Nothing is True. Everything is Connected.
Category: <span>Character Introduction</span>

Sylum Inspiration: Elizabeth Swann

Sanctuary: Member

 

Born in London, England, Elizabeth led a fairly sheltered life of privilege throughout her childhood.  Since the death of her mother, Governor Swann had raised his daughter on his own.  Much to her father’s dismay, pirates had always fascinated Elizabeth, mainly on the HMS Dauntless’ voyage from England to the British colony at Port Royal on the vibrant and prosperous island of Jamaica. When the Dauntless crew rescued young Will Turner, a mysterious shipwreck survivor from a pirate attack, she recognized the “pirate medallion” he wore. Little did she know what adventures would stem from this fateful encounter.

Eight years later, Elizabeth’s cozy world was turned upside down after Captain Jack Sparrow rescued her from drowning: lured by the medallion, cursed pirates kidnapped Elizabeth. She was brought aboard the Black Pearl, a captive of Hector Barbossa, and was taken to Isla de Muerta. Days after Will Turner joined forces with Jack Sparrow, the cursed pirates were defeated with the assistance of Elizabeth’s betrothed, Commodore James Norrington. In return for his help, Elizabeth aided Jack Sparrow in escaping from the gallows, and then left Norrington for Will Turner, her path chosen.

Except Will didn’t choose her.

He left with Captain Jack Sparrow, leaving her behind, humiliated. Norrington resigned his post, refusing to be the second fiddle to Elizabeth’s attention. Over the next year she convinced herself that Will only need to be saved, and tricked him into coming back to Port Royal for their wedding.

Only to have them both arrested by Cutler Beckett.

When Will was released to find Sparrow, she followed to save him from the influence of Sparrow, leading to her betraying the Pirate Captain to Davy Jones and the Kraken.

It was then, she realized the mistake she made.

Determined to set it right, she helped lead Will and his friends to the End of the World to find Jack. She watched in shocked dismay at the real relationship between Jack and Will. Still in shock, she was handed over to Sao Feng, who thought she was Calypso returned.

Attacked by the Dutchman, the Captain was killed and ship destroyed – Elizabeth was named Captain, just in time to be captured by Davy Jones. It was here she was reunited with Norrington. He helped her and the crew escape and when she turned back to call to him, she saw Davy Jones kill him.

Elizabeth realized she had been deceiving herself the whole time.  Her heart had always belonged to Norrington, and it was her rebellious spirit that called out to Will.

During the battle with Davy Jones, Sparrow gave his consent and married Elizabeth and Norrington. She was pretty sure it was mainly to get her away from Will.

Only to have her life up-heaved when Davy Jones gave the command of the Dutchman to Norrington and spilled her blood on the deck to tie them for eternity.

She at least got her wedding night, and when Norrington showed up ten years later he was introduced to his son.

In time she moved to South Carolina to raise her son, and watched as he grew, got married and had kids of her own. When the time came she moved to England for a while to be introduced to an ancestor in Guin, Camelot’s Queen.

She’s traveled and had many adventures, over the decades, and recently took up acting in the recent years.  When she discovered a descendant had gotten into trouble, she asked Charlie to go pick the young Claire up and bring her to Sanctuary.

Only for them to disappear.

She knew Will and Sparrow were looking for her, and their lost Clan Member, when it hit her that it was the Locker. When she showed up to inform them, the Dutchman was in harbor. Happy to see her husband, she was dismayed to learn he had no idea how to get into the locker.

Davy Jones arrived to take over the Dutchman, leaving her and Norrington behind.

Finally being together, after all this time they knew what had to be done, so they approached Jack and Stephen to be Turned.

Sylum Inspiration: Seth Gecko

Sanctuary: Hunter

 

Seth and Richie Gecko, though not as famous outlaws as Dillinger or Bonnie and Clyde, had their fair share of infamous criminal glor.  They wreaked havoc across the western landscape of the US.

