May 15 2001 - present [20]
-Zane awakens on the morning of his 20th birthday to discover that Corbin had committed suicide on Danny’s grave during the night. Zane refuses to accept that Corbin would commit suicide, and firmly believes he was murdered. His reasoning is that Corbin promised never to leave him, and suicide constitutes leaving. He also begins to suspect that Danny’s killer wasn’t a shapeshifter after all.
-Overwhelmed by recent events, and grieving hard for Corbin, Zane is on the verge of an emotional breakdown. Troy, concerned for Zane’s emotional well being as well as his physical health, suggests that Zane come and stay with him for a week or so, just to get away from the people who have been the source of Zane’s misery. Zane at first declines the offer, but when Jason later informs Zane of how much he wants Sepp to himself, Zane agrees, and during the daytime, he packs some of his things and leaves to stay with Troy. He leaves a note for Sepp, plus a phone number he can be reached at in case of emergencies and reassurances that he’ll be back in a week.
-Sepp tracks Zane down the very same night, and punishes him severely for leaving. Zane is badly beaten, then raped with a sharp, dry stick Sepp found in the woods. Both Zane and Jason are then locked in Christian’s basement for the entire day, chased around the whole time by Christian’s szlachta. Zane, unable to walk due to the damage from being raped, is forced to rely on Jason, who practically carries him for most of the night. Seeing Jason as his rescuer and protector, Zane is reluctant to let Jason out of his sight.
-Jason leaves home to go to Shadows Bar the following night. Zane, still sick and weak from the night spent in Christian’s basement, is almost unable to follow; he should have stayed home to rest, but seeing Jason as his hero and protector, he wanted to be wherever Jason was. Jason, apparently not knowing how badly Zane was punished and unaware that he’d been beaten and raped, didn’t think Zane needed any specific comforting. Instead, Jason wallowed in sympathy slathered on him from his girlfriend Mirri Valentine while Zane slipped into a state of catatonic shock. Night-Eyes, sensing that Zane was hurt and unhappy, attempted to comfort Zane, who rejected the effort, still utterly focused on Jason, who nearly ignored Zane the entire time. Cyndane “Min” Taggart, remembering Zane from when he was knifed by James, and seeing how hurt he was, comforted Zane and helped him recover a bit from the punishment.
-Night-Eyes is still offended that Zane refused his attempt to help and comfort him. Zane, realizing that the wolf-dog is a better friend than Jason, does everything he can to appease Night-Eyes forgives Zane and declares Zane his mate. Zane, desperate for acceptance and starved for the sense of security Night-Eyes is offering, gladly accepts.
-Zane, wanting distraction from his own problems and desperate to try and secure his place as one of the Derakh ghouls, throws himself wholeheartedly into finding Corbin and Danny’s killer. He leads a Mage into the woods and shows her the site where Danny was killed. She informs Zane that the killing was done by a human, not a shifter, and that the body was killed elsewhere, then dumped in the woods.
-Jason lets slip that he and Danny had a “secret haven” that they used to spend time in, and Zane insists Jason take him there, to search for any and all possible clues about who killed Danny and why. Zane and Jason are supprised to find new, fresh writing on the walls, apparently from Danny, leading Zane to suspect Danny is either a ghost or still alive. Jason reads through Danny’s journal, finding useful information, which he refuses to share with Zane. Furious at Jason’s attitude, Zane and Night-Eyes bully him somewhat. To show Jason how much he means to Zane, Zane carves a list of names into his arm: Sepp, Troy, Jason, Christian, Corbin. Zane then carefully crosses out Corbin’s name, and informs Jason that, when all of these people have utterly abandoned him, he will die, because to Zane, they are the reasons he has for living.
-In a fit of frustration, Zane leads Night-Eyes to the graveyard that Danny and Corbin have been buried in. Zane and his faithful mate Night-Eyes exhume Danny’s body, only to discover that it isn’t Danny at all; the eye color is wrong, and there is an old scar on the body’s back that Zane knew for certain Danny did not have. The scent is Danny’s however, which confuses Zane… Zane and Night-Eyes, both exhausted and worn out, then exhume Corbin’s grave as well. Zane is stunned to find that the body isn’t Corbin either, but a clever look-alike. Zane’s keen sense of smell tells the truth: it isn’t Corbin. Zane and Night-Eyes destroy the body made to look like Danny, and Zane confiscates the body made to look like Corbin, storing it in Kills-Hope's meat locker.
