By April French

"The Devil and I had a chat this morning..." -- Charles Baudelaire

From the blood they came and to the blood they shall return. A new breed... or a very, very old one. They have returned. And unless they are stopped, we shall all be plunged into a world of darkness. Into an endless, forever night.

Cast: Season One

Regulars

Nick Knight
aka Nicolas de Brabant

An 800-year-old vampire in search of his mortality. In his early days, Nicolas knew Joan of Arc. Later, he studied piano under Beethoven, and was a medic during the American Civil War and a cop in Chicago during the 60s (before Woodstock, of course). Stubborn to a fault, Nick has a wicked sense of humor and a tendancy towards angst, but his heart is usually in the right place. Unfortunately, no one seems to have told Nick that the road to Hell is paved with good intentions...

NICHOLAS (English, French) -- From the Greek name Nikolaos which meant "victory of the people" from Greek *nike* "victory" and *laos* "people". Saint Nicholas was a 4th-century bishop who, according to legend, saved the daughters of a poor man from lives of prostitution. He is the patron saint of children, sailors and merchants, and Greece and Russia.

Natalie Lambert

Medical examiner for the city of Toronto and Nick's personal physician, Natalie also holds a very special place in Nick's heart. She sees herself as the realist of the pair, and when Nick falters in his quest to be mortal, Natalie is the one to put him back on the path. Fond of Chinese food, chocolate, King Kong and her cat Sidney, Nat is symbolic of the mortality that Nick aspires to. She does wonder, though, if she and Nick will ever be more than just friends.

NATALIE (French, English) -- From the Late Latin name Natalia, which meant "Christmas Day" from Latin *natale domini*.

LAMBERT (English, French, German, Dutch) -- Derived from the Germanic elements *land* "land" and *beraht* "bright".

Kai Thorn
aka Nicholas Quartermayne

Brought across in 1842, Kai has been described by his master, Nick, as being 'the only one of my fledglings who doesn't want to kill me.' Because they share the same first name, Nick and Kai built a friendship even before Kai asked Nick to bring him across. Kai possesses a powerful precognative ability, which means he can see the future. Several futures at once, in fact, and sometimes he can't tell which is which.

Now, after an absence of more than a century, and apparently dying, the American vampire has returned to his master's side. Kai is known in the Family as 'Saint Kai' for his kind and self-effacing ways. But this young yet powerful vampire also has a dark side that no one in his Family has seen. Yet...


Kristian Ayre as Kai
Lucien LaCroix
aka General Lucius Anicius Adventus Imperator


**Please note that aside from 'Lucius,' this name has been entirely made
up for the purposes
of the series. Anyone who wishes to use it in their
own fanfiction may feel
free to do so (just send me a link to the story so's
I can read it). I simply wish it known that this
name is in no way connected to the
original Forever Knight.

Nick's master and 'father.' Brought across by his own daughter in 79 AD, LaCroix was originally a general in the Roman army. He survived the destruction of Pompeii, 'taught Nero the tune,' 'rode with Charlemagne,' 'taught Genghis Khan the art of war,' can probably take sole credit for starting the Russian Revolution... The guy's been around. A talented violinist, LaCroix currently owns the nightclub called the Raven, and performs as the popular--if controversial--nighttime radio host, the Nightcrawler. LaCroix is known for his smooth, sarcastic way of talking and his swift and brutal talent for getting things done. None of the nighttime denizens of Toronto would ever guess that LaCroix once fell in love with a twenty-year-old girl--Nicolas's younger sister Fleur...

LUCIEN (French) -- "light"
LACROIX (French) -- "the cross"

LUCIUS (Latin; praenomen) -- "born by day"
ANICIUS (Latin; nomen) -- a very rich and powerful family in the Roman Empire
ADVENTUS (Latin; cognomen) -- "invader"
IMPERATOR (Latin; adnomen, or official honorific) -- "general"

Captain Joe Reese
Picture Coming Soon
Coming soon
Tracy Vetter

Nick's partner on the Toronto police force. Tracy is blond, perky, and overly eager to prove herself. Being the daughter of the city Police Commissioner, Tracy works three times as hard as any other cop to show that she got her job from talent and not from nepotism. Tracy actually knew about vampires long before she knew her partner was one of the undead. She had a brief relationship with a 500-year-old Spanish vampire named Javier Vachon, before he committed suicide in the wake of Divia's attack. Her memory of the event was erased by LaCroix, on Nick's behalf, who did not want his partner to suffer the pain of loss. But now her memory is back. And she knows about Nick...