When Richie broke Seth out of jail, killing innocent people in the process, it was then Seth knew he had to get his brother out of the country.  He needed a place to stash Richie, and keep an eye on him – Seth had always known there was something wrong with his brother.

They traveled down to Mexico, stopping at an out of the way bar, only to end up in the middle of a Rogue hangout. Seth found himself fighting back to back with a cowboy and an English prick – later to be identified as Brisco Country Jr. and William Pratt.

In the middle of the battle he was dragged away from the main group.

When he woke up he was dead.

Sylum Inspiration: Tia Dalma

Sanctuary: Member

 

Tia was the youngest girl of the Calhoun family. She was always special, and saw the world differently. Able to handle the ocean in single words and thoughts.

She was captured by slavers when she was barely sixteen. Ended up being sold to Frederick Cobb, who took what he wanted from her, in the end even her life.

Sylum Inspiration: Butch Cassidy

Sanctuary: Hunter

Robert Leroy Parker was born April 13, 1866, in Beaver, Utah, the first of 13 children born to British immigrants Maximillian Parker and Ann Campbell Gillies. The Parker and Gillies families had converted in England and Scotland to the Mormon faith and immigrated to Utah. Maximilian Parker was 12 when his family arrived in Salt Lake in 1856; Ann Gillies arrived with her family in 1859, aged 14. The two were married in July 1865.

Robert Leroy Parker, named for his paternal grandfather, was the first of the 13 children of Maximillian and Ann Parker. He grew up on their ranch near Circleville, Utah,215 miles south of Salt Lake City. He left home during his early teens. While working at a dairy farm, he formed a close relationship with his mentor, a cowboy and cattle rustler who called himself Mike Cassidy (an alias for John Tolliver “J. T.” McClammy). Parker subsequently worked at several ranches, in addition to a brief stint as a butcher in Rock Springs, Wyoming, when he acquired the nickname “Butch”, to which he soon appended the surname Cassidy in honor of his old friend.

He associated with a circle of criminals, most notably his closest friend Elzy Lay, Harvey “Kid Curry” Logan, Ben Kilpatrick, Harry Tracy, Will “News” Carver, Laura Bullion, and George Curry, who became the nucleus of the Wild Bunch.

On August 13, 1896, Cassidy, Lay, Harvey Logan and Bob Meeks robbed the bank at Montpelier, Idaho, escaping with approximately $7,000. Shortly thereafter he[clarification needed] recruited Harry Longabaugh, alias “The Sundance Kid”, a native of Pennsylvania, into the Wild Bunch.

In early 1897, Cassidy was joined at Robbers Roost by Ann Bassett, Elzy Lay, and Lay’s girlfriend Maude Davis. The four hid there until early April, when Lay and Cassidy sent the women home so that they could plan their next robbery. On April 21, 1897, in the mining town of Castle Gate, Utah, Cassidy and Lay ambushed a small group of men carrying the payroll of the Pleasant Valley Coal Company, stealing a sack containing $7,000 in gold, with which they fled to the Robbers Roost.

On June 2, 1899, the gang robbed a Union Pacific Overland Flyer near Wilcox, Wyoming, a robbery that became famous and which resulted in a massive man hunt. Many notable lawmen of the day took part in the hunt for the robbers, but they were not found.

During a shootout with lawmen following that robbery, both Kid Curry and George Curry shot and killed Sheriff Joe Hazen. Tom Horn, a killer for hire employed by the Pinkerton Agency, obtained information from explosives expert Bill Speck about the Hazen shooting, and Horn passed this information to Pinkerton detective Charlie Siringo. The gang escaped into the Hole-In-The-Wall. Siringo was assigned the task of capturing the outlaw gang. He became friends with Elfie Landusky, who was using the last name Curry after allegedly becoming pregnant by Kid Curry’s brother, Lonny. Through her, Siringo intended to locate the gang.