-His hope renewed, Zane develops several theories, and draws the conclusion that Danny faked his death and then took Corbin with him. Zane still refuses to accept the notion that Corbin would have gone willingly, since Corbin did promise never to leave him. Zane redoubles his efforts to find Danny and force him to return Christian’s ghoul Corbin. Zane feels certain that Christian will accept him if he can accomplish this task.
-Zane talks to Troy, and from Zane’s description, Troy guesses that the bodies were Fleshcrafted to look like Danny and Corbin. Zane now knows that he’s not just dealing with a human, but a vampire. Fearing he’s in over his head, Zane seeks to inform Christian of what he has disovered, but Christian is nowhere to be found. Zane is reluctant to tell Sepp, since Sepp had been acting strangely lately.
-Mirri, Jason’s girlfriend, severely mauls Purraj’s mate Alex. Seeking revenge, Purraj threatens to attack Mirri’s mate, Jason. Zane, feeling that his loyalty to the Derakhs extends to cover Jason because Jason is Sepp’s ghoul, attempts to defend Jason from Purraj. Jason, not realizing the history between Zane and Purraj and the fact that the two have sworn to never harm each other, rejects Zane’s protection and puts himself in danger. Zane, concerned for Jason’s safety, ignores Night-Eyes, who has fallen ill. By the time Purraj abandons her attack, Night-Eyes has died, and Zane feels horribly guilty.
-Jason leaves Zane to grieve alone for Night-Eyes. Zane is heartbroken… being a tactile person by nature, he wants comforting, and is deeply hurt that Jason not only makes no attempt to help Zane deal with the loss of Night-Eyes, but goes off to spend time with Rei. Zane becomes severely depressed, both because of Night-Eyes’ death and because of Jason.
-Incapable of dealing with his sense of failure, guilt, and grief, and constantly feeling inferior to Jason, Zane begins to experiment with heroin and other illegal substances, trying to drug himself into a mindset where he can tolerate Jason’s behavior. Knowing that Jason would disapprove, he doesn’t tell Jason about his drug habit. Because the drugs sold to Zane are Wyrm tainted, they are more addictive than they normally would be, and Zane becomes hopelessly dependent on them.
-A fire nearly destroys the secret haven of Danny and Jason. Zane, obviously, doesn't really care.
-One of Zane’s new friends, Eriq du Loc, makes the mistake of calling Zane “Hero.” Zane remembers that it was Danny’s nickname for him, and he chases Eriq down, literally running him into the ground. Zane’s keen nose tells him that it is Danny, and that Danny has been Embraced. Not knowing what to do, he releases Danny/Eriq. Sepp suspects that Zane is keeping things from him, and asks him about Danny and Danny’s whereabouts. Zane, still determined to tell Christian and not Sepp, lies.
-Zane discovers that Corbin has become Tristan du Loc, and Zane desperately pleads with Corbin to leave the du Locs and return to the Derakhs. Corbin/Tristan agrees several times, yet he never acts upon his promises. Zane slowly begins to resent Corbin/Tristan, feeling cheated and lied to.
-Horribly addicted to heroin and lacking the funds to support his drug habit, Zane timidly asks Sepp if he is allowed to work as a prostitute for drug money. Sepp's answer is no; Sepp is baffled, having expected that, if Zane needed money, he'd have asked for it. Zane, however, is secretly too proud to ask for money, and he whores himself out without Sepp's knowledge or approval.
-Although they haven't spoken in quite some time, Zane petitions for Kills-Hope's assistance. Zane pleads with his adoptive father for a "favor;" Hope, who still loves his son very much, agrees. Within two hours, the remains of the secret haven Danny and Jason had together is leveled, a huge steaming crater left in it's place.
