Alaric Saltzman

Alaric K."Across the board he had written 'Alaric K. Saltzman.'" (The Struggle - Chapter 5) Saltzman (b. January or February, 1970) was a human from Charlottesville, Virginia. He studied parapsychology at Duke University, becoming an experimental psychologist. While writing a paper on the subject, Alaric became interested in the supernatural,Alaric: But—ah—as I was saying. It started a couple of years ago when I did a paper on parapsychology. I wasn't trying to prove supernatural powers existed, I just wanted to study what their psychological effect is on the people who have them. (The Fury - Chapter 11) and was made aware of the existence of vampires. His studies were known to Brian Newcastle, who asked him to investigate the presence of vampires in Fell's Church as a teacher at his school.Alaric: Actually, I figured that out right after I got here. Your principal, Brian Newcastle, had heard of me. He knew about the studies I do. When Tanner was killed and Dr. Feinberg found no blood in the body and lacerations made by teeth in the neck… well, they gave me a call. I thought it could be a big break for me—a case with the vampire still in the area. The only problem was that once I got here I realized they expected me to take care of the vampire. They didn't know I'd dealt only with the victims before. And... well, maybe I was in over my head. But I did my best to justify their confidence- (The Fury - Chapter 11)
==Biography==
===Early life===
Alaric Saltzman was born in 1970, between January 20 and February 19, and lived in Charlottesville, Virginia as a child. He studied parapsychology at Duke University, and wrote a paper on the subject in the 1980s. The paper concerned those who believe themselves to possess psychic powers. He was unable to find anyone other than charlatans (such as channelers, crystal healers and dowsers) before receiving a tip from a friend in the police department.Alaric: My problem was that I couldn't find anybody with real psychic powers to examine. There were plenty of fakers, all right—crystal healers, dowsers, channelers, you name it. But I couldn't find anything genuine until I got a tip from a friend in the police department. (The Fury - Chapter 11) 
His friend told him about a woman in South Carolina who claimed to have been attacked by a vampire and experienced psychic nightmares ever since. Alaric met the woman and decided to drop all of his other studies in order to pursue other cases like hers, including that of Leonardo Rodriguez in a mental hospital in West Virginia, where he met Meredith Sulez.Alaric: I didn't recognize you, either. The old man had a different name—he's your mother's father, right? And I may have seen you hanging around the waiting room sometime, but you were just a kid with skinny legs then. You've changed. (The Fury - Chapter 11) He wrote several papers on the topic, becoming an expert in the field.
Being interested in the supernatural, Alaric once met a mountain man who taught him a spell to fend off evil.Alaric: I've picked up a few things here and there, you know. That was a spell an old mountain man showed me for fending off evil. I thought it might work. (The Fury - Chapter 11)
===In Fell's Church===
====Vampire-hunting====
In November 1991, Alaric was called by Brian Newcastle of Robert E. Lee High School and Dr Feinberg of the Fell's Church clinic. Newcastle had heard of Alaric, and asked him to help deal with a vampire situation in the town, where he would be employed as a history teacher. Alaric, seeing the potential in such an opportunity, agreed. However, he did not realize until after arriving that they wanted him to locate and kill the vampire. The Ramseys loaned him their house while they were on vacation, being friends of his.Alaric: I'm staying at the Ramsey house, on Magnolia Avenue. The Ramseys are friends of mine, and they loaned me the house while they're on vacation. (The Struggle - Chapter 5)
At least once, Damon Salvatore used Influence on Alaric to allow him to stay in the Ramsey house.The Fury - Chapter 4
Alaric began one History of Europe class by asking about Tanner's death, wanting to collect information on the killing from those who had found the body. After Bonnie McCullough, the first to recognize that Tanner was dead, became hysterical, Alaric ended the lesson early and invited the class to a party at the Ramsey house.The Struggle - Chapter 5 He asked Bonnie, Sue Carson and Tyler Smallwood to stay behind, suggesting they form a support group.The Struggle - Chapter 6
Alaric's party went ahead as planned. He was unable to talk to Elena Gilbert or Stefan Salvatore due to their early departure. He was suspicious about Stefan and Matt Honeycutt's two-day absence,The Struggle - Chapter 10 and later helped stop Vickie Bennett as she attacked Tyler, believing that she was having an epileptic fit.The Struggle - Chapter 11
After Elena became a vampire, Damon Influenced Alaric to allow her to sleep in his attic for four days.
