The Varcolac – art taken from the back cover of Book 1: The Varcolac’s Diary.
Monster: The Dark Prince
Class: Greater
Type: Varcolac
Which book(s) is The Dark Prince in?: The Varcolac’s Diary (Book 1, Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or here); Witch Moon (Book 2, Available Soon)
A young monster royal, the Dark Prince was bored with his easy life slaughtering villages to feed his hunger and lounging around his father’s fortress. He began questioning his father’s rule, believing the humans had been allowed to become too civilized and free around their kind. With his doubt came more questions. What was the point of being a varcolac? What was the point of endless feeding and eternal life?
The varcolac began to visit the monster underworld, searching for answers. His boredom turned to diabolical plans. He began learning his history. History that dated back beyond his father’s golden era. He learned of the Ancients.
Intrigued, seeing a solution to the plague of humanity’s growth, and realizing a purpose in the greater history of his family and the world of monsters, the Dark Prince brought his findings to his father. The older, Greater royal forbade him from looking into the matters any more. Angered, and believing his father to be a fool for not wanting to wake the Ancients, the Dark Prince unwittingly arranged the death of his father through human hands.
Exiled from his home, the Dark Prince moved on to new lands—both in the Otherworld and among the humans. He began searching for the portals and means that could reach the Ancients, amassing a force of monsters under him to help complete the task of waking them. It proved a task that would continue for centuries.
He had only one final step to complete when his very efforts brought rise to a new generation of Monster Hunters at Hunter’s Grove, and the story we read in Book 1: The Varcolac’s Diary.
- From the cover of Book 2: Witch Moon
Monster: The Sagemistress
Class: Greater
Type: Witch
Which book(s) is The Sagemistress in?: The Varcolac’s Diary (Book 1, Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or here); Witch Moon (Book 2, Available Soon)
Perhaps one of the most powerful and oldest Greaters in monster history, the Sagemistress was feared and respected by human and monster alike. Although not a royal herself—though there are some who believe her blood stretches back into lineages greater even than royalty—the Otherworld royals paid heed to her words, taking her advice and wise council into careful consideration during times of war and peace.
After learning of the Dark Prince’s father’s death, the Sagemistress visited the young varcolac in his exile. During this visit she was trapped into servitude to the evil son. He was a weaker monster on all accounts, and it was only by a treacherous magical contract he had acquired that collared her power. Weakened and chained to a single place in the Otherworld, the Sagemistress had no choice but to wait and serve as the varcolac’s advisor and servant.
Then the Dark Prince fell to defeat and capture himself. Having fairly warned the fledgling Monster Hunters of their fate should they face the varcolac, the Sagemistress knowingly influenced them in their struggle to move forward, having played slave to the young royal’s greed for long enough. She prepared herself, and her coven, for the journey home – to Drakauragh – where unfinished business awaited them.
Monster: Carman, Witch mother to Dub (pronounced Dow), Dian, and Dother
Class: Greater
Type: Witch
Which book(s) is Carma in?: Witch Moon (Book 2, Available Soon)
Like many of the monsters in the Charlie Sullivan and the Monster Hunters series of novels, Carman is a legendary and powerful witch in mythology. In Book 2: Witch Moon, Carman and her sons wreaked havoc in the Old Country under the leadership of the Sagemistress. A witch hell-bent on the destruction of mankind, Carman was old enough to be the Sagemistress’ next in command, but too young to remember older, wiser eras. When the Sagemistress disappeared and was magically placed in servitude to the Dark Prince (Book 1), Carman assumed the Sagemistress’ role in their region. Without the Sagemistress’ presence, though, Carman’s influence and ability to effectively lead among the remaining coven slowly crumbled. Hell-bent destruction without direction or leadership is a quick end to itself.
Her name, like so many smaller monsters, was a terrifying legend that faded with time. Discontent and frustration brewed as a weakened Carman watched the human world grow unchecked. She focused her destructive magic on secluded areas still steeped in magic…towns and villages such as Drakauragh.
Following the defeat of the Dark Prince, monsters new and old were eager to reclaim their place in The Old Country. Carman herself hungered for more than being a scary legend to humans. Now butting heads with the recently returned Sagemistress, Carman pushes for a new direction in the worlds, one that would, in her eyes, lead them all into a glorious era of destruction and submission.
Join the hunt at: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or here!
Also of interest:
Monster Profile: Greaters, Lessers, and Constructs (Of Things That Go Bump In The Night!)
Monster Profile: Dräng (Chief of Assistants)
Location Profile: Hunter’s Key and Drakauragh (Portals of Powerful Magic)
We are honored and excited to share with you that Charlie Sullivan and the Monster Hunters: The Varcolac’s Diary (Book 1) has been nominated for a 2013 eFestival of Words Award. It has been nominated for the Best Young Adult fiction award.
