V is for Vampire

I love a good vampire story.  Naturally that means I have always want to portray a good vampire character.  Well, maybe not so good.  Anyhow, this is the background on my vampire.  Her actual story has not been written yet.  She came about as a role-playing character.  I stumbled across the name, looked up the meaning and then spent an entire night playing with Greek mythology (because who needs sleep?)

Ariadne is the daughter of King Minos of Crete (son of Zeus) and queen Pasiphaë, (daughter of Helios). Over the course of her life she has filled many roles; daughter, weaver, lover, wife, mother goddess, vampire. But all good stories most have a beginning and the start of Ariadne's is shrouded in myth and legend...

King Minos attacked Athens after his son was killed there, the Athenians asked for terms, and it was requested that they sacrifice seven young men and seven maidens every nine years to the Minotaur, who was Pasiphaë's son and Ariadne's half brother. One year, the sacrificial party included Theseus, a young man who had volunteered to come and kill the Minotaur. Ariadne fell in love with him at first sight, and helped him by giving him a sword and a ball of red fleece thread that she was spinning, so that he could find his way out of the Minotaur's labyrinth. When Theseus had achieved his goal Ariadne eloped with him and if this were a fairy tale that would be where our story ends.

Alas is was not to be so...Dionysus, god of the grape harvest and wine, of ritual madness and ecstasy appeared to Theseus as they sailed away from Crete. He stated that he had chosen Ariadne as his wife, and demanded that Theseus leave her on Naxos for him. Theseus was not about to evoke the wrath of a god and so he abandoned the sleeping Ariadne on Naxos.

And so it is said that Dionysus came to Ariadne on Naxos and they were wed and her wedding diadem was set in the heavens as the constellation Corona. She bore Dionysus eleven children: Oenopion, the personification of wine, Staphylus (related to grapes), Thoas, Peparethus, Phanus, Eurymedon, Ceramus, Maron, Euanthes, Latramys and Tauropolis.

Ariadne remained faithful to Dionysus for their time together, and it was not an unpleasant life, he was after all the god of ecstasy. But she did not love him and in time she grew weary of life with the god. And so she walked down by the sea one evening, with the intent of ending her life and hung herself from a tree. Now this boys and girls is where our tale gets interesting....

A servant stumbled upon her seemingly lifeless body and ran to tell Dionysus of his wife's demise. Now according to legend Dionysus descended into Hades and brought Ariadne and his mother Semele back. They then ascended to join the gods in Olympus.

Legend is wrong, for death was not to come so quickly for the granddaughter of Zeus and Helios, not even at her own hand. As she awaited death someone else came instead, a cold and lonely stranger with an offer of eternity on his lips. At first Ariadne refused but the marble skinned stranger cut her down and as he sunk his fangs into the pale skin of her neck and began to drain the life from her body she changed her mind. He saw the decision in her mind and he chuckled, pulling away and slicing a vein in his own neck urging her to drink.

Ariadne, weak from the ordeal, swayed towards him, hands clutching at his shoulders, going up on her tip toes as her tongue darted out to lap at the blood that was beginning to spill down his throat. It spread over her taste buds like ambrosia and as her pupils dilated she pressed against him suckling weakly at the wound. 

The idea being of course as a role play character that the story can go anywhere from there.  I have had some grand adventures with her and hope we will have lots more.