Sasha

Sasha Landvik is a female vampire and Eric’s progenitor.  Her mortal origins are presently unknown, but we infer she was chosen by an ancient vampire several centuries ago.  Physically, she appears well-toned and buxom, with black hair and a wide smile.  Emotionally, she seems somewhat unstable, being slightly obsessed with her own progenitor, a man whom–according to Sasha–Eric strongly resembles.  This resemblance is what led her to change Eric into a vampire.

Sasha is, by her own confession, a negligible wizard. She has gone to great lengths to preserve or recover as many artifacts of her previous lover as possible, including his portrait, sword, and some of his grimoires.  Eric’s introduction to the magical arts came from those books.

Her influence also prompted Eric to take swordsmanship seriously.  Eric used to fence and dabbled in swordplay as a hobbyist, but Sasha convinced him to train in earnest, claiming it was a vital skill in any age.  While not mentioned in Eric’s memoirs, she once told him, “Swordsmanship is a noble art, and worthy of serious study.  Even if carrying swords is frowned upon today, the skill of beating someone to death with a long stick is useful more often than you might think.”

From comments in the text, we can infer Sasha was a resident of England, possibly London, sometime during a plague epidemic, possibly during the Great Plague of London (1665-1666). Her progenitor discovered her at some point during this period and "saved her" from the plague. Although whether he cured her of the plague or merely took her away from the plague-infested areas is an open question. According to Sasha, he turned her into a vampire (Chao Bibens Sanguinus) and she resided with him in his home somewhere in the south of France. They were separated when the peasants rose up--The French Revolution? 1789-1799--and her progenitor held off the mob to let her escape.

After her progenitor's death, she eventually came settle down in a colonial estate in the American state of Pennsylvania, where she prepared for her progenitor's foretold return. During this period, she acquired an indeterminate but large fortune, allowing her to live in considerable luxury. Sasha resided there for close to a century until she found Eric in 21st century America. After watching him for several years, she determined him to be the reincarnation of her dead progenitor. As Eric was in a committed relationship at when she found him, she resorted to using mental manipulation on Eric's then-partner (Terry) to force a sudden and harsh breakup, which devastated Eric.

Book one, Nightlord, begins with Eric waking up in Sasha's mansion after she arranged a seemingly random meeting with Eric while he was out getting blackout drunk with his friends. She had then taken him back to her house and proceeded to sleep with him, as well as turning him into a vampire (notably without his consent). In the following days, she successfully romanced him despite his outrage and fear regarding his sudden vampirism, serving as both his mentor and lover as he learned to utilize and understand his new powers.

She and Eric stayed together for several months after his transformation, in which time she confessed both her insecurities regarding her qualification to be his partner as well as her violation of Terry's mind. Despite this revelation, they stayed together up until she was successfully assassinated by the Fist while Eric was out of the house.

Spoilers below:

As of writing (Spring 2022), Sasha has made no further appearances, although she is expected to return in the conclusion of the Time Travel arc.