-Put off by perceived rejection from Zane, Jason decides to leave. He heads for Chicago, but is arrested for suspected murder en route. Zane learns that Sabine du Loc, Danny/Eriq’s sire posted bail for Jason, and Zane, ever loyal, insists that Sabine return Jason to the Derakhs. Sabine leads Zane to the du Loc haven, and Zane carries Jason home, since Jason has become very ill. Zane is encouraged somewhat; he now knows where the du Loc haven is, and is eager to tell Christian of his discoveries. Zane still doesn’t share his findings with Sepp; Zane is disheartened by the fact that Sepp never thanks Zane or praises him for tracking down his lost ghoul.
-While visiting with his brother Ben, Zane is attacked by Kuronue. The Metis Spiral Dancer has finally made his move, breaking the truce between himself and Kills-Hope. Ben leaps to Zane's rescue, allowing Zane enough time to escape, though Zane stays to try and help. Ben, stabbed through both lungs with Kuronue's Fleshrot Klaive, dies in Zane's arm, literally rotting into a puddle of slime as Zane watches. Kuronue flees, fearing Hope's reaction to having his firstborn son and only blood relation killed. Zane is stunned, having always seen Ben as a pillar of brute strength.
-Durring one of his many visits to Shadows Bar, Zane attempts to reassure himself by seeking acceptance from Sepp. Zane offers a blatant display of affection to his Domitor, kissing and licking his face, neck, and shoulder, and cuddling as much as possible. Sepp doesn't return the affection, however he doesn't stop Zane, who takes it as a good sign. Feeling more content and self-confident than he's felt in months, Zane murmurs terms of endearment to Sepp, in German. Marina, hearing Zane call Sepp "Mein Engel" [loosely translated: "my angel"] responds with mild hostility, claiming that Sepp is nobody's angel, and she proceeds to shatter Zane's confidence and comfort. Only knowing the laws of the Spiral Dancers, Zane percieves Marina's words to be a lawful challenge to his dominance. Since Sepp had repeatedly encouraged Zane to assert and maintain his dominance over others, Zane eagery attempts to meet the percieved challenge; he is stunned when Sepp reacts dissapprovingly, and further stunned that Sepp forces Zane to accept Marina's verbal abuse. Sepp then tells Zane to be still and quiet while he offers Marina a human to feed from, a makeshift peace offering. Sepp and Autymn stand by and do nothing while Zane struggles to do as he was told while Marina further verbally abuses him. To keep from retaliating, Zane bites his own tongue, doing considerable dammage and breaking a tooth. Autymn begins to realise that Marina is the one in the wrong, not Zane, and she forces the young vampire to say "sorry"... however, Zane is nearly incapable of comprehending spoken words by that point.
-Zane spends many hours trying to understand what happened. He is sick at heart... he has never truly felt hatred for anyone or anything before in his life, yet he hates Marina for hurting him and threatening to take his place at Sepp's side. He also realises that he feels hatred towards Autymn, for allowing it to happen. Even more strangely, Zane places a degree of hatred on Bastian, simply because Zane views Autymn and Marina as Bastian's posessions.
-James the Spiral Dancer returns to the city of Necropolis, and proceeds to bully Zane at every opportunity, nearly drowning him at one point.
-Durring another visit to Shadows Bar, both Sepp and Zane confront and attack James, with very limited success. James is stronger than both Sepp and Zane combined, and the two are forced to retreat into the Bar. Damien Tynalie, an old friend of Sepp's, assists in their retreat. Zane mostly ignores Damien; he's far too heavily drugged to notice or care that Damien is attempting to be kind to him.
-James informs Zane of what he plans to do to Jason, simply to spite and hurt Zane. Having been James' packmate and alpha, Zane knows that James will back up his threats. Zane desperately warns Jason to stay away from James; Jason stubbornly refuses, instead opting to confront James himself. Zane knows that a ghoul against a Spiral Dancer is no match... he loses his temper and argues with Jason. They essentially "break up." Zane is beginning to truly feel worthless... after all, no one ever really listens to him.
-Although Zane is angry with Jason, he still cares for him, and thus Zane goes to the Spirals for help. The brother of Zane's drug dealer agrees to kill James... for a price. Zane agrees to pay, on the condition that James' head will be delivered to Zane as proof of the kill.
-In another attempt to appease Sepp, Zane allows Troy to Fleshcraft away Zane's scars.