TRACY (English) -- From a surname which was taken from a Norman French place name meaning "domain belonging to THRACIUS". This name is also used as a short form of THERESA, the meaning of which is uncertain, but it could be derived from Greek theros "summer", from Greek therizein "to harvest", or from the name of the Greek island of Thera (the main island of Santorini).

Dr. Julian Gorey

A youngish vampire, proficient in the medical care of his own kind and assistant to Natalie in the morgue. Julian is a native of the American town of Black Falls, 'the Allentown of the vampire world.' Tall and red-haired, Julian is utterly devoted to his patient, Kai Thorn, and considers him to be a second father. Kai is not pleased by the adoration... Julian is an extremely unusual vampire. He has no discernable scent, can cry tears of salt water rather than of blood, and sometimes has trouble organizing his own memories. Nonetheless, he is a vampire, if a reluctant one. Julian is hesitant to speak about his father, either his mortal father or his master, but will gladly talk about his brother and sisters, his nieces and nephews, and particularly his mother, whom Natalie reminds him of.

JULIAN (English) -- From the Roman name Julianus, which was derived from JULIUS ("soft-haired" or "youthful").

Miranda Thorn

Kai's adopted daughter and the reincarnation of Fleur de Brabant, Nick's younger sister and LaCroix's long-lost love. Twenty years old at the time of introduction, blond and blue-eyed, this young lady is nevertheless no damsel-in-distress, but a formidable opponant. A second-generation Pagan, she can hold her own in fights against mortals or vampires, has a mind like a steel trap, and as the only person to have ever captured LaCroix's heart, she is more than capable of keeping it. Her interests include astronomy, medieval history, literature and music, archery... and of course, ancient Roman vampires.

MIRANDA (English) -- Derived from Latin *mirandus* meaning "admirable, wonderful". From the same root as AMANDA ("beloved"). The name was created by Shakespeare for the heroine in his play 'The Tempest'.

FLEUR (French) -- "flower"

Recurring Characters

Alain Barbour

One of LaCroix's fledglings. Alain was brought across in the 1400s, "before North America was a recognized continent." Called "The Eternal Parisian," Alain has a love of wine, women and song... and men. A very sensual-looking man, Alain has been gunning for Nick for years, but Nick won't give the musician a second glance. His love of pleasure and fun and shiftless ways have not endeared Alain to LaCroix, but he is loyal to his master and to his Family.

ALAIN (French) -- From the English ALAN, the meaning of this name is not known for certain, though it possibly means either "little rock" or "handsome" in Breton.

Etienne Le Mort

Another of LaCroix's fledglings and one of the oddest. Very little is actually known about Etienne, even by his master, because he was 'raised' by LaCroix's sister, Shosha. Extremely gifted in the fields of music, theatre, architecture and illusion, he can also be emotionally unstable. Etienne is usually found in Paris, but as of September '97 was living in Toronto, overseeing the renovations of his new theatre, The Eidolon. Etienne's nickname in the Family is 'Ghost,' but Etienne is not even his true name. Although he is one of LaCroix's younger fledglings, he is looked up to by his older siblings, and he has a special relationship with Nick.

ETIENNE (French) -- From the Biblical name STEPHAN, which in turn derives from the Greek name Stephanos which means "crown".

Shosha Le Mort

LaCroix's 'sister' and Divia's only other fledgling, Shosha was a first-century Roman Jew who lost her entire family to the blood sports of the Colosseum. She accepted Lucius and Divia's offer of immortality, but never truly trusted her master and was glad when Lucius killed her. Shosha has no fledglings of her own, but she does have a 'husband,' Etienne, whom she had LaCroix bring across for her, and she and Etienne have adopted several mortal children over the years, so far two of whom have chosen to become vampires. She and Etienne were also responsible for two of LaCroix's fledglings, Alexei Romanov and Daniel Wells. She is a highly pragmatic woman and prone to coldness, but Family is everything to her and she will do whatever is necessary to protect that.

