Despair

*Despair* is the fourth Volume in The Legacy of Sorrow series, and continues forward from the timeline of *Desolation*. Unlike the previous volume, there is little time lapse from Volume III to Volume IV, and takes place within a few days of the end of *Desolation*. *Despair* is the final installment within the core *Legacy of Sorrow* novels, and finalizes the saga in a series of short epilogues, known as "Starlight," after the final chapter of the story.

## Synopsis

Centuries of silent conflict have escalated to the apex of open supernatural warfare. As Legacy and his army of Tortured scour the nation looking for Kara and her daughters, the city of Vanaheim secretly races to create a cure to the Vampyre virus while hastily training a militia to eradicate their enemy from Washington, D.C. With the fate of free will hanging in the threshold of their actions, Kara’s Counsel take great strides to ensure the mistakes that led to Aerael’s downfall are not repeated. Still reeling from the consequences of *Desolation*, being a warfighter is secondary to many, as traumas are relived and decisions are deliberated before the Vampyre race surrenders to becoming human.

As Amy’s powers and influence continue to develop, more of the city and its citizens regard her as a leader and potential trailblazer for the days following their war’s results. Facing their most ruthless enemy yet, and with neither side able to escape the coming storm, the city of Vanaheim and the remainder of Kara’s free Vampyres have no choice but to wage their war, spread the cure, and to kill Legacy and his followers…regardless of the cost.

## Storyline

**Spoilers for *ALL Legacy of Sorrow novels and expanded Sorrowverse content* will be contained in the following section.**

Still reeling from the groundbreaking realization that she is the twin sister of Raven, also the daughter of Kara and Schillinger (and therefore Amy's half-sister), Violet comes to terms with her situation by discussing the story with Valterius and Sonya, each of whom were also lied to regarding Violet's heritage in the days preceding *Affliction*. While Sonya had been present for Violet's birth (and therefore had knowledge of Violet's lineage), her amnesia from the injuries she suffered in *Affliction* caused her the same shock as the rest of the Counsel. Violet has private discussions with Sonya and Raven, as well as with Kara shortly afterwards, and their feelings are settled without any grudges or misgivings being held. The city and the Counsel begin preparation for war against Legacy and his army of Tortured, knowing that they are on borrowed time under the guise of Kara and Amy having absconded to the west coast of the United States for hiding.

As the militia in Vanaheim begins their training in areas of technical expertise (engineering, nursing, armored vehicle operations, etc.), Tony and Eric depart the city to temporarily work at Quantico, endeavoring to make improvements to their aircraft - two F-35 Lighting fighter jets and fourteen UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters - while the soldiers stationed there practice their basic combat skills under Marcus Olsen and Yuri Kozak. After a phone call from Jalix indicating that a team of their scavengers had retrieved a missile launcher, the older members of the Counsel, along with Eric, Tony, Yuri, and Layla Goss agree to adapt parts of Schillinger's old plans from Project Cerberus: a missile launcher would be used to launch canisters of the cure across the Washington, D.C. area once the battle was concluded. In preparing for this new strategy, the truck carrying the armament barrels through Quantico under heavy fire from a rogue Tortured squad. Defeated for the time being, the Tortured are regarded as an impending threat while Tony completes his work at the military base.

After two months, the cure is finished with help from Raven's old colleague, Doctor Tamara Goodson (Tammy), who still harbors a grudge toward the Counsel - and particularly Alice and Val - for leaving her trapped in one of Raven's labs during *Sorrow*, where they had promised to extract the captive scientists and failed in their endeavor. The cure is revealed to the group with Raven being exceptionally unhappy that the pure samples of Amy and Kara's viral strains were destroyed as a safeguard against anyone else using them for malicious purposes (in the way they had been during *Sorrow*). Doctor Goodson also works with Alice to detoxify Rachel, Krystal's ex-girlfriend and leader of another rogue Tortured team, from the Factor Five addiction that all Tortured share. As the results look promising, the group has high hopes for the future and continues to celebrate in their downtime prior to a large, city-wide celebration for the Christmas season.