Newcastle and Feinberg, correctly believing that Elena had become a vampire, asked Alaric where she might be. Alaric, not wanting to admit that he had never seen a vampire and knew little about them, pretended to be knowledgeable on the subject to maintain their confidence, as Newcastle doubted his capability. He questioned members of Elena's class about her death,The Fury - Chapter 7 and often met with Newcastle.The Fury - Chapter 10
Alaric attended Elena's memorial service, standing at the back of the church.The Fury - Chapter 4 As Influenced dogs attacked, Alaric stood at the edge of the parking lot attempting the spell taught to him by the mountain man, which he found unsuccessful.The Fury - Chapter 5
Alaric asked Bonnie, Vickie and Caroline Forbes to stay behind after one lesson, offering to hypnotize them to help them deal with the recent tragediesThe Fury - Chapter 9 and telling them that he was having another party.The Fury - Chapter 8 He attempted to hypnotize Tyler, without success, but successfully hypnotized Caroline, who identified Stefan as a vampire.The Fury - Chapter 11
====Switching sides====
Alaric was confronted by Meredith Sulez, who recognized him from her childhood when he had visited her grandfather. She attempted to convince him that Stefan and Damon Salvatore would not harm him.
During the party, Alaric spent most of the time with Meredith, who took him to the attic to meet Elena and Damon. Despite her insistence, he took a gun loaded with wood-tipped bullets. Damon disarmed him and had him tell them about his mission in Fell's Church. He warned them that Smallwood and Forbes wanted to take action against Stefan. Siding with Meredith and her friends, Alaric interrupted the vigilantes attacking Stefan. He and Meredith suggested to Caroline that the attacker may have been Damon, prompting the mob to disband. When asked to choose a side, Newcastle's or the vampires', Alaric was initially hesitant, but chose to join Meredith's side as it was "the ultimate case study".The Fury - Chapter 11
Stefan asked Alaric to talk to the Robert E. Lee school board to cancel the Snow Dance owing to a feeling of tension building. However, Alaric noted that Newcastle was determined to keep the town running as normally as possible, instead agreeing to help keep an eye on the dance. He met with them in his classroom the night of the dance, plotting the positions of the sheriff's officers on a map. He suggested that Elena stay there to avoid being attacked by vigilantes. He also suggested that Bonnie use her precognition power to detect any threats, which led to him learning about the mysterious being that was able to use her as a mouthpiece. He encouraged her to host the being so that they may be questioned.
Alaric took candles from the Science department. After Bonnie was taken over, Alaric asked who the being was at the same time that Elena asked who the Other Power was. The being asked them to follow her, directing Alaric as he drove to the cemetery, and to the Fells' tomb.The Fury - Chapter 12 Alaric entered the crypt with the others, supplying a flashlight. They met the ghost of Honoria Fell, who told them that dogs under the Influence of the Other Power were going to attack at the Snow Dance. Stefan told Alaric to take the others and get to the school; he left with Matt, Bonnie and Meredith after a white tiger attacked.The Fury - Chapter 13
Alaric and the others arrived at the school, with Meredith leaving for the Gilbert house to protect Judith and Margaret. Alaric directed the students and sheriff's officers to get inside the building. They ultimately managed to protect the school until Katherine died and the Influence on the dogs broke.The Fury - Chapter 14 
When Alaric and Meredith were reunited, they practically fell into each other's arms. Meredith told Bonnie that she would explain their relationship after she turned eighteen and graduated. They, with the others, saw off Stefan as he left Fell's Church.The Fury - Chapter 16
===Researching abroad===
In June, 1992, Alaric was in Perestroika, Russia, researching the psychics of the Cold War. He had limited contact with Meredith, who was making important decisions regarding her education. Alaric recommended that she attended Duke University, to which she applied and received an offer from. However, she was still unsure.Dark Reunion - Chapter 2 His travelling, which also included trips to Tibet and Timbuktu,Meredith: I’ll try to get him to come. But usually he's off in Tibet or Timbuktu doing research these days. It'll take a while even to get a message to him. (The Return: Nightfall - Chapter 7) were in order to achieve a doctorate.Meredith: I feel bad, asking him to do projects that aren't for his doctorate, but— (The Return: Nightfall - Chapter 19)
