Tinhuviel Artanis

I attribute theme songs to every character in my stories, mainly because I see the stories as movies and every movie features theme music for the characters therein. Very rarely is the theme song replaced because that music is intrinsic in the creation of the character. For instance, Kelat's theme song is the woeful "Exile" by Enya. It perfectly reflected Kelat's longing for her soul mate and her quest to find meaning in the signs and portents that define her Vampiric existence.

Cold is the northern winds in December mornings,
Cold is the cry that rings from this far distant shore.

winter has come too late. too close beside me.
How can I chase away all these fears deep inside?

I'll wait the signs to come. I'll find a way.
I will wait the time to come. I'll find a way home.

my light shall be the moon and my path -- the ocean.
My guide the morning star as I sail home to you

I'll wait the signs to come. I'll find a way.
I will wait the time to come. I'll find a way home.

who then can warm my soul? who can quell my passion?
out of these dreams -- a boat. I will sail home to you.

Her theme song has been the same since 1988.

Just to let booraven22 know, Orphaeus Cygnus' song is "No One Lives Forever" by Oingo Boingo (of course!).

As best as I can tell, the only exception to my theme rule is, of course, Cadmus Pariah. His was an almost instantaneous creation with the initial auditioning of "Deeply Lined Up" by Shriekback. I heard the song in 1990 and was instantly transported to an orgy of blood and pain, orchestrated by the angelic demon I would come to know as Cadmus. His song was the song of his creation for nine years, until I heard "Clubbed to Death" by Rob Dougan. With "Clubbed to Death," I could see Cadmus better in mind, and he had a certain depth I'd never been able to flesh out before. It was "Clubbed to Death" that helped bring about Sui Generis, making Cadmus even more dangerous than he had previously been.

The funny thing about "Clubbed to Death" is the scenario it brought to me of Cadmus at the piano. Prior to this song, Cadmus didn't play any instruments. In Magnificat he only sang, leaving the keyboard work to Mary Magdalene. But every time the piano solo came in "Clubbed to Death," I saw Cadmus at the piano, alone and barefoot in a well-lighted room. Strangely, it was the most sinister image of him I'd conjured, and it still is. The vision was four years old when Haunted Box of Switches was released and blew me out of the water. The Poetry of Coincidence was definitely at play there, of that I have no doubt, especially since I'd never really associated the piano with B, seeing him as a synth maestro more than anything. Anyway, I'd always had this image of a barefoot man at a piano since childhood, but I'd never put a face to him until "Clubbed to Death." As I grew older and learned about the animus, I came to believe that this was a mental picture of my animus. It's no wonder I'm a little wacky, given that my animus has been taken over by an abomination.

Anyway, even though "Deeply Lined Up" will always be important to the Cadmus character, having essentially created him, "Clubbed to Death" better suits him now. It's odd that a Shriekback song isn't Cadmus' theme song, but Cadmus is an odd entity. I've come to accept that. Here's the song. It's not the original video, but it's more conducive to one's own personal mental imagery.

These are the songs to which I've been listening for the past couple of weeks without end, whilst writing "Sui Generis."

( cut for courtesy )

The playlist will most likely be retired once the chapter is complete and I'll return to my more generic Vampire playlist used for the entire book.

I just finished the final uploads of all the 40 second song samples for Barry Andrews. All I need to do now is wait for his approval before creating the music page. The song index on the insert for "And If I Refuse?" didn't match with what is on the CD, so I had some difficulties there and need B to make certain everything is A-OK before proceeding further.

Also, my "Sui Generis" block is gone and I've finally got that bastard Nissius killed. It's now time for Cadmus to reveal what he knows about the chalice and give Kelat the shocking news that she's a mum. HA! I still don't know how she'll react to this revelation. Will she weep? Will she be horrified? Will she accept it with calm resignation? I guess I'll find out when I get her there. I'm considering not including "Sui Generis" as a chapter in The Chalice; instead, I was thinking of making it an appendix at the end of the book, behind the Vampire Lexicon. It's awfully long for a chapter in the book, compared to the other chapters, that is. I don't want to give any readers (if there are any) a sense of stagnation when they fall into the abyss of Cadmus' biography. I don't know. I just don't know. Maybe once the second draft is complete and I see it all as a full organism, my decision will be an easy one.

I was hoping to finish the second draft of The Chalice before school begins, but that's not gonna happen. But I've written my own stuff while doing school work before.....when I was 20 years younger than I am now. BAH! I can do it. ::firm nods:: I see no reason why I can't juggle website maintenance, writing a book, doing school work, and noting my progress with all of it in my journal. It might drive me crazy, but at least the trip will be a short one and I hear the sights are to die for.

Ah, and for anyone interested, you can access the song samples here: Barry Andrews' music. There are three folders in this directory. One for "Haunted Box of Switches," his piano and vocal work, one for "Stic Basin," his techno work, and one for his early solo work. A person can get a pretty good idea of how versatile and talented this scary fellow is. Shriekback fans may be interested in the "Haunted Box" files, because he does acoustic piano versions of "Faded Flowers" and "This Big Hush." It's sure to make the hairs on the tops of your toe knuckles stand on end.

I'd often wondered how Cadmus' dragon matrice would perish. Today, it was revealed to me. How can such horror give me such joy? I guess it's because I'm finally committing it to the overall tale after about 15 years of carrying it with me in bits and bobs. Perhaps now I can release it and allow Cadmus to roam freely to frighten other people for a while.

( Dhraicynna -- pronounced thrye-KIN-nah )

I didn't think it possible, but I guess it is. While I was waiting on Aunt Tudi at physical therapy, I had my laptop on and rearing to go to write more on "Sui Generis." The only problem was that I could barely hold my eyes open. Somehow, I ended up writing a good thousand words that document the act of ambrosciata between Cadmus and Kelat. Ambrosciata is essentially vampire sex, the mutual exchange of Blood between two or more vampires as an act of pleasure and intimacy. This means that Cadmus has now had sexual relations with both his biological mother and father. What a twisted, perverse, deviant being he is. And what a freak I am, for writing this and drawing it from my sleeping thoughts.

It's things like this that make me wonder about myself.

Main Entry: sui ge·ner·is
Pronunciation: 'sü-"I-'je-n&-r&s, 'sü-E-
Function: adjective
Etymology: Latin, of its own kind
: constituting a class alone : unique or particular to itself

Black within black within the darkness at the center of Emptiness clung to Kelat, a cold and insipid shroud. There was nothing here, nothing at all. Fright skittered across her body as she found her mind treading the barrenness of Cadmus' spirit.

Hello~ ~ ~ her voice echoed across his desert, seeking some sign of sentience.

Leave here heretic, the reply came in the dulcet voice of Cadmus, no evidence of harm in his tone. You are not welcome

I must know what you are, who you are.

You do not want to know this....Your Majesty. Spite for her dripped from his thought to Kelat.

You will show me. You have no choice, Darkling. No matter how powerful you feel you are, you cannot deny me, who am your Domina and the Domina of your Dominae.

Pressing against the Will of Cadmus, Kelat tapped into his memories and beheld the abominable.