Mary Seward (Queen of Blood)

# Queen of Blood

## Mary Seward

Queen of Blood

*Description Here ~ Zee*

## History

### Early Life

*[Trigger Warning: Scenes of violence and blood. Mentioned physical and sexual abuse.]*

The Sewards were a young, lower-class couple who lived on the outskirts of London. When Agnes became pregnant, Jerome had to extend his working hours and work late into the night. The effort and fatigue paid off when he took his baby in his arms for the first time. He always did everything in his power to guarantee his family a plate of food on the table. Despite the hard days, he always returned with a smile on his lips, knowing that his wife and daughter Mary were waiting for him at home.

Tragedy soon struck any hint of happiness. One night, coming home from a hard work day, Jerome Seward was brutally murdered in an alley. Being from a low caste of society, the crime was never investigated and no one seemed to care. Alone and with a daughter to care for, Agnes was forced to take a job as a servant in the home of the aristocratic Bennet family.

Mary never had any memory of her father other than what her mother told her about him, in fact, she couldn't remember anything about her life before arriving at the mansion. Agnes worked tirelessly during the day, but every night before bed, she always found the strength to tell her daughter stories. Distant lands, fairies, princesses and knights. Her unbridled imagination helped her survive the harsh upbringing among the servants' quarters.

During her early years, Mary was not allowed to leave the room. When she was 6 years old, she began to help in the kitchen, but she was strictly forbidden to walk to the area where the lords lived. She abided by the rules, but it didn't seem like enough. Her mind was filled with ideas and aspirations, and with each passing day it was harder. From the window of her small room, she looked out over the beautiful gardens and imagined herself walking among the flowers and trees.

One night, when she was already 9 years old, she made the determination to fulfill her little dream. The girl waited until everyone was asleep to sneak out and make her way to the garden. It was even better than she had imagined. The fresh air with the sweet scent of roses, the moonlight on her cheeks, and the feeling of freedom were wonderful. Since then, she repeated the experience whenever she could. Like a little secret nightly ritual.

The sneaks were kept for two years before she was caught by the owner of the house. Lord Bennet gave the girl a brutal beating to punish her for her daring. The bruises and wounds were slow to heal, but far from stopping her, it only taught Mary that she needed to be more careful. The world was a cruel place for poor people, so she had to use her intelligence.

Over the years, Agnes began to get sick, but she had to continue working for her daughter. Watching their mother wither was very painful, but there was nothing they could do but carry on with their work. Finally, shortly after Mary's 14th birthday, her mother passed away. With no means to get out of that life of servitude, she took her place as one of the main servants of the mansion. Her tasks now consisted of cleaning the visible areas of the house and serving the table.

It was while dinner was being served that Mary first saw the Bennets' son, Andrew. She felt captivated by that young man and from the way he looked at her, she knew that he felt the same. Of course, coming from different social classes, she knew she wouldn't get a chance to get close to him. But there was nothing wrong with dreaming.

On one of her nocturnal sneaks, while the beautiful scarlet-haired young woman was admiring the roses that were beginning to bloom, a male voice surprised her. Andrew had followed her there, but his reaction was totally different from what his father had had years before. The two talked throughout the night until the first rays of sun reflected on the bright green grass. Before saying goodbye, they promised to see each other there every night.

In those days, it was not proper for a woman to be alone with a man at night. And much less accepted was the difference between social classes. So they kept their meetings secret. But the more time they spent together, the more in love they became with each other and the harder it became to hide it. They began to see each other in other places in the house. Andrew was not like his parents. He didn't see her as a servant and took care to pamper her, bringing her flowers and gifts and playing music while she sang.

Furtive glances and the giggly smiles every time they saw each other gave them away. Lord and Lady Bennet could not allow their eldest son to get involved with a servant, so they soon began looking for a wife for their son. Andrew's refusal to accept a suitable wife caused Lady Bennet to relegate Mary to solely kitchen work, again forbidding her to visit the rest of the manor.