-Zane comes to an agreement and a truce with Mirri, who gives Zane the Chess Set of Gevauden, a powerful magic item.
-Furious with Jason, Zane tells Sepp the truth about several lies Zane told him, in an attempt to protect Jason. Sepp locks himself in Christian's basement in reponse, and refuses to come back out.
-James' head is delivered to Zane, and Zane pays the hired killer the requested fee. Thinking that Jason will finally accept him and that the two of them can get back together now that James is out of the way, Zane seeks out Jason... only to find that Jason has married Mirri. Zane is hurt beyond words; Jason swore to Zane that he would never marry Mirri. Zane is heartbroken, and he again feels that unnatural hatred flare up... he hates Mirri for "stealing" Jason from him.
-Damien goes out of his way to comfort and soothe Zane, who is understandably very disturbed and upset. Zane, feeling the need to return Damien's kindness, gives Gevauden's Chess Set to Damien as a present.
-Talia, a young vampire, confronts Zane about the Chess Set; she tells Zane that Damien is hers. Zane is devastated... he had begun to have feelings for Damien, and had left specific instructions not to let anyone else know about the Chess Set. Confused and hurt, Zane again feels hatred... he is slowly learning to hate and mistrust all women, especially female children.
-Christian returns, and Zane attempts to tell him what has happened while he was gone, but doesn't have time. He does, however, point out Danny/Eriq and Corbin/Tristan to Christian, who plans on killing them both. Zane argues against it, pleading for Corbin/Tristan's life.
-Zane confronts Damien about Talia and Talia's claims/accusations. Damien is stunned... apparently, Talia didn't have his permission to play with Gevauden's Chess Set. She also lied about her relationship with Damien. Zane is relieved... by now, Zane has slowly developed a crush on Damien, who closely resembles Ben, Zane's brother.
-Zane becomes convinced that Sepp and therefor the Derakhs have abandoned him, and panic overcomes him. Believing that the Derakhs have utterly rejected him, he flees in misery... Damien comforts Zane and offers to become Zane's owner, at least untill Sepp returns. Zane is incredibly grateful, and moves in with Damien, who gives him a red and black collar with the tag "Pure Platinum" on it.
-Zane notices Corbin/Tristan in the nearby woods, and Zane follows. Thinking Corbin/Tristan still belongs to Christian, and still feeling loyalty to the Derakhs, Zane offers to let Corbin/Tristan feed from him. A woman named Audra prevents Zane from helping. Zane's newfound pathological hatred of women shows through, and Audra shapeshifts; it turns out that she's a ghouled Mokole. Having lived his whole life among shifters, Zane is unimpressed and refuses to submit to her, even when she threatens to eat him; she inadvertently makes Zane's newfound hatred of women worse than before.
-Zane's HIV infection becomes full-blown AIDs, and Zane contracts tuberculosis and syphillis; due to complications from the TB infection, he also develops pneumonia. Already weakened due to self-starvation, Zane's health collapses, and he rapidly deteriorates.
-Kills-Hope and Zane track down Kuronue, who was attempting to steal Gevauden's Chess Set from Damien. Kuronue is subdued by Hope, then dies as a result of being skinned alive by Zane; blood loss and shock claim the Metis' life. Zane has Kuronue's skin made into a Garou fur rug, and gives it to Damien. Hope sends Kuronue's wedding ring to Gevauden, informing the elder Dancer of Kuronue's death. Hope, in an attempt to please Damien, sedates Zane and ties him to Damien's bed, and leaves the Chains of Power, the symbols of leadership to the Jagged Tooth and the Flying Fox, for Damien to protect.
-Damien, concerned for Zane's health, begs Zane to allow him to find a way to save his life. Zane reluctantly agrees.
-Zane runs into Christian in the streets outside of Shadows... by now, Zane is so ill he is having to constantly struggle to breathe, frequently coughing up phlegm and blood. Feverish and delerious, Zane attempts and fails to tell Christian the information he's gathered about Danny/Eriq, Corbin/Tristan, and Sabine. Christian does his best to help Zane, medicating him to try and alleviate the pain and to temporarily relieve Zane's symptoms.
