~Origin Of Masque~
Looking into a fallen angel’s eyes and seeing the despair falling in tears.
Staining with grief those most perfect features, so like marble-so cold to grieve.
I see as in a mirror my own sorrow, replete with empty handed helplessness
There is no word in heaven nor on earth; no sympathy in paradise nor in hell;
no one to share this pain with, save i, the lone witness to this angel’s theft of her wings.
Helpless to give comfort or relief. So i look down, open my wings and push off for the sky.
Retreating cowardly from my own impotence,I sigh in despair and fold my wings in flight
To plunge myself to perdition and towards those eyes
I plummet toward his hallowed form, looking for the kiss of oblivion in his arms
© Domina & Vanth 1996-1997
Part I - In the beginning...
So where should I start? *laughs* At the beginning I suppose. Masque was originally created to destroy another character of mine. You old timers of the Dungeon may remember that story. Yes it was Masque who hunted and killed the beloved DyKeena. Now before you go thinking her a ruthless murderer let me explain. Masque was created and controlled by an evil undead Spectre.
DyKeena was the true love of this Spectre...but I suppose she was much to "human" for his needs. So he created Masque as an Identical duplicate of DyKeena...but she being more ruthless, and like himself, undead. I say 'created' because the majicks of just how he accomplished this have been lost since his disappearence (It is unknown who or what Masque orginally was before becoming his minion.) He then commanded her to hunt and destroy DyKeena so she could take her place at his side. Sadly DyKeena's trust of this evil tyrant became her undoing. After DyKeena's death everything went as planned and Masque continued her "employment" under her master. He taught her the ways of majick and the skill of self defense. He made her wise and powerful. THIS they say, was HIS undoing. It seems the student surpassed the teacher and she soon grew tired of his attentions. Now what happened next is still unknown to this day, and if you ask Masque she too will tell you she does not remember the entire tale with clarity. Perhaps the majicks at work removed a bit of her memory..or the transformation itself was too traumatic and has forever buried it deep within her consciousness. She knew, in her wisdom, that if she was human, the Spectre would no longer desire her. So she searched the realms until she at last found the proper spell she needed to complete her task. So it was done, Masque was now mortal, a very powerful and skilled mortal. After this the Spectre disappeared and now fears the woman he created. Oh he tried once to confront her, but the once powerful entity recoiled and fled as her mocking laughter echoed through the Dungeon.
I suppose the next relevant item I should mention is her devoted and cherished kin. She has three sisters and one brother conceived by blood oath...and most recently a wonderful niece and nephew-in-law. Her older sister Iliessa, beloved wife of Strahd, is a Blood Angel vampyre. Masque is NOT a vampyre but some of Iliessa's blood does flows through her veins. Needless to say even a small sip of blood wyne can have tremendous consequences. She also inherited some very nice wings from Iliessa's heritage. Now her middle sister, Mara, is the most recent addition to her siblings and shares Masque's love of wine and spirits. Her only brother, Adonai, is one of her most trusted confidants. He probably knows more about Masque then even she herself does. Now Adonai is a god, and sharing blood with a god can give you some wonderfuly amazing side effects. Ask Masque sometime to show you her chains ~smirks~, but be careful...this being a godlike power it is hard for her to control. The youngest of her sisters is Thegirl, of whom she is probably way over-protective, but rightly so as it seems her beauty has enticed more then her share of suitors. Now Iliessa has a daughter, Silver Angel (shadow), who is not only Masque's niece but her very dear friend and partner in mischief. Silver Angel was wed just this past month to Druehan, who knows better then to call her 'Auntie Masque'.
Part II - Rebirth
The most recent history of Masque revolves around her 'death' and 'rebirth'. Seems one night, while inebriated and deep in the bowels of depression, Masque offered herself to the vampyre Seth hoping then that he would end her suffering. He did kill her sadly enough and much to the horror of her older sister Illiessa; who could only stand by and watch helpless since Masque offered herself freely to him. *chuckels* But one must not forget that she is a sorceress first and formost and had forgotten about the protections she had placed on herself before wanting to die. A gift was given to her a long time ago by an ancient dragon, a ring, an amulet for storing one's very soul. It took a week for her spirit to make it's way back to her sister Iliessa in an attempt to inform her of the rings significance. Iliessa did discover the secret to the rings power and with a drop of her own blood retored Masque's soul. ~sighs~ However, it seems that her time in the underworld did not go totally without repercussions. Be warned....if you see Masque's eyes glow green and she should suddenly not act like herself. There is an evilness inside her now, a demon, who has the ability to take control of her. She has yet to discover how to defeat this entity, and so, now lives in fear of hurting those closest to her.
Part III - Phoenix
After much searching through the known realms, Masque found a book which she thought could cure her of her demonic curse. As she studied this intently for months it was taken everywhere with her. Many whispered that this was perhaps the fabled Necromicon, although it's true origin was known only to her, if even then. Regardless Masque found a spell she thought, once reversed, would seperate the demon entity from her. However, being unfamiler with tis form of necromantic sorcery, there was much at risk and no guarantee it would work as she planned. Alas there was no choice but for her to attempt it or be eventually consumed by Malhavoch (the demon) and lose her soul regardless. So one fateful night, in the castle Solace, she set about her task. The spell did indeed seperate her from the demon as she had hoped. But as her friends began to destroy the abomnation while she conecntrated on the spell, it become clear that she had made one grave error. It seems as her body WAS seperated her MIND was not. As the demon began to perish so too did Masque, and this was realized, to everyones horror, a bit to late.
As her mournful brother, Zeldarb, held her dying body in his arms, weeping, she relayed her final goodbye with only a look before unconsciencness enveloped her. He on the other hand had a different idea, and out of sheer desperation, embraced her; brother becoming sire with a few dropletts of his lifeblood. Upon awakening and realizing her transformation, Masque flew into a violent rage. Tearing through the castle demanding to know who had turned her into this monstrosity. With a heavy heart her brother stepped forward and confessed it was he who had done so, but insisted it was necessasary to save her life. Needless to say she was devestated; emotions of sadness, anger and betrayal weighting upon her now still heart. A short while has passed since these events have taken place and Masque is still struggleing with what she has now become; Bloodangel, vampire, immortal. Her relationship with Zeldarb is still strained but slowly healing. She now has a tendency now more then ever to help mortals from those of her own kind. Guess old habits die hard......
