Welcome to Gaia! ::

This is the abode of the humble Lord of the Vampyre, Zanfell Neverise. Upon arriving, one will see a grande barred gate to the mansion, with gargoyle's sitting upon the top of the gate. Once permitted entrance by the two human guards, one will travel a good half mile stretch to the actual mansion. The grounds are patrolled by unseen guards, so don't try anything stupid.

At the door to the mansion, there are two more gargoyles guarding the door, it would seem. The large wooden door holds a knocker in the shape of a wolf's head. The knocker is made of obsidian, and the wolf's eyes of ruby.

Entering the great mansion, one will find in front of them a great dining floor. A kitchen is on the right, with all the tools and accessories the most fanatic cooks would die for. It is fully staffed by humans, and they work nearly round the clock, in shifts, tending to every need the guests and patron would need.

The foyer is filled with art, and plenty of places for hanging coats, hats, cloaks, capes, etc. Art from all eras imaginable rests in this room. On the left is a grande dining hall, spanning from the front of the house, to the back. Beyond the foyer is a hall to socialise, nothing much in there, mainly used by the kitchen staff to transport food to and from the kitchen.

In the dining room is twelve circular tables, arranged as such: two in the front, three, two, three, two. There are three buffet bars in the room, one lining the left wall, one the back wall, the last on the front wall.

There is a horse-shoe shaped stairway in the foyer to the next floor. The stairs lead to an entertaining room, which fills the center of the floor, front to back of house. There is even more art here than the foyer, and plenty of chairs, love seats, couches, and more for a large number of people to sit at.

Four doors lead to two different hallways from the entertaining room. Both, on the opposite side of the doors, are lined with three bedrooms each. Each bedroom in Neverise Manour are of similar arrangement, with different colour schemes, art, and floral decoration.

The bed lays next to the door, with a bedside table on it's left. A floral arrangement sits upon the bed, with a phone leading to the kitchen staff in front of the floral. A wardrobe rests on the far wall, surrounded by two dressers. All wood is made of firm oak. There is a vanity on the right wall, close to the corner of the back wall and the right, out of the way of the walkway, and the dresser's drawers.

Both hallways end in stairways to the next floor. The third floor opens up to a grand ballroom, where the patron hosts masquerades on frequent occasion, being a fan of social activity, and parties. Tere is an automaton orchestra lining the back wall, which is programmed with a large number of old tunes, well known, and not so well known. The patron has also been known to host concerts for great local, and famous modern bands.

In the corners of the ballroom, right next to the entrance stairs, is another flight of stairs to the last floor. This floor has two adjoining hallways housing twelve more rooms. These rooms follow the same arrangement as those on the second floor.

There is a hidden set of stairs on one of the ends of the hallways, hidden in one of the four closets in the two hallways, Behind the stairway. This set of stairs leads up to Zanfell's personal room. This room houses a self-made armoury, with weapons of every era; a small library of books on the opposite wall to the armoury, on the far wall is his own wardrobe, several different outfits for any occasion, matched with a hat, masque, or cloak/cape. On the near wall is antique suits of armour, all of them useable and battle-tested.

In the center of the huge room is a lone coffin, trimmed with gold, and rubies set into it. The wood is painted black, and the inside is fit to his form. It rests upon a wooden closed pedestal. Arranged in different locations of the room are training equipment for any of his weapons and martial arts.

Welcome to Neverise Manour, enjoy your stay.

A sleek limo pulled up to the gates of the mansion and slowly came to a halt. The driver exited the vehicle and walked around to open the door for the passangers that he had been driving, giving them a small bow as he pulled the door open. The first one to come out was an old man, most likely in his 60s with gray hair that slicked back and a neatly trimmed mustache. Dressed in a black tuxedo with a black mask hiding his eyes and a cane in one hand, he was the picture of the elderly English gentleman.

The driver reached in the car to help out the next passenger, but the old man waved him off. "No need for that, son." the man said, a proper English accent very evident on his words. "I can manage. I'll call you when you need to pick us up again."

"As you wish, sir." the driver replied, bowing again and returning to the driver's seat. "Good thing it's dark, eh, girl? Well, come now, we don't want to be late." the old man said, holding out a hand which was taken by a young, slender, and feminine hand.

The other passanger exited the car to reveal a young woman, hardly looking a day over 18, with dirty blonde hair that was curled a bit at the ends with two pieces of hair pulled back and helf in place with a clip in the shape of a blue and silver butterfly that sparkled with semi-precious metals and gems. A mask that glittered with the same colors covered her eyes as an elegant blue evening gown covered her slight frame. It clung to her and molded to her form, showing off her trim figure while also adding a certain something to her charm.

"Don't worry, Grandfather. I've no intention of being late to a party like this." the young woman said, something unidentifiable underneath her British accent. "Well, shall we go in?"

"Of course, my dear girl! We don't want to keep our host waiting." Grandfather said, holding out his arm for the woman to take. She did indeed take his arm, with a curtsey no less, and allowed the elderly man to lead her into the masion. As she followed the man she called grandfather, the young woman could help but think that she was having deja vu. This all seems to...familiar. As if I saw it once in a dream a long time ago...

They eventually entered into the mansion proper, where they were greeted by their host. As Grandfather, who's real name was James Micheal Brighton II, spoke with their host, the young woman stared appreciatively at their host, who looked quite fine in his crimson outfit.