SHOSHA (Hebrew, I think) -- Variant of the Hebrew name Shoshannah which was derived from the Hebrew word *shushan* meaning "lily" (in modern Hebrew this also means "rose").

"The Prince"
Alexei
aka Alexei Romanov

Alexei was, when mortal, Alexei Romanov, heir to the throne of Russia. A hemophiliac in life, Alexei was half-brought across by his mother's holy man, Grigori Efimovitch Rasputin. Rasputin, whose master was LaCroix, hadn't a damn clue what he was doing. After Rasputin's death, Alexei, along with the rest of his family, was taken to Ekaterinburg in the Ural Mountains and eventually executed. However, the shock of the past several months caused his body to fully convert to vampirism, and Alexei was saved by Etienne Le Mort and taken to Paris in 1918, where LaCroix performed a 'rebond', making himself Alexei's master. It was uncertain whether or not the former prince would survive, but he did, and eventually made a full recovery. Alexei adores all physical sports, particularly fencing, horseback riding, boating, and other such sports that he could never do as a mortal because of his illness. He also enjoys music and chess, and military talk, which pleases LaCroix to no end. Alexei has dark brown hair and blue eyes, and appears to be about fourteen.

ALEXEI (Russian) -- From the Greek name ALEXIOS which meant "helper" or "defender", derived from Greek *alexein* "to defend, to help".

Daniel Wells was ten years old when LaCroix brought him across in 1940. This was, as LaCroix found to his dismay, far too young for someone to be expected to make the transition from mortal to vampire without constant supervision, something LaCroix could not (or was not willing to) provide. He was going to kill Daniel, but Nichlolas convinced him not to. Instead, in 1945, Daniel was given into the care of Etienne Le Mort. There he met his 'brother,' Alexei, and the two boys have been inseparable ever since. Because his brain was not fully matured at the time of his crossing, Daniel is occasionally prone to severe mood swings and bouts of violence, something that Etienne believes can be overcome with patient attention of the part of LaCroix, should he ever make the attempt.

DANIEL (English) -- From the Hebrew name DANIYEL meaning "God is my judge".

"The Pauper"
Daniel Wells

Matthew Abbott

So far, one of the oldest vampires in the series. Matthew was originally a Welsh Druid named "Murcha." A tall, broad man with hard brown eyes, Matthew is ever and always committed to his homeland--to any land, truly, as long as it is being properly cared for. He is very fond of mortals, and dislikes traveling alone, so he has often found himself in the middle of history. He traveled with the Pligrims to Plimoth, fought alongside Nick in the American Civil War--saving his life in the process--helped blaze the Oregon Trail and, on a lighter note, lived in Levittown for many years.

Matthew's age, Druidical training and the teachings of his master enabled him to help Kai Thorn when the American vampire was exploring the possibilities opened to him by virtue of his bloodline, one that his Family and Matthew's share. Matthew's abilities and Kai's are similiar, but they are not the same. Matthew has been married to mortal women several times, and it was from him that Kai picked up the habit of adopting mortal children. It was the death of one of his adopted children that lead Matthew to Toronto, intent on finding his daughter's killer.

Matthew is nearly three thousand years old, but he has only one fledgling. She is his eternal lover, Kara. Together, they are the caretakers of the Welsh land known as Carreg.

MATTHEW (English) -- English form of Matthaios, which was a Greek form of the Hebrew name Mattithyahu which meant "gift of YAHWEH".

MURCHA (Scottish, Irish) -- Means "sea warrior" in Gaelic.

Tenebres Tel-Amarna

Egyptian vampire. An officer of the Enforcer's Division of Youth Welfare. Also in charge of the Tracking and Control Division, also known as the enosh, which consists of all Hunters and dhampir employed by the Enforcers. Can be traced back to approximately 1353 BCE, the beginning of Egypt's Amarna Period.

TENEBRES (Latin) -- Corruption of the word for "darkness"
TEL-AMARNA (Modern Egyptian, I think) -- contemporary name for the city of Aketaten, the 'city of the sun.'

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