as Steve Zahn, this brother who was younger than Augustin, but older than Lestat, with a height complex (not canonically but I imagine he's afflicted with short guy bitterness syndrome), doing whatever Augustin told him to like a little minion.

[aromantictherapy]

(I'm really sorry if the following thoughts are messy or untrackable, I'm Hungarian and my grammar is half dead) (I only read the Interview with the Vampire and the Vampire Lestat books)

Can I point out the first time Lestat ever had unconditional affection (which lacked pain) from someone it was when he met Marius? Let me explain.

I get it in the 18th century people didn't really care about your mental state, beacuse the Christian god only gives you that many problems you can handle, therefore your only duty was to fulfill the role your parents (or 'god') gave you.

In Lestat's case he is the youngest son of a rather poor noble-man, who only had expectations towards his sons. He definitely loved his sons, all of them, but the time ran out long time ago when he started showing some kind of affection towards Lestat.

What goes for Gabrielle, at first she was portraid as a cold, distant, highly idolized mother. (In my opinion she is a good mother). I didn't really get if Gabrielle was distant with her other children or not, but I think she was, or othervise Lestat would've complained about it. The book shows that the only thing that Gabrielle ever wished for was freedom and beacuse she is a woman she couldn't have that. But on the other hand as she states 'Lestat reminded her of herself. The man in her.', so I think it was painful to her to look at Lestat, beacuse she knew her son has what she tought she couldn't have. And there were scenes where it was presented how much Gabrielle really cares about Lestat, but eventually left him, beacuse she couldn't stay tied down to another being after all those years she experienced.

We don't really get to see into Lestat and his brothers life, but that one dialogue he had with Augustin (after the wolf killing scene) summarised pretty well how he doesn't get on well with his siblings.

As for the people who started thinking 'But what about Nicky?', well, if we continue the journey from my pov, I have bad news. So, since the two gays first encounter they are unseparateable and really adore each other, but as we go forward in time Nicky starts to be jelaous Lestat. (The Sun-Moon dynamic I'm gonna die for-) Lestat can win over anyone with his appearance, charm and intelligence. Well what goes for Nicky, he is more closed off and as Anne mentioned in a the book 'Nicky should have started learning playing on the violin a long time ago'. Lestat is a born natural in acting, Nicky isn't one in playing on instruments. Nicky sees that the success just falls into Lestat lap like he isn't even doing anything. Nicky strats to feel uneasy and miserable beacuse of it, but at the same time never stops being amazed how Lestat can be so himself, so positive and so hopeful. I think this uneasy feeling in Nicky not just pops up in him when they join the theatre company, I think it always lurked in him since the day they met.

And as the years went by slowly when Lestat finally met Marius. Marius was the first person who was some kind of shelter to Lestat. He was like a brother, uncle or father he never had. And if I remember right the only reason Lestat was (technically) forced to leave Marius, beacuse he was able to make Akasha and Enkil move (not in a good way). And until that moment Lestat left Marius, Marius never stoped speaking kindly of him. He stated some time that Lestat reminds him of himself, and I think beacuse of that Marius either has some standars for him (which he will never tell) or expects nothing and whatever he gets he will be overjoyed. I think their realitionship is the first healthy one (so far) in the books and in this pair is the most noticeable the mutual appretiation and (platonic) love toward the other one.

You may not agree with me which is totaly fine since I didn't raise so much great point and since we are humans we perceive things differently, but I hope I am somewhat right.

[assbestos]

I have an idea in my head where my VTM character Augustin personally knows Lestat and Louis (bc he’s a rare art dealer) and sees them regularly and they are uncles to his daughter Su-Jin (human toddler)

[letter reads:

Dear Lestat,

Sincere apologies that I couldn’t attend the ceremony. Su-Jin has started preschool, so it requires me to stay local and I couldn’t find a plane to Paris that could accommodate her. I hope you’ve received my painting, but I’ve illustrated the first time I saw you and Louis at the Theatre de Vampires

All my love,

Augustin]

version with and without the letter

[niffleheim]