The younger members of Vanaheim's leaders, to include Amy, Krystal, Dr. Brynn Weiss, Raven, and Andrea Scott all maintain a weekly "Wine and Bitches" club. The night before the city-wide Christmas Eve Dinner, one of these celebrations ends with Krystal and Amy being left alone, and Amy seizes the opportunity to confess a deep and unyielding affection toward Krystal. While Krystal initially (and vehemently) denies any desire for involvement, Amy uses her powers to explore their combined emotions, which reveals that Krystal has grown increasingly close to Amy due to the same repressed romantic inclinations. With great hesitation, Krystal concedes that both of their feelings are legitimate, and the two spend a lengthy, intimate evening together. The following morning, Amy makes a fatal error when trying to explain her absence to Violet and reveals that they were sexually involved during the previous night. Violet vows to maintain the secret, but is overjoyed at her closest friend and half-sister being in a committed relationship.

During the Christmas Eve Dinner, Tony's return to the city is celebrated and the senior members of Vanaheim's leadership are commended for their efforts in training the militia, as well as making the city a place of prosperous success. Before Amy can announce the cure's completion to the city's residents, which now include refugees from the New York City nuclear bombing, as well as soldiers temporarily quartered for training, an assassin attempts to take Amy's life by firing at her with a concealed handgun. Krystal and Sonya's perceptiveness noted something strange in the crowd immediately prior to the man's shooting attempt, and Krystal stopped the bullet while Sonya telekinetically imprisons the man in front of the entire city. Kara and Jalix interrogate him while casually enjoying their Christmas Eve meal, eventually revealing that the man (referred to by Jalix as Smith due to the Smith and Wesson pistol he used) was one of two agents within Vanaheim, and that the other agent had already escaped with plans to tell Legacy of Vanaheim's details. Kara and Jalix have no fear of being attacked, as Vanaheim is defensible against a large invasion force, but both of them are unnerved when Smith reveals that Legacy had increased his army's numbers by torturing and converting the innocent civilians in Washington, D.C. In an emotional moment, Jalix and Kara inform the city that their borrowed time has passed, and that they would be going to war the following day. Krystal and Amy, knowing their short-lived relationship is now at risk of being cut short by an untimely death, is revealed in a public and passionate kiss shared between the two of them. Smith is confined to the infirmary to be detoxed from his Factor Five addiction.

After a discussion between Jalix, Kara, Krystal, and Amy, the newly-founded relationship is accepted when Amy explains the details of diving into Krystal's soul to explore her death (as told in *Desolation*) and after Krystal overpowers Kara in a moment of defiance to pronounce both her love and her loyalty to her daughter. Desiring more insight and needing to vent their own trepidation before going to war, Kara and Jalix attempt to visit Val and Alice, stopped when Kara notices a fresh injury to Val's eye. Valterius explains that Alice reacted inappropriately to a romantic gesture due to her traumatic memories of her kidnapping and attempted rape. Kara and Sonya tend to Alice while Jalix talks with Val, and Alice is comforted in knowing that she is not alone in suffering from intense trauma during her lifetime. Sonya and Kara vow to help her through her feelings so long as she maintains her connection to Val and continues to trust in her husband. Finally retreating for a moment of peace, Jalix and Kara retreat to their own room before Violet requests to pass the time with them in conversation.

Before any significant time passes, the trio notice an odd noise from the main hall of Vanaheim, which precedes Kara's protective instinct pushing Violet into the bathroom of her apartment. As this happens, the front door is torn to shreds by a hail of bullets, fired by an infiltration team of Tortured acting on Legacy's orders and the second agent that had spied on Vanaheim. Krystal helps defend the Counsel while Sonya mounts a counterattack, but Kara is grievously injured when she takes a bullet to the heart in the initial opening of the attack. Amy is able to stave off death temporarily, and Jalix also suffers less serious bullet wounds. After the fight is concluded, ended by a combination of Alice's fiery Vampyre gifts and Sonya's ingenious use of a waiter and some propane tanks, it is revealed that the initial noise was the infiltration team firing into the conference room, striking Eric and Raven in multiple places throughout their body, as well as each of them taking a round to the head.

