Live On The Air - Vampire Characters

[nicholas_lucien]

The Supernatural

There are many supernatural entities and capabilities in the Forever Knight universe, each to be handled in their episode(s).  There are cursed and blessed objects, psychics, a soothsayer, ghosts, a psychopomp, the ability to reincarnate, etc.  No zombies or werewolves, though there are vampire dogs. 

Vampire Characters

By the end of season 3 we learn there are three main types of vampires.  The lowest are the carouches, with the implication being that these are the results from when an animal was the source for the first mortal blood tasted.  Most vampires are normal (?) vampires, created presumably by having fed on mortal human blood first.  The third are Enforcers, slightly different and created/selected by unstated method(s); I’ll go over those guys in their episodes.  For now, I will concentrate on the main three vampires from season 1 and 2 (and get the remaining as I move closer to season 3), though most of Nick is revealed during each episode, so will be covered there. 

Vampires in the Forever Knight universe have a few abilities and limitations.  As Nick said: “Stay out of the sun; keep away from sharp sticks; you’ll live forever.” [Fever]  These vampires are sensitive to garlic, wooden stakes, and blessed objects (crosses, symbols of the Light, etc).  They have reflections, fangs, the ability to fly, can see in limited light, and have infrared-vision.  They also seem to have a telepathic ability, as the vampires can hypnotize susceptible individuals, seem to sense certain qualities in mortals by just being near them, pick up memories and abilities from blood [Francesca], make a mental connection to the one they are feeding or drinking from to share memories with [Last Act, Francesca], and have a connection/link with other vampires and especially with their maker.

Vampires possess increased healing, strength, and endurance.  As for injuries that would be lethal for mortals, vampires can become weakened and then recover (if they have access to blood).  Injuries that are not immediately lethal to vampires (like a stake in the chest, but not through the heart) greatly weakens them, but recovery is eventually possible if the problem is removed and they have access to blood.  Kill a vampire (fire, stake through the heart, exposure to the sun, decapitation/severing brain-spinal cord connection, starvation if young enough, massive blood loss and inability to regenerate) and they tend to stay dead, though there are notable exceptions.  A few members of Nick’s vampire family seem to be different than other vampires: reincarnation, survival from beheading, survival after fire and staking, and Nick himself dies at least five times and comes back.  So there seems to be extra abilities possible in his vampire line.    

Lucius / Lucien LaCroix

Played by Nigel Bennett, LaCroix is the eldest of the main vampire characters in the show, both in years as a mortal and as a vampire.  Originally a Roman and achieving the rank of General, he was brought across at Pompeii during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD.  His maker was his own mortal daughter, known only as Divia.  He would spend about 20 years with Divia before parting from her after he parted her head from her body.  Over the centuries, LaCroix would make a number of vampires, many he spent little time with, though he would tend to keep two near him (or he would stay near them): Janette and Nick.  Considered his family, and he the pater familias (the head of the family), he was fiercely protective and controlling of them.

LaCroix is, at his core, a survivor.  It was one of the reasons it was so easy for him to decide to become a vampire, and could be a reason why it was so quick for him to be brought across.  Once a vampire, he (rightfully?) considered himself better and superior to mortals and not one of them anymore, so LaCroix did not really concern himself overmuch with them unless one really interested him.  Remember, LaCroix came from a time where there were humans (women, slaves, freedmen, freemen, citizens), demons, gods, demi-gods, etc.  Each had their own abilities and certain rights because of what they were and where they were in the hierarchy.  And like a hierarchy, those on the upper levels were permitted to do different activities than those lower, and this was not questioned.  If you wanted higher up, do particular trials and if you were able to pass, you moved up.  So from such understanding of the world, LaCroix probably would not have had a problem with killing mortals for his own continued survival; it would have been one of his unquestioned “rights”.  It would not have been “wrong” as we understand it nowadays (or how Nick would later come to see it).  In a similar line of thinking, I don’t believe LaCroix was born into the high social class we see him as a mortal.  I doubt he was patrician (the historical aristocracy), so maybe a well-off plebeian who worked his way further up on his own, without a lot of help from others or the luck of the gods to be born into that higher station.  He sure didn’t have full respect for the gods, saying not even they had power over him or could destroy him [A More Permanent Hell].  He’s a self-made man/vampire.  LaCroix expected his offspring to share a similar belief of entitlement and contentment with their higher station in life and was not pleased when Nick began to drift away from him and that ideology.  To bring Nick back, LaCroix seemed to think the result justifies the deeds (Exitus acta probat, Ovid).  Thus, no action is really “wrong” (or even needs to be apologized for) if it brings the desired outcome.

Just as an interesting aside (and I cannot think where I picked this up), but I have this head-canon that LaCroix won’t directly kill a vampire (after he killed Divia).  He can set into motion the killing, or do nothing to stop it from happening, but for some reason I think he can’t perform the killing himself. 

Janette DuCharme

Played by Deborah Duchêne, Janette was brought across by LaCroix in 1070 (Musicante’s Forever Knight; A Reference Guide) in Paris.  When LaCroix had found her, Janette was working as a prostitute, though not originally born to that life.  Once brought across, she did not reject her new state, and would not really question it until season 3, where she left Toronto and moved to Montreal.  There she met a man she fell in love with and became mortal for a little while.  Janette helped to bring Nick into their vampire family and loved him.  An interesting question this raises is, if Janette had not involved LaCroix with Nick but took his blood herself, could she have become mortal in the process?