Nothing could end true love and Andrew tried to make his parents understand. The ban on his and Mary marrying made him take a drastic decision. He would bravely fight the war against the Spanish to win the queen's favor, that way, maybe Mary could become one of her maids and so they could get married. If that didn't work, the two would elope.

Andrew's departure was the most painful since her mother's death, but the optimism of being able to make her love public kept her hopeful. Being away from him wasn't the only bad thing. Lord Bennet blamed the girl for the departure of her son and, accusing her of being a tempting demon, he did not hesitate to punish her in her cruelest ways. He abused the helpless girl, slaking her most primal and violent instincts on her. Only the memory of her beloved Andrew made her survive through a hard year.

One day a letter signed by Andrew arrived in which he said how much he loved her but could not return. He didn't give too many explanations, except that he had changed and they couldn’t be together. Mary could not understand anything and could only feel deep despair. Nothing made sense. All the humiliations she had endured for him had been for nothing. For the next few days, she didn't even get out of bed. No beatings, not even death, could be more painful than the pain she felt in her heart.

Just a few days after reading the letter, Mary awoke in the middle of the night to catch a glimpse of a dark figure looking down at her. Terror gripped her until the intruder revealed his identity. It was Andrew, her Andrew, but he looked different. His skin was paler than usual and his eyes were red. But he was hers, loved by her, and she would never fear him. As before his departure, they talked for hours. Andrew explained that he had been bitten during his journey, and had since turned into a monster. He spoke of his new abilities, his immortality and his blood hunger.

In this new form, they found a way to be together for all eternity. They could live far from the Bennet mansion, feeding on animal blood and enjoying the nights. The moment the fangs dug into her neck, she felt the most intense pain she had ever felt. The poison coursing through her veins and her organs rising from her was almost unbearable. However, after a few hours, that horrible sensation completely disappeared, giving way to unimaginable bliss. It was like dying and being reborn in a new body, stronger and more powerful than ever. For the first time in her life, she felt free and unstoppable, but also with an insatiable hunger. And she knew exactly what to make of her new condition. She would take revenge on all those who had wronged her.

Mary didn't share Andrew's idea of spending the rest of their immortal lives hiding and feeding on animals, so she made the hard decision to leave Andrew to go her own way. Her first act was to kill and feed on the man who had vexed her for so long, Lord Bennet.

Those first few months as a vampire were more complicated than she expected. Wandering the woods alone, testing her new powers and feeding on woodcutters, hunters, and stray travelers. She was a fast learner, but she felt like it wasn't enough. Until the day Andrew found her. She had missed him, but their desperate attempt to convince each other of her ways ended in a violent fight. Mary was defeated, but just before ending her life, Andrew relented and let her go. It was just at that moment that she saw her fate clearly. She needed more like her, an army.

Mary began to select a few people who seemed deserving of the blessing to convert. Most of them blindly followed her, thus forming a small society of the night that she called the Cult of the Blood Red Moon. The seed was planted, you just had to let the tree grow and spread its branches. But the island seemed too small for her ambitions. Knowing that her children would spread her legacy there, she moved to France.

The 17th century in Europe was interesting. The rise of art and science, the renaissance and especially the wars. So many brave and talented men and women, so many potential vampires to join their cause. Over the next 150 years, she traveled throughout Europe expanding her cult. She had a few more encounters with Andrew, but she rarely confronted him directly. Normally, she left her children to deal with him, since she had more important matters to attend to. If years went by without seeing each other, she would send some of her followers, usually the weakest and most useless, to find him. Just to remind him of what he had created. It was a brilliant time for her and her cult, which not only served as a refuge for her children and their children, but also for vampires of unknown origin who sought their place in the world. Thus, she began to be known as the Queen of Blood.

Even the Old Continent seemed too limited. In 1775 she sailed for the New World. The members of the ship's crew and travelers who were not converted served as good food until they touched land. Her arrival there couldn't have happened at a better time. The start of the Revolutionary War, what better metaphor for people trying to free themselves from the tyranny of their oppressors?