-Damien sucessfully purges Zane's diseases, and as a side effect, the Blood Bond with Sepp is broken.
-Zane once again tries to inform Christian of what happened while he was gone. While Zane attempts to impress upon Christian how important it is to deal with problems "within the family," Christian sets Jaillyn, Corbin's ghoul, on his lap. Percieving it as Jaillyn being placed above Zane in rank, Zane gives up and decides that, since Christian seems to place no importance on what Zane has to say, it must not be worthwhile to bother with. His hatred of women extends to Jaillyn, since he sees her as competition for Christian's attention.
-Gevauden and Kills-Hope engage in a fight to the death in the woods near Shadows. Gevauden succeeds, roasting Kills-Hope with Balefire to the point where the Ahroun's charred remains are almost unidentifiable.
-Leclere hears of Kills-Hope's death, and sends his condolences to Zane... he also sends Zane two huge rubies, one which contains the soul of Ben, and one which contains the soul of Kills-Hope. Zane speaks with the soul of his dead adoptive father, and acting on Hope's wishes, Zane gives the Ben-ruby to Damien, and the Hope-ruby to Christian.
-Zane finds Danny/Eriq wandering around near sunrise; supprised, Zane quickly rescues him and locks him in Hope's basement. Zane still feels somehow responsible for Danny/Eriq, and tries to calm him. He discovers that Corbin/Tristan, whom Danny/Eriq was engaged to, apparently betrayed him by insisting that Audra be included, making their marriage a literal three-way. Danny/Eriq refused. Concerned for his former friend, Zane tries to talk some sense into Danny/Eriq, who feeds Zane some of his blood, beginning the process of building a Blood Bond. Zane, being weak willed, accepted it, and Danny/Eriq repeated the feeding the next night. Still loyal to the Derakhs and viciously against the du Locs, Zane musters what emotional strength he still has and flees, seeking out Christian.
-Desperate, Zane contacts Christian and, for the sake of his loyalty and sanity, begs Christian to lock him up and impose the Blood Bond on him. Christian agrees, and Zane becomes Christian's ghoul.
-Zane begins to view Jaillyn as a nuisance, and he alternately ignores her and bullies her, treating her with extreme contempt.
-Zane moves in with Christian, but still maintains a close relationship with Damien, whom Zane has fallen in love with. Damien helps Zane to overcome his heroin addiction.
-Christian, hoping to keep Zane happy and healthy via keeping him occupied, gives him many small tasks and puts him in charge of several other ghouls. Having always wanted to feel useful, Zane thoroughly enjoys working, and throws himself into any job he's given.
-Zane asks Christian for a collar, and Christian gives him a collar and instructs him to make two tags, one which says "Property of Chaos" and another which reads "Alpha Ghoul."
-Jason begins to show up at Shadows again. After being injured and then re-ghouled, he leaves Mirri. Believing that Jason has learned his lesson, Zane accepts him again, and allows Jason to move into Ben's home, which is now in Zane's posession.
-Christian kills Zak, a ghoul who had been giving Zane trouble and challenging his authority. Zane is impressed, and feels deeply reassured by Christian's acceptance.
-Zane convinces Jason to allow Zane to talk to Christian, in the hopes of getting Jason accepted as one of Christian's ghouls. However, just like always, Jason goes back on his word, and becomes Blood Bound to a vampire named Gabriel. Enraged, Zane throws him out.
-Gary Masterson, one of Zane's friends, gives him an increible gift: an ex-racehorse named Merlins Magic Red, or Merlin for short. Zane is thrilled, and very grateful; he often uses Merlin as transportation when he travels.
-Christian brings home Corbin/Tristan, whom he has severely beaten, and tells Zane to clean him up. Zane by now has learned to hate Corbin/Tristan for his repeated lies, and he clearly resents being told to help him in any way.
-An unknown assailant attempts to garrotte Zane in the men's room of Shadows Bar. He verbally abuses Zane and harasses him for being homosexual, and informs Zane that the reason he is going to kill him is because Zane is a "threat" to Jaillyn. Zane escapes but does not know who attacked him.