On July 11, 1899, Lay and others were involved in a Colorado and Southern Railroad train robbery near Folsom, New Mexico, which Cassidy may have planned and personally directed. A shootout ensued with local law enforcement in which Lay killed Sheriff Edward Farr and Henry Love; Lay was convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment at New Mexico State Penitentiary.

The Wild Bunch would separate following a robbery and flee in different directions, reuniting at a predetermined location, such as the Hole-in-the-Wall hideout, Robbers Roost, or Madame Fannie Porter’s brothel, in San Antonio, Texas.

For More Information Contact the Vampire Council Library

It was 1902 when Butch and Sundance ended up robbing a bank that happened to have Will and Sparrow inside. It went wrong from the moment they stepped into the building. In the end Sundance and Butch escaped with the two Vampires’ help, and ended up Turned.

No one was surprised they were Mates.

Sylum Inspiration: Patrick McKenna

Camelot: Member

 

Patrick was born in 1966AD, in Armagh, Northern Ireland to Mary Ann McKenna, a former Nun.  His biological father is unknown.

She raised him to be a devout Catholic, attending Mass every day of his life, and teaching him that God loved him, and He had a destiny waiting for him.

When he was six years old, he lost his mother in a UVF bombing at Armagh Cathedral – a protest against the visit by a Titular Archbishop on an Apostolic Mission from the Vatican, who had come to Ireland to try and broker peace.  The boy’s survival saw him labelled as ‘The Little Miracle of Saint Patrick’.

The Archbishop took Patrick back with him to Italy, formally adopting him, stating that he would raise the boy in God’s Church.

Patrick had the Vatican as his playground and school yard.  He remembered most fondly the Vatican Police officer who usually caught him running from the Nuns and dragged him back to his studies.

As he got older, he found himself talking with that same officer for hours, looking to him for wisdom and companionship.

Though he didn’t have to, when he was 18 he demanded that he follow through with his National Service to the Italian Military.  Though he never learned to use a gun, he excelled at flying helicopters.  Patrick never told the Vatican Police Officer, that he knew it was him who had made sure Patrick was safe during those two years.

When he returned, he dedicated his life to the Church, going through Seminary and becoming a Priest.  When his ‘father’ became Pope, he took the position as Camerlengo – much to the dismay of many older men in the Church who had sought the position for themselves.

He was proud to see his friend go on to become Inspector General of Vatican Police.

When his father suddenly died, he was devastated.

The night of Conclave 2006AD, everything changed.

Sylum Inspiration: Thracius Fulvius Severus

Camelot: Scientist

 

Thracius was the second son of a Senator. He did not have the patience for politics, and no head for the military life.

He was educated instead, in the art of medicine. His bedside manner left much desired, but his results were well appreciated.

Severus did not take to fools, and never had a problem saying as such, getting himself in to trouble on many occasions.

It was a Senator who introduced him to Imenand, following an enquiry about the doctor’s manner. Imenand, however, spoke up on behalf of the doctor, and took him in to have him work at the Council.

Within moments, Severus demanded to know what was really going on, berating Imenand that he was not to be treated as a common fool, whereupon he took the knowledge of Vampire existence in his stride, and continued to advance his skills as a doctor of medicine, learning everything he could from the Vampires, and how they healed themselves from the mere ingestion of blood.

Imenand eventually approached him about being Turned, and Severus just rolled his eyes, wondering why it had taken so long for anyone to ask.

Sylum Inspiration: Azazel

Oceania: Hunter

 

The tales around who Azazel is and where he comes from is legendary.

Some say he was a fallen angel from heaven.  Others say he was part of the Neyaphem, and was at war with the Cheyarafim, who banished his people to another dimension.  Only Azazel escaped due to his teleporting capabilities.

When asked how old he really is, and where he comes from he only smiles.

There are legends through history that talk about the ‘red devil’ or a demon who just appears in front of you seeking your soul.

But the first time recorded history of Azazel is in the Caribbean, and Captain Jack Sparrow.