Nicholas De Brabant / Nick Knight

Played by Geraint Wyn Davies, Nick was lured away by Janette and brought across by LaCroix in 1228 in Paris.  A Crusader for the Church, he would lose his faith, only to find it later.  Over the course of centuries, Nick would slowly decide that the life he was leading was wrong, and try to change it and himself.  By the time of the series, he is working as a Homicide Detective in Toronto and trying to be brought back across by Natalie, who is also trying to find a substitute he can tolerate to reduce his need to feed on blood.

When we first see Nick, I would say he is at a very low point in his life.  Not the lowest (that would come during Last Knight), but definitely low.  So many centuries of trying to change and come across and yet he hasn’t achieved that yet.  And it is becoming harder to control his vampire side as it is probably getting stronger and more insistent in an attempt to fight back being suppressed and limited.  Nick is also pulling away.  Even though there is a Community presence in Toronto, and Janette (whom he still loves) is running the Raven, Nick initially isolated himself from both.  He begins to come back, but it isn’t enough, and Nick continues to slide downward.

Interestingly, Nick did not originally move to Toronto to become a Detective.  It is never mentioned what brought him there at that time, nor what he was doing before.  However, given how much painting he does and the space, he was probably painting.  Was he working as an artist or just spending his time in isolation?

Next Up: Episode: Dark Knight

Images can be found here.
 

Comments

[greerwatson]

This is an interesting analysis. It raises a number of questions that haven't been much dealt with in fan fiction. In particular, why did Nick come to Toronto? Well, no doubt partly because LaCroix wasn't there! But that certainly still leaves the question of how he was spending his time before metting Natalie.

[nicholas_lucien]

Thank you for your comments! Yes, it can be interesting thinking of the various reasons he settled on Toronto. My favorite is for the hockey, but it could be large cities subtly attract vampires, he might be re-visiting places he liked or had emotional meaning to him, (as you said) LaCroix wasn't there or maybe something had happened and LaCroix said he would never return to Toronto so Nick thought it would be safe for a while. But whatever Nick was doing, I doubt he was interacting with many people or there would have been a lot to correct to explain why he wasn't around anymore but a person looking just like him was now a Detective.

Plenty to think about and maybe this can inspire a few stories!

[pj1228]

I like your take on Lacroix. Wherever he came from, his martial skills gained him the rank of General. That alone was probably sufficient to regard himself superior to others. And his vampirism merely enhanced an already large ego. :)

Why Nick came to Toronto? Apparently he had been there before (Forward into the Past). Maybe he had property there (the warehouse), so it was convenient. And maybe because of the infra structure. Although he lived on cow, the city had an established catering system for his kind. The city size might also be a factor. Obviously it's easier to blend in in larger cities.

Would Janette have become mortal if she had brought Nick across? An interesting question. Similarly, when Nick brought her back across, why didn't he become mortal? Apparently there must be other factors involved in order to recreate what happened with Janette and Robert. The writers have really confronted us with a complicated puzzle.

and Nick himself dies at least five times and comes back
I'm currently having a blank here. To which situations are you referring?

[nicholas_lucien]

Yes, there are so many unknown factors to being able to bring a vampire back across it has to be more than just getting blood from the mortal you love. I think there had to be something very unique about what exactly happened between Janette and Robert. But it is fun to think about what could have happened if Janette had gotten some of Nick's mortal blood. She did, after all, love him too.

Okay - vampire death. This can be a bit tricky, but I assume for a vampire to be dead: 1) they do not immediately reanimate or regenerate and thus do not heal from thier wounds, 2) individuals who should recognize death confirm the death, 3) vampire is at the doorway to the afterlife and normally would not be able to get back, 4) separation of spinal cord from brain (as would happen in a beheading). So times I am assuming this occurred to Nick (but he obviously recovered, but I feel a regular vampire would not have been able to, yet he does)

1. Only the Lonely: Nick catches a pipe bomb, which would do some serious physical damage and burns and he is presumed dead for a while (I doubt anyone was in a real hurry to get him to the morgue, so he didn't immediately recover)

2. Undue Process: Nick is hanged, twitching for a second, then is still. I take that to mean the injury was traumatic spinal cord injury (like a decapitation) and instant death. If the nooses are put on incorrectly or a number of other problems, then the victim dies very slowely by strangulation or reduction in cerebral blood flow.

3. Near Death: Cortical tomography apparatus blocked Nick's neural activity, leading to brain death. Nick is at the gate and does not immediately come back. Natalie says he is dead.

4. The Fix: Vampire is suppressed, Nick is shot and dies (I assume goons know what death looks like and would keep shooting him if he wasn't). Finally by nightime is back, along with the vampire.

5. Ashes to Ashes: Divia comes to kill Nick as she has killed other vampires. Fights until Nick dies. I assume she recognizes vampire death and would not have left if Nick was still alive. She tells LaCroix Nick is dead.

Anyway, this is what I am currently thinking on this.