LESTAT DE LIONCOURT - ━━ ◤ ( CANDLES BURNED TO THE WICK, LONG FINGERS DANCING OVER PIANO KEYS, A PACK OF WOLVES HUNTING IN WINTER, AND THE DEEP RED OF SPILLED BLOOD ) welcome, LESTAT DE LIONCOURT, HE/HIM. before you move in, tell us what you remember: WALKING INTO THE HOT DESERT SUN. excellent, now we are pleased to accept your offer to live OLD CREEK HISTORICAL DISTRICT, and your new job as DEFENSE LAWYER at DECIMATION CITY CLERK’S OFFICE is waiting for you to begin. ( THE VAMPIRE CHRONICLES AND REGE JEAN PAGE )

THE BASICS

NAME: lestat de lioncourt

NICKNAMES: lelio, wolfkiller, the brat prince

BIRTHDAY: november 7th, 1760

AGE: 261 / 26

PRONOUNS: he/him

LAST KNOWN MEMORY: walking into the hot desert sun ( at the start of tale of the body thief )

ORIGINATION: the vampire chronicles

FACECLAIM: rege jean page

THE DETAILS

FAMILY: gabrielle de lioncourt ( mother, fledgling ), the marquis de lioncourt ( father, deceased ), augustin de lioncourt ( eldest brother, deceased ), five other unnamed elder siblings ( brothers, deceased ), various sisters-in-law, nieces, and nephews ( estranged ), claudia ( fledgling, adoptive daughter ), louis de pointe du lac ( fledgling, lover ), nicolas de lenfent ( fledgling, estranged ), david talbot ( fledgling ), magnus ( maker, deceased )

THREE FAVORITE THINGS: the sweet taste of blood and the euphoric connection to humanity when he drinks from someone, the sound of music in great symphony halls, manipulating situations to go exactly how he wants them to

EDUCATION: some time in seminary school ( real life ), law degree ( decimation life )

SKILLS: hand to hand combat, cleverness, manipulation, unusually strong, unusually fast, extremely charming, excellent acting skills, fluency in french, having “connections”

HEADCANONS: lestat is excellent at talking and charming his way through life. he knows exactly what he wants and is keen on ensuring he gets it. as a defense lawyer, he’s indiscriminate in who he defends – his doors are even open to the worst of the worst, and the chances of him getting them off the hook is high. but this isn’t to say he’s completely immoral. he’s a criminal lawyer and a... criminal lawyer, so when a particularly nasty piece of work goes free, well... once the bill is paid, who’s to say what’ll happen? he would pretend that his waking dreams hold no real significance in his mind, but that’s not entirely true. he’s been known to spiral into existentialism, and these dreams have put him on the precipice of that. as he doesn’t believe in god, so he doesn’t believe in the devil – vampires are works of fiction. and yet... and yet... it’s louis that haunts him. there’s something so familiar about him in those dreams, something combined with frustration and... a certain tenderness, which is quite unusual for lestat. and then there is the sun, the real reason he’s certain that none of it can be true. how could he, lestat de lioncourt, become so unhappy that his only option is to stroll willingly to certain death? it’s not possible. he is arrogant, and with good reason. though charming, he’s far from the kind of person you would want to keep as a friend... but should he take to you, there’s really nothing he wouldn’t do.

WHAT THEY’RE PLANNING TO DO IN DECIMATION: lestat is a climber. he’s known to be the best and he intends on holding onto that reputation. people tend to not like him, but he doesn’t really care. he wasn’t put on this earth to be liked.

[bayoubodycount]

Title: Red Sky Morning

Rating: E

Word Count: 38.5k

Chapter 1/11

Characters: Louis de Pointe du Lac, Lestat de Lioncourt, Daniel Molloy, Jonah Macon, Bricktop Williams, Claudia, Madeleine Eparvier, Pandora, Gabrielle de Lioncourt, Daciana, Pierre Roget, Marius de Romanus,  Armand, Sybelle, Benji, Santiago, Eglee, Celeste, Sam, Damek, Rashid, Charlie, Jesse Reeves, Merrick Mayfair 

Ships: Loustat, past Louis/Jonah, past Nicky/Lestat, Nicky/Augustin, Best Friends Louis & Daniel, Louis & Armand, past Marius/Armand, Daniel/Armand, past Claudia/Charlie, Claudeleine, Gabrielle/Pandora, Merrick/Jesse Reeves, Rashid/Damek, Santiago/Celeste/Eglee

Warnings: canon typical violence, homophobic threats & vandalism

Summary: Shrimper Louis is dredging in the bayou dough one evening, when hearing a distress call from a nearby vessel. He drops everything to assist the newest captain in the rinky dink Ragin’ Cajuns fleet, Lestat de Lioncourt. Sparks fly, but it's White Shrimp season in the Gulf states and time, like the shrimp, is gold. Bets have been made and friendly competition is high, to see who brings in the most shrimp by season's end. But lately the body count is rising almost as fast as their fishing quotas and the bayou is steeped in suspicion, ever leery of giving up her secrets. If the fleet can figure out who or what is behind the murders then no matter who wins the season, Louis and Lestat might just find the best catch of all.