Sylum Inspiration: Roland Deschain

Oceania: Hunter

 

Roland was born into slavery, on a plantation in South Carolina.  When the war broke out between the states, his father took the advantage and fled with him and his mother.  He found himself out west, moving from town to town.  His mother had taught him how to read, and his father taught him how to survive.

He learned quickly to use a gun, became known for his natural skills.

And when a posse came for him, he ran.

Roland ended up in Australia, if you ask him how, he really couldn’t tell you.  He used his skills to help those he could, and in time found himself protecting the aborigines and those who were being pushed out of their lands by wealthy men with power.

He kept to his father’s code:

I do not aim with my hand;
He who aims with his hand has forgotten the face of his father.
I aim with my eye.


I do not shoot with my hand;
He who shoots with his hand has forgotten the face of his father.
I shoot with my mind.


I do not kill with my gun;
He who kills with his gun has forgotten the face of his father.
I kill with my heart.

It was Jake who finally caught up with him, along with Dundee and Quigley.  They sat him down to explain about Vampires.  He was intrigued by the way they lived their lives, and protection they gave.

So he agreed to be Turned.

Sylum Inspiration: Mason Weaver

Oceania: Member

 

Mason Anne Weaver was named after her grandfather. And since her first roll call most people think she’s going to be a boy. Now she mostly uses that to her advantage. She grew-up in the suburbs of Chicago during the late 1940s and early 1950s. Her fascination with photography began in her teens when she borrowed her father’s old Leica III camera. She began taking photos of the her neighborhood, kids riding bicycles, local pets and the animals at the zoo, the “L” train, and the city. She entered several of her photos in local contest and even managed to win a few.

In 1963, her future prospects, according to her mother, were to find a husband or go to college to find a husband. She opted for college but omitted the plans to find a husband. She decided that her hobby was a good start for a degree in either photography or journalism and pursued it along with a degree English. She began working for the college paper and in her senior year earned a spot to travel to New York City to hear Martin Luther King speak at Riverside Church.

After listening to the “Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence” speech Mason began taking photos at Civil Rights gatherings; as well as the protests in D.C. A few of her photos appeared in newspapers and magazines.

By 1970 she found herself in Vietnam as an investigative photojournalist or, as some would call her depending on what was on the other side of her lens, an “anti-war” photographer. She believes (and still does) that pictures speak for themselves and she always tries to stay out of the politics of it all.

She was embedded with the MAC V-SOG (Military Assistance Command, Vietnam – Studies and Observations Group). And, by the end of the war in 1973 Mason had one of her photos on the cover of Time magazine.

Her last excursion before leaving Vietnam was to take one more trip into the jungle following a former SAS Captain who was reportedly looking for a down helicopter and its pilot. The little adventure was more harrowing than being embedded with the MAC V-SOG. After all, she had been right, there was something very suspicious about the story of the downed craft and the pilot. There were chases, gunfire, vampires, dying, and James.

By the end only four people walked out of the jungle. No one talks about it.

Sylum Inspiration: Thomas Magnum

Oceania: Hunter

 

Thomas Sullivan Magnum IV was born 1944. Both his father and grandfather were naval officers.

He was born in Detroit, but raised in the region of Tidewater, Virginia. In high school, his football team won a Virginia State football championship. Some members of his family, including his mother and her second husband, still reside there.

Magnum attended the United States Naval Academy then served ten or more years as an officer in the United States Navy, rising to the rank of Lieutenant before resigning from the service in disillusionment in 1979.

Magnum was a Vietnam War veteran and a former POW who believed his wife Michelle died in bombing during the final pull-out from Saigon. He served in both the SEALs and Naval Intelligence during his Navy years, and as such maintained many contacts in both communities.

After he retired he moved to Hawaii where he became a Private Investigator. He ended up working for Robin Nest as security personnel, in exchange of room and board, and use of his Ferrari. His boss was Higgins, who he suspected of being Nest, but could never prove it.

