The Delacroixs and the Origins of holding Court:
A century earlier (1911) James Delacroix, a founding member of the town, started the tradition of hosting a monthly Court in Twinbrook. In its formal sense the Court was used as means of introducing new younglings and elders to the community, make announcements, hear cases and punish transgressions. But there was also a social aspect to the Court, poetry and literature were read over a buffet of thralls and the evenings would typically end with music and dancing.
For years James and his mate, Hannah, held successful Courts, making Twinbrook one of the most sought after Courts for Vampires to partake in. Much of their success was due in part to their leadership, they ran the House of Twinbrook with an iron fist, but they were also fair and reasonable. They were always the first to applaud good deeds done in their community, but they were the also quick in dealing with unruly behavior.
Several months before Julian’s fateful monthly court, word surfaced that Lord Anthony Mackenzie, one of the oldest Court’s nobles had raped a mortal girl.
The pact that the Delacroixs had made with the Youngbloods dictated his crime be punishable by death. But James, very much fond of his old friend, had spared his life, choosing instead to banish him from Twinbrook. A mistake he came to regret a few weeks later when Mackenzie returned to Twinbrook unexpectedly and brutally murdered Hannah in her altar bed in the crypt. Julian and Luca were out that evening with friends, and James had been locked away in his study, going over the family’s finances. Richard, who was their butler even back then, had made the gruesome discovery.
James had been devastated by Hanna’s death so much to a point that he couldn’t function and it was up to Julian and Luca to avenge their mother’s death. And they had, sending shock waves rippling through the sleepy town of Twinbrook when the townspeople woke up one morning and found Anthony Mackenzie hanging from a tree right in the middle of the bayou, his private parts cut off and a stake still stuck to his heart. Their message had been loud and clear and it was well received by McKenzie’s clan and by nightfall of the same day, they’d promptly left town.
Revenge had brought James little comfort and all he’d wanted was to be reunited with his love. Luca and Julian were against the idea of his suicide, arguing that Hannah would have wanted him to carry on living.
It took three long days for James to perish in the sun and it had almost killed Luca and Julian to sit back and watch him die. But nothing could have prepared them for the pain of fulfilling his last request. Scattering his ashes over Hannah’s grave was the hardest thing the brothers ever did.
Soon after James’s death, Julian fulfilled their father’s last wish when he stepped into his role as the leader of the House of Twinbrook.
Their small community had expected some sort of jealousy on Luca’s part since he was the older brother, but there was none. Luca had understood their father’s reasons. Between the two, Julian was the most charismatic and outgoing while Luca chose to stay in the background and avoid being the centre of attention at all costs.
The night before the Court Luca awakened from a troubled sleep. The deep sense of foreboding from his dreams stuck with him the whole day. He threw himself at his piano, thinking his favorite compositions would do the trick and help him shake off the feeling of doom deep in his unbeating heart, but nothing did, not even reading his favorite works by Shakespeare.
He talked with Julian and explained his premonition. Something terrible was on the way, something dark and evil and it would forever change their lives and he told Julian he thought it had to do with the Court the next evening. He even begged his brother to cancel the Court, but Julian stubbornly refused.
They argued back and forth for a large part of that day, with Luca accusing him of using their family tradition to promote nights of indulgent blood drinking and promiscuity and Julian had feverishly denied his accusations, explaining it was what their father would have wanted.
To be honest Luca found the gatherings tedious and bothersome. But he’d never voiced it out because he knew how important the evenings were to Julian, and it was the only reason he’d never missed one in the past. Until that night.
Julian assured him the gathering would go on without any hiccups. He also encouraged the trip, asking Luca to take April with him since he’d noticed she was in bloodlust and the last thing he wanted was to worry about her.
Luca eventually agreed to go hunting and he and April set out for Sunset Valley
Their hunting trips were usually overnight stays, but that night, still plagued by his odd premonitions, Luca rushed through his meal, he harassed April too. He was eager to return home and wait out the dark cloud with Julian.
The whole way back to Twinbrook April talked about Julian and how much she loved him, and how she regretted missing Court. Paralyzed by the feeling of dread deep in his gut, Luca said nothing. Not a word.
The moment they cut through the creek, Luca knew something was wrong, for one there was no sound of music and blood-drunk voices expected from a rowdy Court and there was trail after trail of human bodies devoid of blood, zigzagging all over the marsh. But nothing would have prepared them for the devastation inside the house; most of the fifteen or so vampires they found in various rooms in the manor were killed by stakes and some by use of magic. Luca though didn’t feel the full devastation of that night until he and April wandered to the cellar where the Court was normally held and they found it magically sealed with his brother and the remaining members of their clan eternally locked away.
For days he and April stayed, talking with the clan through the wall. That’s when the details of the massacre emerged and a plan to break them out was formed.
Luca didn’t want to leave Twinbrook, but Julian insisted they should, he and April were their only hope to get them out. Immediately after leaving Twinbrook, Luca and April met up with his cousin, Andrew his witch girlfriend, Willow in Sunset Valley
The Youngbloods, Sterns and the Longs:
The Youngbloods, Sterns and the Longs:
Are among the town's founding families, and magic has been part of their lives for generations. When fledglings from the Delacroix clan (another founding family) went on a rampage and attacked the town, the Youngbloods and Sterns used their familial magic to overpower and eternally bind Luca's clan to their basement, with the help of the Chaos Star given to the coven by the Faelon pack, the town's only werewolf family. For their bravery, Emme, the town's elf, gave each member of the coven an enchanted necklace, bestowing upon them everlasting beauty and youth.
The Faelons:
The Elvins:
They live in the woods, on the edge of town. They've been part of the town for as long as the witches and the vampires, but they don't associate much with either race, preferring a life of solitude and simplicity. The night Luca's clan attacked the town, Emme's only daughter, Fae, was on her way home from getting supplies in town when she was attacked and killed by fledglings from Luca's clan. As a token of her appreciation to the Youngblood coven for banishing Luca's clan and restoring peace and balance in the community, Emme gave each of the witches an enchanted necklace encrusted with a jewel linked to the Elixir of Life, bestowing upon them everlasting youth and beauty.