**Deadliest Catch/Ragin' Cajuns AU**

[delioncrt]

𝖎 𝖓 𝖙 𝖗 𝖔 .

𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐮𝐩𝐨𝐧 𝐚 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞…  lestat de lioncourt was known as the bold & animated lord with a reputation for being a stuart townsend doppelganger . but now , under the stress of the war on the horizon , the natural born villain original vampire has become widely known for being rather melodramatic & over-indulgent . let’s see how long the villeneuve native will last during this war . after all they’re only forty three / over one thousand years old . + he/him & cis male , the vampire chronicles.

hello hello! my name is ana, i’m 22 and i bring you my dramatic, over-indulgent gay vampire lestat!! i was here before (very shortly) as chiasa, but i was struggling for muse and really wanted to bring in lestat, so i’ve been working on him for a little while now and i’m so excited to finally be able to play him :’)

 i have a plots page up, but it’s a REALLY rough draft right now and i plan on adding more depth/a lot more species related plots but i’m also open to plotting anything really! below the cut, i’m going to paste lestats bio but be warned it is very very VERY longs and i need to update it lmao i’ll also put some little tidbits of info to help you get to know him~ 

lestat is an original vampire, meaning he was changed by spell and not blood transfer

he loves anything theatre related, music related, and he would die for the aesthetic lmao

very over indulgent, he prefers his meals in the form of pretty boyes and the occasional fae sdhfusdj

he’s a lonely bitch who likes to turn others so he can have companions so if you’re ever down to have your character turned *fingerguns*

basically the embodiment of “i’m baby, give me attention”

dsjufsd my brain is dead right now but u get the gift 

i am the vampire lestat.

born the seventh son, the youngest of three to survive into manhood. my mother was a literate noblewoman and my father a blind marquis, though i would be left with no prospects. despite my family’s title, near all our wealth had been used up and my eldest brother augustin was the rightful heir to all that we still possessed. as a boy, my father’s castle, the estate, and the nearby village were my universe. the rest of the world around me was dim and old fashioned. i was born restless, the dreamer, the angry one, the complainer. my father and brothers resented me because i was not like them; i didn’t sit around and reminisce on old wars, i didn’t spend all day at my father’s side playing chess, and history had no meaning to me.

do not be fooled though, i was far from idle or feckless. i was the only lord near the village who could ride a horse and shoot a rifle at the same time; it was my duty to hunt for my family. i brought in the pheasant, the venison, and the trout from the mountain streams on easy days. on harder days, it was packs of wolves that threatened the people in the village. it was a noble occupation, hunting one’s ancestral lands, and i alone had the right to do it. the richest of aristocrats couldn’t lift their guns in my forest, but then again, they didn’t have to. they had money.

it was the winter of my twenty-first year, i went out alone on horseback to kill a pack of wolves. it was the worst winter that i could remember, and i do remember, all too vividly. the snow all over those mountains, the wolves that were frightening the villagers and stealing my sheep. on that cold morning in january, i armed myself with a flintlock rifle, a hunting musket, my father’s sword, and an spikes mace that hung on the wall of our old armory. with my weapons, i set off and rode an hour up into the slopes until i reached a valley and heard the first howling.

i had killed eight wolves that morning. my mastiffs had not survived the attack, and i had to put my mare down as she was suffering from her injuries. i still remember every moment of the battle, the rattling cry she let out as she went down, the wolves that closed in on me and nearly took my life until i drew my father’s sword, and i remember sputtering sickly and falling to my knees at the sight of my dogs.  it took me nearly two hours with a wolf over my shoulder to trek homeward. whatever i had felt when i was fighting those wolves went on in my mind even as i walked, when i stumbled and fell, something in me hardened and became worse.

by the time I reached the castle gates, i think i was not lestat, i was someone else altogether. my brothers did not believe me when i had shared of my story, and the next thing i remember, i was lying in my room. i didn’t have the dogs in bed with me as always in winter because the dogs were dead, and though there was no fire lighted, i climbed, filthy and bloody under the covers and went into a deep sleep. i stayed there for days.