It wasn't hard to find brave soldiers to join her cause, perhaps not too willingly. Still, none of them seemed suited to the queen's plans. Although that would soon change. In 1777 Mary found a dying man in his home, along with the lifeless bodies of a woman, a man, and a baby. No questions were needed. Her bite saved the life of the only human still breathing, Adrian Raines.

For the next few decades, Mary kept Adrian by her side as her most trusted lieutenant and person. But the collaboration could not last forever and in 1930, Adrian left the cult. The Queen let him live, partly because he was still useful and partly because she had grown fond of him. By then, the Cult had already spread throughout the country and was beginning to grow towards Mexico. Mary adored her nomadic lifestyle, traveling and creating new seats for her cult.

The past kept coming back and finally Andrew tracked her down in the winter of 1935 in Boston, Massachusetts. The past kept coming back and finally Andrew tracked her down in the winter of 1980 in Boston, Massachusetts. Just at the moment when she had found her next lieutenant, Dunya Mishkin. Andrew only found the house empty with a little child, Dimitri Mishkin, who she adopted and trained to hunt vampires.

From there, the two lovers kept up the cat and mouse game. Andrew followed the trail of blood that Mary left behind as she continued to grow more powerful and influential. The difference in powers was immeasurable. While the former aristocrat only had Dimitri and Deborah Dancer, a girl who joined him after Mary transformed all of her friends, the Queen had hundreds of soldiers willing to kill and die for her.

Although Mary managed to thwart almost all of Andrew's attempts to stop her, in 1983, Deborah managed to drive a stake through her heart. That was the tragic end of the Queen of Blood.

The story might have ended there if it weren't for the deep-seated legacy that Mary left behind. The cult continued to operate with the oldest vampires in each country at the helm. However, it was not the same. They became more clumsy and careless and lacked the unity that only their queen had managed to maintain. 20 years later, using ancient rituals of dark magic and the help of some sorcerers, the Cult of the Blood Red Moon managed to pluck Mary from the clutches of death. Her body was restored and her fighting spirit was fiercer than ever.

Since then, the Queen of Blood has kept her solemn vow to fight to give vampires their rightful place in this world. The Cult of the Blood Red Moon continues to operate globally, adding members and planning its strategy for the coming war. Soon, the Vampire Rising will be a reality.

## Powers and Abilities

### Powers

* **Immortality:** The vampire's body stagnates at the age at which they are turned. They never get old.
* **Invulnerability:** they can’t be hurt by normal means, like bullets or blades. There are some exceptions to this (see weaknesses).
* **Regeneration:** Wounds can quickly regenerate by consuming human blood.
* **Turning others into vampires:** she calls those she transforms her "children".
* **Enhanced senses:** her vision, hearing, smell and reflexes are above that of an average human.
* **Superhuman strength:** her strength is considered superhuman.
* **Superhuman speed and agility:** she is capable of moving faster and more agile than humans.
* **Superhuman stamina:** as long as they consume human blood.
* **Mind control:** as one of the elders, she has the ability of controlling the minds of several people. This doesn’t work with very strong minds and the duration is usually short.
	+ She can communicate with her children even at a long distance, calling them to her if necessary.
* **Transformation:** Her body can take different forms such as a bat, a wolf, or even a mist. She can also alter certain parts of her body, such as developing claws, wings or fangs.

### Skills

* **Leadership:** for centuries, Mary has led the Cult of the Blood Red Moon. A worldwide cult of vampires who aim for a future in which vampires rule the world.
* **Singing:** Mary has a beautiful voice and a good hear for music.

### Weaknesses

* **Blood dependency:** Vampires need to consume blood often to maintain their vitality. Too long periods without feeding could even cause death. Animal blood can substitute for human blood, but it is much less nutritious.
* **Sunlight:** direct exposure causes them to lose their abilities and weaken them.
* **Wooden stakes:** the quickest way to kill a vampire is a stake driven straight through the heart.
* **Fire:** They can also be killed by burning them.
* **Religious symbols:** the crucifixes make her vulnerable.