vampires of Compuserve

(2 gargoyles atop columns) Gateways

to the lairs of the Vampires of CompuServe

Denizens of CompuServe's Literary Forum,

Section 7, Vampires / Anne Rice fans and of Tavern Noir.

Take a glimpse into the world of Tavern Noir.

Some links may lead to stories containing mature subject material & not suitable for children.
This site is not responsible for content of other sites reached through these links.

... and Anduril's Lair II.

Hidden somewhere there is the Inner Sanctum, find it if you can...

and Vampiric Tendencies...

the lair of many, many, way too many vampire links--

vampire literature, movies, RPG's and web sites.

You'll be exploring for hours.

for The Vampire Pages, some vampire facts, lore and links.

The page of a newly published writer.

His story "Cross & Silver" will appear in

Secret Sanctum Magazine's Halloween issue.

The sequel, "Blood of Innocents", will follow in the next issue.

Also there-- Fang Fiction-- great vampire fiction

submitted by vampire fans for your enjoyment.

Definitely check out Lady Vampyre's work.

The Vampyre Lair, Lady Kestrel's page

The interests of a cyber-vampire.

Many vampire, dragon, art, costume and Gothic links.

(frequently raided by ghouls<g>)

Tatiana's Custome Cloake Shoppe

and Fang Emporium

(the envy of us ghoulish dressers)

Instructions on making your own fangs,

and a Tavern Noir excerpt

(bat courtesy of Caverns of Blood)

Title graphics used with permission of respective page owner's permission.
Do the same if you intend on using them also.
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Escape

A piece from

Tavern Noir

One of CompuServe's many tavern RPG games

picture, "Dismay" by Sonya Purcell-Loving
(see note at bottom of this page)
copyright © 1996, Al Worthington

Tavern Noir / Dismay (Erisse) 20 AT THE WAREHOUSES & BACK TO THE TAVERN

(after using incendiary grenades to deal with another vampire {Morgan})

The deafening roar ringing in her ears had dissipated and she could hear again. The brilliant flash of light burned upon her sight had faded and through the hazy crimson veil of bitter tears she was able to see again. Getting to her feet, she gazed about. Though she had razed and set ablaze everything around her and she was the only one left in the warehouse lot, she still wasn't satisfied. Her vengeance had been stolen away from her and the ravens that were flocking about a nearby building top were gone. She had been forsaken yet again!

"Useless!" she cursed the body of her companion lying lifeless upon the ground. Without him, she had no one to drive her back to the Tavern. She didn't know how to. Neither did she know how to travel as a bat. She had never been taught. Furious, she threw the grenade launcher at the corpse. Contemptuously, she turned and walked away. Stopping to pick up the shotgun she had used against Morgan earlier, she then left the warehouse lot.

Several blocks away from the conflagration of her making, she caught a glimpse of a motorcycle lying abandoned in an alley. Morgan's motorcycle she recognized it as being. And upon further investigating, she found her trophy-- his trench coat, left abandoned also. Wrapping the shotgun in it, she was on her way again, though not sure which way the path back to the Tavern laid.

Patience not being one of her virtues, she quickly grew tired of fruitlessly wandering through the empty streets of the business district. Just as she was about to give up in frustration, a delivery truck pulled up beside her. Its passenger door opened and the driver motioned for her to climb in.

The driver didn't know where the Tavern was but from her description of it and the street it was on, he was able to determine the general area in which it was located. A towel he offered her, which she used to wipe off the soot covering her and her clothes as well as the bloody trails from tears upon her cheeks. She didn't pay any heed to his attempts at conversation, instead she despondently stared out the passenger window and at nothing in particular. "You have a family? Are you happy?" she interrupted. A picture of a woman and two young girls clipped to the dashboard she had noticed when she had gotten into the truck.

Readily, he responded. Still she didn't listen as he went on about his family. She never had a family. Being the unwanted child of a prostitute and some unknown aristocrat, she was abandoned. Alone, she grew up on the streets of Paris. Then came the fall of the King and without hesitation, she threw herself into the turmoil of the Revolution. Many aristocrats she helped bring to the guillotine and she hoped that her father was one of them. That was when she first seen her mistress. Narra was regal and powerful, like a dark goddess. Everything Erisse desired to be. Everything that she had been denied. When Narra brought her across, giving her the Dark Gift, Erisse was overjoyed. With Narra, Erisse had true freedom. Narra let her do what she desired and there was none that could deny her. She helped other fledglings revolt against their cruel Sires and she gathered about her the closest thing to a family that she had ever known. They reined over every night that fell upon Paris. Elders were scorned and mortals were prey. But then came misery again when her `family' was massacred by Morgan and she was forsaken by Narra. She had intervened to save Erisse's life but chosen Morgan, who was also of her blood, so Erisse was banished to the New World...

"Stop!" she cried out. The driver brought the truck to a sudden stop and looked at her in concern. Finally turning to him, she captured his attention with her seductive gaze. "Tell me again," she ordered him. Enthralled, he did as commanded. As he spoke, she crawled across the truck seat to his side. She didn't care about his recollections, but the joy he felt from the memories. No longer could she hold back. She struck. Lunging for his neck, she sank her fangs into his jugular and drank deeply. She felt the flush of vitality coursing through her and borne with his life's blood the joy of his memories. His body went limp and pressure upon the truck's brake pedal was relaxed, his other foot slipped off the clutch and the truck lurched forward. Into a building it rolled, crashing through its plate glass front. She didn't even notice, in the throes of ecstasy she was. A shudder of euphoria racked her body and she slumped against him. "Yes, you were a happy man. Thank you." she whispered to him. Out of the truck she climbed. Back out into the street she made her way. She knew where she now was, her destination was only a block away. Toward the Tavern she walked, finally feeling satisfied.

That was Dismay, a character from Tavern Noir, an email role playing tavern game going on in CompuServe's Literary Forum, Section 7, Vampires/Anne Rice fans. Don't let the innocent poise of the picture fool you, a very deceptive poise as evident in the Tavern Noir excerpt above. She has been causing chaos for several years now, starting in a Marvel SuperHeroes role playing game a while back and will be appearing in a future Lethal Comics title (yet another in addition to Vampire Syndicate). Portrait by Sonya Purcell-Loving, a Houston Masquerade player and artist. She has done other vampire portraits and her work has been shown in Houston art shows. Perhaps in the future I may showcase other pieces of her artworks. Most definitely there will be another (of a second character) she'll be doing for this page.

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