but, you don’t really want to hear the sad ramblings of an old mans human life, do you? of course not, you want to know of how i came to receive the dark gift, don’t you? tut tut, so impatient.

first, you must know that it began around the turn of the 11th century. i was no longer living in villeneuve with my family, my mother had grown ill. she came to me in the night, begging me to take what valuables she had and escape the castle. she told me to pack my belongings and to leave out while the kingdom slept and to run off far away, somewhere where i could be content. unlike my relationship with my father, my mother understood me. she could not bare the idea of dying and leaving her son stuck in a castle he would never call home.

the thought of leaving her behind, knowing those were likely to be my last moments with her left an emptiness in my chest. despite the lonely ache, i followed her orders and left off into the night with what she’d given me, never to return.

in that time, i had gotten involved in the theatre scene. bouncing from kingdom to kingdom, my love for the stage only grew exponentially the longer i spent on it. i had landed a role as leilo, the young lover to a woman named isabella. my presence on stage was animated, i became my character and by the end of it all, they would nearly have to drag me from the stage as the crowd clapped. it had become my life, and for the first time, i was happy.

it was during my time on stage that i’d met my first love, nicolas. he was beautiful, standing about about five foot ten, with long dark hair and warm clear skin you couldn’t help but want to touch. he was a young violinist who had come from villeneuve himself and had introduced himself to me after recognizing my face during a show. he had asked me to tell him the story of how i’d earned the title of wolf killer, and in return, i asked him about his experiences in the kingdoms i’d yet to explore. we drank all night and shared our tales, our secrets, and our thoughts that night, and then we did it again and again near every night after that. he had magic in his fingers when he played his instrument, the rich melodies were the definition of elegance; graceful, serene, and breathtaking. he often played me to sleep at night when i was at my most somber. he was my closest companion.

that only made it so much more difficult to cope when i lost him. he was a lovely man, one i couldn’t have spent the very rest of my life with, and he deserved a peaceful death. he deserved better.

death did not care for fairness, though. it came in like a harsh storm, destroying and taking away what it wanted selfishly. his death was bloody, and gruesome, the kind of death only spoken of in hushed whispers. how ironic it was, the man who’d come to love the wolfkiller, killed by a wolf. that’s what the people in the kingdom had called it, at least. i knew better though, that beast was nothing like the wolves i’d fought all those years ago. this creature was larger, far more feral and hostile. in the light of the full moon, i could see that it had yellow eyes and sharp fangs protruding from its snout. it was stronger than any wolf i’d experienced in my life, like it had the strength of a supernatural being.  

it was the first time in my life that another creature had truly frightened me. it shook me to my very core, and to this day, i only remember the look in its eyes and how it made me run and leave behind the only man i had ever loved.

i mourned for weeks in that forest, weeping and wailing out into the night. i begged and begged for that creature to return, to kill me, until my voice was hoarse and a strained hush. i did not eat, sleep, or move from the forest floor. by the time anyone had found me, all the muscle had gone from my body, my bones protruded from my pale, sickly skin, and my eyes had sunken in so deep that one might assume i was nothing but a skeleton.

i don’t remember much from that night, i only remember the words of the witch who had stumbled upon my body, and the spell that lead me into my newfound immortal life.

“poor little man, frail and broken in the dirt, begging for death. that isn’t what you truly want though, is it? no, you want revenge. you need it. how will you avenge your lover like this? a sad bag of bones, unable to lift his own body, such a depressing sight. i can make you better, lestat. i can gift you power, strength, and everlasting life. tell me, boy, is that what you desire? is that what you need? use your words, tell me yes, and i will give you everything you need to be great.”

yes.

[the-disgruntled-vc]

It was the same the first time I bore a child,” she said. “I was in agony for twelve hours, and I felt trapped in the pain, knowing the only release was the birth or my own death. When it was over, I had your brother Augustin in my arms, but I didn’t want anyone else near me. And it wasn’t because I blamed them. It was only that I’d suffered like that, hour after hour, that I’d gone into the circle of hell and come back out. They hadn’t been in the circle of hell. And I felt quiet all over. In this common occurrence, this vulgar act of giving birth, I understood the meaning of utter loneliness.

Gabrielle de Lioncourt, The Vampire Lestat