When he was shot defending Higgins, he found out at least some of Higgins’ secrets and accepted being Turned.

Sylum Inspiration: Lyca

Vampire Council: Member

 

Dilios Note: What we do know is they started life as wolves – well what Humans would call wolves, I’m not sure what the term for them was where they came from. They were protectors of ‘The Diplomat’ and first experiments of the ‘Wraith Cure’ from The Doctor. When the Wraith attacked Atlantis, they escaped through the Stargate along with Viduus to Earth.

The first time they lived as Human was the beginning of Ancient Rome. Rumors have it that it was Lyca, the she-wolf, that raised Remus and Romulus.

Sometime in AD, Lyca gave birth to three boys. This is when they state, they were fully Human, with the wolf heritage under the skins.

Dilios Note: The werewolf legend is likely to have come from them. Though they don’t have to turn at the full moon, it does bring more animal instincts out.

Sylum Inspiration: Perseus

Vampire Council: Hunter

 

There is a lot of myth and legend surrounding Perseus life.

Perseus was the son of Zeus and Danaë, who by her very name, was the archetype of all the Danaans. Danaë was the daughter of Acrisius, King of Argos. Disappointed by his lack of luck in having a son, Acrisius consulted the oracle at Delphi, who warned him that he would one day be killed by his daughter’s son with Zeus. In order to keep Danaë childless, Acrisius imprisoned her in a bronze chamber, open to the sky, in the courtyard of his palace:   This mytheme is also connected to Ares, Oenopion, Eurystheus, etc. Zeus came to her in the form of a shower of gold, and impregnated her. Soon after, their child was born; Perseus—”Perseus Eurymedon, for his mother gave him this name as well” (Apollonius of Rhodes, Argonautica IV).

Fearful for his future, but unwilling to provoke the wrath of the gods by killing the offspring of Zeus and his daughter, Acrisius cast the two into the sea in a wooden chest. Danaë’s fearful prayer, made while afloat in the darkness, has been expressed by the poet Simonides of Ceos. Mother and child washed ashore on the island of Serifos, where they were taken in by the fisherman Dictys (“fishing net”), who raised the boy to manhood. The brother of Dictys was Polydectes (“he who receives/welcomes many”), the king of the island.

More on the Myth see the

Some of the myth is true, his mother was Danaë; his father though is unknown.  Her husband Acrisius threw mother and son into the sea, and they were found by Dictys, and only Perseus survived.  He was raised to be a fisherman, content with life, until the war between two kingdoms destroyed his home, killing his family.

He made his way to Aethiopia, where he fell in love with Andromeda.  The king offered his daughter’s hand if he was to slay the rival king, and bring back the queen’s head.  The journey faced many challenges, but when he returned he discovered that Andromeda had married another.  Legend has it he tossed the queen’s head at the family’s feet, turning them to stone.<

The truth is he pretty much destroyed the city on his way out.

He set out to take up his father’s craft when he met Methos, who offered him another opportunity.

Sylum Inspiration: Hetshepsu

Vampire Council: Legal Counsel

 

Hetshepsu is the fraternal twin of Shepsit Hemet Amun-Ra.  A rare occurrence and considered a blessing to all.  They were removed from the home, and taken to the city and raised in the Temple of Ra.  Both equal in beauty, and admired by all.

Shepsit became a Priestess of Ra, while Hetshepsu was taken in by Ra’s Al Ghul and trained in the Courts.  He married Al Ghul’s oldest daughter Talia, and had four children.   He and his sister stayed extremely close, despite the fact she was isolated in the Temple.  When he discovered she was pregnant, he confronted her on her stupidity.  She assured him she was safe, and no one knew who the father was, and all assumed it was Ra.

Despite the fact he still didn’t like the situation he was devoted to his nephew Nekau, and was devastated when he was killed.