"It seems like a life time, old friend. You should try to look me up more often. Life's not as fun when you're not around, though this young lady over here does add a bit of pep back into my old bones. I'd like you to meet my adoptive graddaughter, Addy. She came to England quiet a few years ago looking for her father, but never did find the man. It pained me to see the girl all alone without a soul to turn to, so I offered to take her in. She's been living with me ever since." James said, patting Addy's hand with his. Addy briefly let go of her grandfather's arm to give her host a deep curtsey.

"Thank you for inviting my grandfather, sir. It is an honor to meet you." she said, her voice cool and confident. She had certainly changed from the timid young girl she had been when she had first been turned.

Addy looked back into her hosts eyes, recognition lighting up in her mind for a brief second before it was lost again. When he took her hand, she felt her heart flutter (or it would have, had she still been alive) and almost skip a beat. Don't be silly, you've just met the man! This is no time to be thinking about how handsom he looks in those clothes and how perfect his face is. Get it together, girl. Addy was quite glad that she shielded her thoughts from other vampires; if their host was one, it would've been quite embarassing for him to hear her thoughts.

'My servants will take you to your seats. Harold, Donald. Please escort Sir James and his lovely fosterling to their seats.'

It embarassed Addy to be called a fosterling again. She hasn't been called a fosterling in almost 200 years (okay, it was more like 192, but that was pretty close to 200), and it always made her feel displaced when she was called that. Though he had taken her in, knowing what she was, James had indeed become her grandfather, doting on her and spoiling her as all grandfathers do to to their grandchildren.

Wait, LOVELY fosterling?! Why does being called lovely remind me of New Orleans? Thinking quickly in her head, Addy followed James as they were led to their seats.

Addy sat down properly next to her grandfather, by all rights a proper English young woman. Well, she would've been had she been English. She was probably more French than anything else, but that hardly mattered now. America and New Orleans had been all but washed from her tounge since she had come year, some 15 years ago. Even lost in thought, Addy held up her glass during the toast and took a small sip. Even after all these years, alcohol didn't do much for her unless there was blood in it.

Listening to Grandfather's conversation with their host with only half an ear, the vampiress set most of her attention on her meal.

"Not too much of note has gone on in these part, I'd say. Aside from Addy here coming to stay with me, it's been rather dull. I suppose there'd be more excitement if she would let me help her look for her father, but she hasn't even told me the bloke's name, let alone what he looks like or anything else I could use to help her search." James replied to his old friend, knowing that Addy wouldn't mind him speak of her past. She knew that James wouldn't go on about this to just anyone and that James knew their host well.

"Well, when she wouldn't tell me anything about her father, I asked about her mother, forgetting myself for a moment, you see-"

"My mother is a cruel, heartless murderer and I hope she is dead with her ashes scattered to the wind." Addy suddenly spoke up. "I've no wish to find her, and no doubt she has no wish to find me if she's still alive. I left her after I found out what a cold witch she was, which was how I came to live with my father. I'd rather you not talk about my mother, Grandfather."

Addy had enjoyed the dinner, even though she was a vampire. However, the fact that part of the meal had been steak tartar, it wasn't hard to believe at all that Addy had enjoyed the meal. There had been a delicious stew, with bits of red meat and vegetables, along with a light salad, the aforementioned steak tartar, and a light strawberries and cream for dessert. All the meat made Addy think of blood and her stomach twinged a bit. She would have to feed soon, as she hadn't fed in a couple of days. She would tell her Grandfather when they got home.

As the party followed their host to the ballroom, Addy felt the place become and more familiar with each step. She HAD been in this place before, only it had been in a different place. Long forgotten details arose in her mind. The docks at New Orleans, her house burned to ashes...and a secret door. She was snapped out of her thoughts when she entered the ballroom and the music washed over her.

Suddenly, it wasn't Addy, James' granddaughter, standing there. In her place was the timid Adele Marcuelle, only recently turned and still getting used to her powers as a vampire. I'm....home. It's not where it was before, but this is home.

"Addy, my dear?" James suddenly asked, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. Addy had to resist the urge to jump and looked calmly over at her grandfather and their host. Oh, he had asked her if he wanted to dance. Addy dropped into a curtsey and smiled up at her host. "I would be honored to dance with you, sir." Pulling up out of the curtsey, she took his hand.

Addy was surprised to hear Beethoven's Ninth Symphony playing. It had been quite a few years since she had heard it, but it always reminded her of New Orleans. He pulled her closer, his hand on her waist and his other gently holding her other hand. She put her free hand on his arm and let him lead her into the dance.

"Have we met? I don't know. I feel like I've been here before, but it wasn't here in England." Addy said truthfully. "I almost want it to be true that we've met before, but I don't see how it's possible. Your voice is familiar though, as does your hand on my waist..."

"It's one of my favorites too. My father loved it too. He would play it for me and taught me to dance before he suddenly left. But that was a long time ago." Addy said, sighing a bit at the memory. It was obvious that her father meant a great deal to her.

"I would love to continue dancing, sir. Perhaps if we dance long enough, we can figure out why we seem so familiar to each other."

"It doesn't matter now. I've been searching for him for almost 200 years. If he..." Addy stopped, taking a shuddering breath. It was obviously that she was still hurt by her father leaving her. "If he was still alive, or if he still cared about me, he would've found me by now. I want to find him so I can ask why he left me so suddenly before he taught me how to properly use my powers."