As the hours pass, Jalix takes command of everyone remaining in Vanaheim while Sonya calls to warn Quantico of a possibly impending attack. A smart move, Quantico was prepared for the probing force that Legacy used mere minutes later, but Yuri was killed in the defense of the base, and Operative Taylor was substituted as his replacement. Waiting for his wife to awaken, Jalix speaks with Alice regarding the statuses of Eric and Raven. While Eric is likely to survive, albeit with dicey odds, Raven is near brain-death. Amy tries to heal her in a moment of defiance against common sense (knowing that her powers cannot heal a heavily-damaged brain), and she suffers an immediate cardiac arrest, temporarily dying, herself. While Alice whisks her away to attempt resuscitation, the emotional turmoil is too much for Jalix to bear, and he takes out his anger by injuring, interrogating, then killing Smith in the infirmary, all with Doctor Goodson's help. With Alice and her expertly-trained staff, Amy is brought back from her catatonic state.

With Kara awake, the Counsel has their final meeting, wherein they coordinate their plan of attack against Legacy's forces in Washington, D.C. While Eric and Raven are no longer capable of providing help through satellite guidance or drone imaging, Jalix determines that he will guide the battle from his personal Blackhawk helicopter. Tony explains that the cure, to be launched once Legacy is confirmed to be dead or having evacuated the city, is being kept in two cylindrical containers known as Relics. One Relic is loaded onto Jalix's personal Blackhawk and the other is entrusted to Krystal, as they need refrigerated to keep the genetic material of the cure alive. Having discussed that Valterius will guide the ground troops from the south of the city, Operative Taylor will invade the east end of the city with the mass of helicopters, and that Alice and Amy will be rescuing the civilians, the group says their finals words and departs for the fight.

The parking lot of the hospital above Vanaheim becomes a staging ground, with more than a hundred pickup trucks, armored vehicles, buses, and heavy equipment carrying what is now considered a fully-trained - and highly motivated - army of free Vampyres. Jalix flies over the convoy as they travel to meet Legacy's army in battle, which begins much earlier than expected. Two combat aircraft attempt an attack run on the convoy, which are expertly defended by Layla and Andrea, as well as an old friend of Jalix's that shows his support by distracting Legacy's fighters while Layla and Andrea make a bombing run on the anti-air platforms preventing any further incursion into Washington. With a successful bombing run and the decimation of Legacy's air power, the free Vampyres, referred to as the Unbroken by Jalix in a rallying speech, move in for the kill.

The battle is not without its hardships, but progresses in favor of the Unbroken as they push further toward the White House. Operative Taylor is killed early in the fight via suicide after the Tortured attempt to kidnap and subject her to a vague but forlorn fate. Due to a lack of leadership in her sector, some of the Tortured escape and rout the convoy, attacking its rear and threatening to kill both Krystal and Violet, who are guarding the primary relic. With their radios unusable, the pair flee into the city with the Tortured in close pursuit. A Blackhawk, evacuating wounded Unbroken, is shot down and crushes the building the duo is hiding in, which also injures Valterius as he actively searches for them. Finally finding them, a heavily-wounded Val is handed the Relic to deliver to Tony, leaving Krystal behind with a broken leg and Violet present to support her. Meanwhile, Alice and Amy realize that their mission is largely futile, as any remaining civilians are too far injured to be saved. Alice is redirected to an adjacent building while Kara and Sonya act on intelligence that a rogue faction of 200 or more Tortured are waiting for the fight to end before resurging and retaking the White House for themselves. Alice discovers several dozen women in the adjacent building that had been held captive and used for "breeding" (as one of them states), with many of them dead or clutching dying newborns.

Alice redirects a portion of her medical staff to evacuate the woman and infants, but as she rushes one of the children to safety, Kara and Sonya topple the skyscraper full of rogue Tortured, which falls and demolishes the remainder of Alice's rescue efforts. The women, children, and most of her medical staff now having been killed, Alice and the Counsel seethe at the sight of Legacy's escape vehicle: a high-tech aircraft that had been hidden from Jalix's radar. As he attempts to flee, a combined effort from Alice, Sonya, and Kara force an explosion in one of its wings, causing it to tumble through the air and land behind the battlefield. Val is finally exhausted by the effort to avoid the falling wing, and succumbs due to his injuries while holding the Relic. His assistant manages to save it, rushing it to Tony, but Alice is shot in the head on her way to rescue and provide aid to Val. Meanwhile, Jalix confirms that Legacy survived the crash, but diverts from his attempt to confront him when Sonya calls over the radio that Kara had collapsed from exhaustion (during the attempt to bring down Legacy's aircraft), and that her heart had stopped.