-Worried about Zane's health since Zane hasn't been eating and is on the verge of starvation, Christian takes him to see Bastian, who declares that the problem is Zane's stomach, which has ulcerated due to stress and starvation. Christian sacrifices another of his ghouls to replace Zane's ruined stomach with a healthy one. He then does everything he can to get Zane to eat. Zane reacts positively, eager to do whatever Christian tells him to do.
-Christian gives Zane a loft appartment downtown, so that he can entertain guests without threatening the safety of Christian's home. Zane still spends most of his time at Christian's, preferring to use the loft for entertainment purposes only.
-Zane brings a six year old boy home to his loft appartment and molests the child; Zane is even so bold he videotapes himself raping the small boy.
-Damien, Zane, and Shadow, while out in the woods enjoying a nice night, wind up arguing. Damien is offended that Zane confesses love for him, then kisses Shadow. Damien leaves, followed shortly by Shadow.
-Believing that he's forever driven Damien away from him, Zane once again becomes a heroin addict and takes up smoking. He also drinks heavily for several days, and is severely depressed.
-Zane goes to Damien, seeking forgiveness. Hoping to get past his fixation on meaningles sex, he swears to only be with Damien and Christian, and asks Damien to marry him. Damien agrees, and shortly after, Zane legally changes his name from Zane Marcus Freiden to Zane Marcus Tynalie.
-Troy finds out that Zane and Damien have become married, and becomes very depressed. He attempts suicide, though he is unsuccessful. Damien and Zane do their best to console him.
-Kills-Hope's soul is destroyed, used up as spiritual fuel.
-Zane begins to weaken, growing ill for unknown reasons. He once again refuses to eat, often throwing up when forced.
-Durring a visit to Shadows, Zane is asked to help Jaillyn. He reluctantly does so, but Jaillyn reacts poorly, and faints. A vampire Zane doesn't know [Brahms] tells Zane he is to be punished for harming his Clan's ghoul. Zane flees to Christian's home, to warn Corbin/Tristan that he needs to get rid of Jaillyn since she is a threat, and to seek Christian's protection, since Zane fears whatever the unknown Clan might do to punish him. Soon after his arrival home, the veins and arteries in Zane's lungs rupture, and he nearly drowns in his own blood. Already weak, Zane slips into a coma. Christian rigs Zane's body with PVC tubing, to keep his throat and lungs clear and drained so that he doesn't drown in his own blood.
-Ben's spirit and Damien, worried about Zane, sneak into Christian's home. Ben, having access to Zane's memories, knows how to navigate the security system, and the Banes that still serve the Spiral Dancer's soul help as well. They then take the comatose Zane to Damien's, where Damien's sister Beth uses Vicissitude to open Zane's body and repair the dammage to Zane's lungs. The cause of Zane's weakness becomes apparent: his heart condition has worsened. One of the valves in his heart is barely functioning, making his heart work much harder than it should. Beth repairs Zane's heart as well, and removes several calcifications in Zane's lungs, the remnants of his nearly fatal infection with tuberculosis. Zane slowly recovers, regaining consciousness not long after.
-In an attempt to make Jaillyn stop screaming, Zane slaps her. Missy Muerte, a vampire Zane had never met before, threatened to kill him for it. Zane pointed to his collar, which identified him as Chaos' ghoul... Missy Muerte didn't care, and simply bent his hand backwards, breaking his wrist. She lets him go without doing more dammage, though she does frighten him.
-Danny/Eriq tracks Zane down at Shadows, and parades around in front of him while wearing a Camarilla emblem on his jacket. Zane also hears through the rumor mill that Corbin/Tristan has gone "Cammie" as well. Zane exhausts himself bolting home to inform Christian of this news; upon arrival, he finds out from Christian that Danny/Eriq left a letter to Christian on Christian's door, informing him of his surrendering to the Camarilla.
-Christian sells Zane's loft, and Zane truthfully doesn't miss it.
-Zane, thinking that maybe the information he gathered about Danny/Eriq and Corbin/Tristan might be useful, attempts yet again to tell Christian what happened. This time, Christian listens. Zane is well-pleased. He also gives the body that was made to look like Corbin to Christian.
-Shibo, a Scrag Bane, begins to harass Zane.
[] This year of history is just too long to view all at once. Please click here for the rest of Zane's 20th year of life.