Meredith sent Alaric a telegraph, which was the only way to reach him out in the boondocks, after Elena's resurrection and the beginning of Shinichi and Misao's campaign against Fell's Church, asking for help.Meredith: I telegraphed Alaric yesterday. He's so far out in the boonies that telegraph is the only way to reach him, and it may be days before my message gets to him. I had an idea that we were going to need his advice. (The Return: Nightfall - Chapter 19) 
Alaric later investigated Unmei no Shima with Celia Connor, whose colleagues had died or left one by one.The Return: Midnight - Chapter 13 Meredith wrote to him again about the goings on in Fell's Church. He agreed to return to the town after completing his research.The Return: Shadow Souls - Chapter 11 From Dr Connor, he learnt about the destruction of the village and its inhabitants and the existence of the urns (which he took photographs of). He saw a message written on a window in condensation telling him to send the photographs to Meredith, which he did after returning to Hokkaido.
===After the restoration===
After Elena's deal with the Celestial Court, memories were rewritten so that Alaric was called in by Newcastle after Tanner repelled a vampire attack, rather than dying as a result of one.The Return: Midnight - Chapter 42
During September, 1992, Alaric was visiting an isolated village in the highlands of Scotland without Internet capabilities where he had to visit the post office to make a phone call. Meredith wrote to him, telling him about her time at Dalcrest College.Evensong: Paradise Lost
==Physical description==
Alaric had sandy hair, which he wore slightly long, and had hazel eyes. His build was that of an athlete.
==Personality and traits==
Bonnie McCullough described Alaric as being sensitive. He had a tendency to be distracted while investigating paranormal occurrences, his face "lighting up" with scientific inquiry. When asking a subject about their supernatural powers, his voice took on that of a lecturer's tone.The Fury - Chapter 11 Alaric was sometimes careless with things.Meredith: Alaric might be older than her, and have graduated from Duke, but sometimes he had a ridiculous boyish habit of being careless with pieces of paper. (Evensong: Paradise Lost)
==Relationships==
===Meredith Sulez===
Alaric first met Meredith Sulez in the waiting room of her grandfather's mental hospital. Meredith eventually recognized him after he began teaching at Robert E. Lee High School, spending a lot of time, in secret, attempting to convince him that Elena, Stefan and Damon would not hurt him. Alaric grew to trust her, and they developed feelings for one another, with the two falling into each other's arms after the defeat of Katherine. Bonnie suspected that the two were together, but Meredith chose not to discuss it until after her graduation.
Alaric and Meredith were, from then on, described by others as being "engaged to be engaged", which was not made official until after the defeat of Inari Saitou and the deal between Elena and the Celestial Court. While Meredith was happy that Alaric was working towards a doctorate with his travel and research, she was jealous of Celia Connor, whom he spent time with while working on Unmei no Shima.
==Behind the scenes==
*In the sixth chapter of The Struggle, Alaric is said to be an Aquarius, placing his birthday in January or February. In the third chapter of Dark Reunion, he is said to be twenty-two years old in June, 1992, placing his date of birth at January or February, 1970. However, in the thirteenth chapter of The Return: Midnight, Alaric is said to have turned twenty-three since the events of The Fury. This would seem to indicate that his birthday was in June or August, which would not make Alaric Aquarius.
==Appearances==
*The Struggle 
*The Fury
*Dark Reunion 
*Blood Will Tell 
*The Return: Nightfall 
*The Return: Shadow Souls 
*The Return: Midnight
*Evensong: Paradise Lost 
==Notes and references==
Category:Humans
Category:Robert E. Lee High School employees
Category:Males
Category:1990s births
Category:American individuals