Violet is the first to rush after Legacy, but is quickly joined by Krystal and Amy as they lag behind her head-start. Amy and Krystal run into each other, and after Amy heals Krystal's broken leg, they try to follow Violet's path to the downed aircraft. Upon arriving, Krystal kills Legacy with a spike of ice through his head, but not before he could fire a single shot at Violet and successfully sending a bullet through her head as his last act. Amy, knowing that she is the only chance at saving her sister's life, slides to her knees and catches Violet before she hits the ground, touching the wound and immediately entering a dream-like state. In this state, her consciousness is disoriented and difficult to manage until Violet makes an appearance. She introduces herself as showing Amy her mind, explaining that Amy's abilities don't work on injuries of the brain because of the metaphysical properties that accompany the human mind; she suggests that past experiences with Krystal only worked because Krystal was able to repair the psychological damage herself. Realizing that there is nothing she can do to save her sister, Amy vows never to allow Violet to fall away from memory, and Violet smiles, disappearing into a cloud of purple mist. Amy suffers an eternity of loneliness within an empty space before finally awakening.

Her parents explain that the Counsel is at the Lynn Woods Reservation: the set of cabins where Amy was born and Kara had died in childbirth during *Sorrow*. Jalix tells her that their fight has been won and the cure was dispersed, but they Counsel was evacuated prior to the cure's launch so that their virus could help them recover from their numerous near-fatal injuries. One by one, the fate of each Counsel member is explained. Eric was recovered enough to make the journey, Amy having been unconscious for nearly two weeks. Sonya was unscathed, alongside Jalix and Krystal, both of whom are teary and amazed that Amy had survived her battle across a fortnight of death's grasp. Val is alive, but the right side of his face is heavily scarred and missing its eye. Kara is well, having fainted due to her extreme use of telekinetic power combined with the earlier shot to her hear being too much for her body to handle. Alice is wheelchair-bound, the gunshot to her head having missed most important sections of her brain and only impacting her ability to walk. Raven went missing from Vanaheim sometime during the battle, leaving the city naked and without taking anything, presumably in a state of confused stupor from the brain damage se suffered.

Violet's fate, however, was saved for last during the explanation, given by Alice and unable to be heard by a heavily-emotional Kara and Jalix. Amy realized that her right arm is bound in a cast and attached to something, revealed by Alice to be a dead and decomposing Violet. Amy suffers an immense emotional trauma from seeing her dead sister, especially in the state of decay she was in, and is told that her own arm had suffered the same effects of that decay. She acknowledges that her arm will be amputated and replaced by a third-generation LUKE biomechanical prosthetic, which allows for a basic sensation of touch and relatively normal functionality. As Krystal stays with her during the surgery (Amy cannot be sedated due to her previous state of health), she "hears" Violet's thoughts during a conversation. As Krystal recounts stories of Violet's adventures, Amy experiences more and more of Violet's thoughts and comes to the conclusion that her personality had become intrinsically combined with Amy's to become a singular person with separate experiences, thoughts, and memories.

A week passes, and Violet's body is cremated by Alice's powers before a formal funeral is held. During the process, Violet herself has several humorous thoughts within Amy's head, and leads to the conclusion that Violet's remains could be preserved through a technical process that Amy explains to the Counsel. Her ashes are treated with a combination of Alice, Kara, Sonya, and Krystal's powers, and are heated, compressed with unimaginable force, and cooled to form a violet diamond that Tony suggests is divided amongst themselves to bear in testament to her life and sacrifice. Upon completion of the impromptu "service", Doctor Goodson arrives at the cabins and hands Val an old satchel containing a book, as well as a large silver case delivered to Alice. After stating to Valterius that she had read the book, and wasn't supposed to, she commits suicide by shooting herself in the head and falls dead next to her car. Alice is the only one in the group not to seem surprised by the action, and orders everyone inside the cabin to discuss the situation further.

