Dalia Dark

Dalia Desjardin, Leader of the New Orleans Avant Gard Vampires was born in France in 1867. Much is known about her history, as you will discover. Dalia’s mother was a famously beautiful French opera singer Marie Desjardin, though her father was unknown. Her mother gave her up so that way she could continue with her career and avoid scandal. Dalia was adopted by a young couple who could not have children of their own, or so it was thought. In truth, she was adopted by the Madame of a high-class brothel which specialized in beautiful women. She was chosen because of her mother’s great beauty. She was raised by a hired nurse with several other children. She was groomed from an early age into being a perfect companion. Most of what was taught was way of maintaining her looks, accentuating her beauty and how to please men. She did learn way of seduction as well, of making idle conversation to keep the customer interested and to appear more knowledgeable than she was. She learned to listen and to alter her behavior to fit that of the customer. When Dalia was 14, the Madame she had come to see as her mother died and the brothel was taken over by a woman who was not so scrupulous. The new owner cared little for the girls and made little restrictions on how their patrons treated them as long as “their looks were not marred”. The next 4 years was hell for Dalia and many of the other women at the brothel “mysteriously” disappeared. The brothel’s reputation drew interest from the vampire Vaughn LaBlac. He visited often as it was a safe place for him to feed and many of the women were true visions of beauty. Over the last few years though, he saw their mistreatment taking its toll. The women were haggard and many has turned to drink of other substances to get through the day. He had decided that the place was losing its appeal for him, and indeed was becoming less safe, as he never knew what might be in the blood of one of his companions. Before he left though he made an offer to Dalia, who at the time was the most beautiful of all the workers. He promised to free her from the brothel, but the price was high. He explained to her that he intended to transform her, and all that entailed. Dalia agreed and they left together. The thugs who worked for the place tried to stop him from taking her, to their own misfortune. Dalia traveled with Vaughn for a little less than a year, but he grew tired of her. They parted ways and Dalia returned to the brothel that she grew up in. She took revenge for her years of mistreatment. The details are not well known, however there are stories of the madam being stripped naked, tied to a horse and dragged behind as it ran through town. The patrons suffered worse fates. Dalia’s early history is well known, due to the fact that she wants it to be known. She wishes her enemies to know that she retaliates against those who do harm to her, as evidenced by the following additional story of her past. Dalia never forgave her mother for discarding her, and several years after she had been embraced she encountered her mother at one of her performances. Th twenty years since her birth time had not been kind to her mother. Once a well-known beauty, years of travel, smoking and long nights had taken their toll, and if had affected Marie deeply. A very vain woman, she tried to hide her age with cosmetics, and dressing much below her age, but all knew the truth. It was a common topic of conversation and the social circles of high society, that she was making a fool of herself. She was a joke to most of the community and often people would say she should concentrate on her talent rather than her looks. Dalia found her at one of her shows but her mother did not know who she was. Dalia spoke with her for some time, pretending to be a fan and then when about to leave, slashed her mother across the throat, cutting into her vocal cords. She then held her mother so she could see nothing but the mirror and explained that the face she saw in the mirror, old, wrinkled, and discolored will be the face that she will look on for all eternity. She embraced her mother while forcing her to watch the act in the mirror, and while her throat was still damaged. She then took Marie with her. Marie lives in New Orleans, her once exceptional voice now reduced to a whisper and her once great beauty, faded and lost. A living example of Dalia’s vengeance. Today, Dalia owns the Lamp Light, on Bourbon street. A strip club, where she will occasionally perform. She owns several brothels across the city as well and manages one of the most notorious Krewes in the city. One thing she learned from her early days was that men tell secrets to their lovers, even temporary lovers, and because of that she has gathered lots of information on important figures in the city. She uses this knowledge sparingly as to not reveal the source, but she has incredible influence, especially among the mortal officials of the city. Dalia is a very pleasant woman as long as you do not get on her bad side. She is a voracious learner, and asks questions about all kinds of subjects. Since she was kept ignorant while young, she sees knowledge as a source of power and makes an effort to learn at every opportunity. She also delights in the fact that people can be manipulated by an attractive woman and delights in putting that to the test, especially among younger vampires. She is very friendly with Lawrence, and they have even entered into several business arrangements. She also is very close to Jeffrey Kobe. She has a cordial relationship with most of the other kindred in the city. She does not like Uncle Larell or his anarchs as they cause chaos and create situations which she does not have much control over. She has a deep hatred for Archibald Meeks, and is not afraid to show it. From what the hatred stems, is unknown, but they both seem content with avoiding each other. Her closet allies are Marie, despite their past, and her progeny Justin, a painter who is completely devoted to her.