He watched in horror along with everyone else when Ra slit the young boy’s throat.  He knew at that moment the war had begun.  He made his way back to his home, to find his wife dying next to his children.  A warrior leveled his sword against the youngest when Hetshepsu attacked.  He disarmed and killed the guard, then scooped his child up and ran for his father-in-laws home.  Ra’s Al Ghul pulled him off the street and hid him away from passing guards.  They barely made it out of the city and towards the Medjai camp.

It was once they stopped he realized he had been wounded, collapsing into Ra’s Al Ghul’s arms, and he apologized for not saving Talia.  Ra’s Al Ghul Turned him, later telling him his penance was to wait with him until their family returned home.

Sylum Inspiration: Hua Mulan

Vampire Council: Council Member

 

Hua Mulans story is a well known legend in Japan, but the actual facts of the story are still in debate.

The poem starts with Mulan worried, as one male from each family is called to serve in the army. Her father is old and weak and her younger brother is too young, so she decides to take his place and bids farewell to her parents. After twelve years of fighting, the army returns and the warriors are rewarded. Mulan turns down an official post, and asks only for a swift horse to carry her home. She is greeted with joy by her family. Mulan dons her old clothes and meets her comrades, who are shocked that in their years traveling together, they did not realize that she was a woman.

She will tell you that most of it is true.

The story that continues is not as heroic to state that when the Emperor discovered one of his best warriors was a woman, he offered her to be his concubine or a death sentence.  She refused stating that when she dressed as a man, she was good enough to die in honor, and the Emperor should respect that.  On the eve of her execution, an older gentleman came into her room, and offered her a new life of freedom.

She took it.

Sylum Inspiration: Hector

Vampire Council: Second-in-Command

 

Hector was a Trojan prince and the greatest fighter for Troy in the Trojan War. As the first-born son of King Priam and Queen Hecuba, a descendant of Dardanus, who lived under Mount Ida, and of Tros, the founder of Troy, he was a prince of the royal house and the heir apparent to his father’s throne. He was married to Andromache, with whom he had an infant son, Scamandrius (whom the people of Troy called Astyanax). He acted as leader of the Trojans and their allies in the defense of Troy, killing 31,000 Greek fighters in all.

In the European Middle Ages, Hector figures as one of the Nine Worthies noted by Jacques de Longuyon, known not only for his courage but also for his noble and courtly nature. Indeed Homer places Hector as peace-loving, thoughtful as well as bold, a good son, husband and father, and without darker motives. When the Trojans are disputing whether the omens are favorable, he retorts: “One omen is best: defending the fatherland.”

According to the Iliad, Hector did not approve of war between the Greeks and the Trojans.

For ten years, the Achaeans besieged Troy and their allies in the east. Hector commanded the Trojan army, with a number of subordinates including Polydamas, and his brothers Deiphobus, Helenus, and Paris. By all accounts, Hector was the best warrior the Trojans and all their allies could field, and his fighting powers were admired by Greeks and his own people alike.

Diomedes and Odysseus, when faced with his attack, described him as what was translated as an ‘invincible headlong terror’, and a ‘maniac’.

In the Iliad, Hector’s exploits in the war prior to the events of the book are recapitulated. He had fought the Greek champion Protesilaus in single combat at the start of the war and killed him. A prophecy had stated that the first Greek to land on Trojan soil would die. Thus, Protesilaus, Ajax, and Odysseus would not land. Finally, Odysseus threw his shield out and landed on that, and Protesilaus jumped next from his own ship. In the ensuing fight, Hector killed him, fulfilling the prophecy.

At the advice of his brother, Helenus (who also is divinely inspired), and being told by him that he is not destined to die yet, Hector managed to get both armies seated and challenges any one of the Greek warriors to single combat. The Argives were initially reluctant to accept the challenge. However, after Nestor’s chiding, nine Greek heroes stepped up to the challenge and drew by lot to see who was to face Hector. Ajax wins and fights Hector to a stalemate for the entire day. With neither able to achieve victory, they express admiration for each other’s courage, skill, and strength. Hector gave Ajax his sword, which Ajax later uses to kill himself. Ajax gives Hector his girdle, which later was used to attach Hector’s corpse to Achilles’ chariot by which he is dragged around the walls of Troy.