Prior to entering the cabin, Valterius reads the book he was given, a process that Amy accompanies and bears witness to his explanation. According to Val, the book was a journal of Schillinger's, outlining in great detail every step along the way that the Counsel, Kara's Vampyres, and the Unbroken would take, along with details about Legacy's actions and the outcomes of their battle. The book is so precise in detail that it clearly states Violet and Raven's deaths, leaving no trace of his bloodline in the world and allowing Amy to preside as the leader of the next generation of the world. Upon asking what its purpose was, Amy was told by Val that Schillinger's intent with Kilkovf, Raven, and Legacy was to show the world what the potential of true evil held, and to build a group of people strong enough to conquer those evils in order to bring the world into a better place. Val questions briefly whether Schillinger's intentions were good or evil, and Amy concedes that they were merely a product of the natural balance of the world.

After reading Schillinger's journal, Val and Amy join the rest of the Counsel, only the core family members present, and listen to Alice's confession that a project was worked on in secret by both herself and Doctor Goodson. She tells them that the Starlight project, the project that worked directly on creating the Starlight strain and the cure/immunity against the Vampyre virus strains within the world, was more than it seemed. She reveals that a mutagen, referred to as New Dawn, is an injectable/intravenous chemical that would allow a carrier of the Vampyre Virus, whether a new strain or an old one, to retain the qualities of being a Vampyre. She explains that there were only ten vials of the solution ever created, and that Doctor Goodson's suicide was a predetermined endgame to mitigate any chance of New Dawn's details being leaked to an external source. Alice then presents her family with a choice: allow the Starlight strain to revert them to human and act as an immunity against ever becoming a Vampyre, or to take the New Dawn injection and continue their life in its current state.

Krystal and Amy know each other too well to debate the issue, both agreeing and knowing that they were ready to help rebuild the nation. Jalix and Kara decline, at Amy's brief protest, citing that their jobs were done and their human lives would be more than sufficient to enjoy each others' company. Sonya and Eric happily accept, excited to be a part of the rebuilt nation. Valterius defers to Alice's decision, who - in light of her many traumas and desires to forget them - declines and decides to become human. Tony, who is neutral throughout the endeavor, explains that he needs time to consider the decision and leaves the cabin, not returning or ever being mentioned again within the story. Alice hands Amy a folder containing the formula for the New Dawn mutagen, explaining that within her hands was the only copy of its existence, and that she was entrusting Amy with its future, whether that be to utilize or to destroy it. Amy and Krystal decide that they would discuss the topic later, holding onto the formula in the meantime.

With only one task left in their immediate future, Eric uses a White House laptop to connect Amy to the United Nations General Assembly, where she is shocked to be asked to represent the United States and its people. Having the support of her family, she accepts the temporary title of President, and listens to the spokesperson - the Prime Minister of Canada - as he explains that Legacy had contacted the U.N. prior to the battle and confessed that his shadow government and its shared information over previous years were a lie, and that Amelia was to be trusted as the true leader of the nation (implying heavily that he expected his own downfall). Amy explains that the cure is dispersed, that the Vampyre Virus will never again be a threat, and summarizes the entirety of the history of Vampyres within a short paragraph. With the nations outside of the United States satisfied with the state of affairs, the Prime Minister offers his support and asks what her plans are for the coming era of the nation. As Krystal steps forward to take her place by Amy's side, showing a commitment to Amy in her political future, Amy responds with "What we have always done. We will rebuild. Because we are Unbroken."

## Epilogues: "Starlight"

While there are defined sections within *Despair* that highlight the events of various characters beyond the final chapter of the story, the "Starlight" phase of the Sorrowverse refers to every chronological event after Amy's speech to the United Nations' assembly and her acceptance of the formula for the New Dawn Mutagen. This does not have a technical limitation yet, as established by the author, but is currently assumed to end in the early 2080's at certain characters' deaths from old age. Few defined dates have been established after that point, and only trivial events are mentioned in the expanded universe that reference anything after this period of time. For comprehensive details involving each character, please visit their respective Wiki pages, or visit the comprehensive list of Expanded Universe Epilogues within the Starlight Phase.