Another mention of Hector’s exploits in the early years of war was given in the Iliad book 9. During the embassy to Achilles, Odysseus, Phoenix and Ajax all try to persuade Achilles to rejoin the fight. In his response, Achilles points out that while Hector was terrorizing the Greek forces now, and that while he himself had fought in their front lines, Hector had ‘no wish’ to take his force far beyond the walls and out from the Skiaian Gate and nearby oak tree. He then claims, ‘There he stood up to me alone one day, and he barely escaped my onslaught.’ A 2004 film version of Troy has Achilles slaying Hector following a duel, whereas in the Iliad it is rather different. Hector remains outside the walls, while his army flees into the city. As Achilles approaches, Hector stands his ground, fights and dies upon looking up at Troy. The film version of his death more resembles the single combat between the champions mentioned by Achilles in the Iliad, book 9.

In the tenth year of the war, observing Paris avoiding combat with Menelaus, Hector upbraids him with having brought trouble on his whole country and now refusing to fight. Paris therefore proposes single combat between himself and Menelaus, with Helen to go to the victor, ending the war. The duel, however, leads to inconclusive results due to intervention by Aphrodite who leads Paris off the field. After Pandarus wounds Menelaus with an arrow the fight begins again.

The Greeks attack and drive the Trojans back. Hector must now go out to lead a counter-attack. His wife, Andromache, carrying in her arms their son Astyanax, intercepts him at the gate, pleading with him not to go out for her sake as well as his son’s. Hector knows that Troy and the house of Priam are doomed to fall and that the gloomy fate of his wife and infant son will be to die or go into slavery in a foreign land. With understanding, compassion, and tenderness he explains that he cannot personally refuse to fight, and comforts her with the idea that no one can take him until it is his time to go. The gleaming bronze helmet frightens Astyanax and makes him cry. Hector takes it off, embraces his wife and son, and for her sake prays aloud to Zeus that his son might be chief after him and become more glorious in battle than he.

Hector and Paris pass through the gate and rally the Trojans, raising havoc among the Greeks.

Hector chooses to remain outside the gates of Troy to face Achilles, partly because had he listened to Polydamas and retreated with his troops the previous night, Achilles would not have killed so many Trojans. However, when he sees Achilles Hector is seized by fear and turns to flee. Achilles chases to him around the city three times before Hector masters his fear and turns to face Achilles. But Athena, in the disguise of Hector’s brother Deiphobus, has deluded Hector. He requests from Achilles that the victor should return the other’s body after the duel, but Achilles refuses. Achilles hurls his spear at Hector, who dodges it, but Athena brings it back to Achilles’ hands without Hector noticing. Hector then throws his own spear at Achilles; it hits his shield and does no injury. When Hector turns to face his supposed brother to retrieve another spear, he sees no one there. At that moment he realizes that he is doomed.

Hector decides that he will go down fighting and that men will talk about his bravery in years to come. The desire to achieve ever-lasting honor was one of the most fierce for soldiers living in the timocratic (honor based) society of the age.

Hector pulls out his sword, now his only weapon, and charges. A raging duel ensues, and eventually Achilles finishes it. He slices at Hector’s armor, throwing him off guard and spinning him around. Achilles spins around too, and when Hector turns around completely, Achilles grapples him, stabbing him through the belly with his sword and throwing him a short way over his shoulder. Hector, in his final moments, begs Achilles for an honorable funeral, but Achilles replies that he will let the dogs and vultures devour Hector’s flesh. Hector dies, prophesying that Achilles’ death will follow soon.

Triumphant Achilles dragging Hector’s lifeless body in front of the Gates of Troy.

For More Information Contact the Vampire Council Library