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Background

When he fell as an celestial he was reborn as the son of crusader demon hunters twice over. His name when born the first time was Briard, and when he discovered that a demon had killed his parents, he vowed to find the culprit and destroy him. It was in his father's journal that he had discovered what his parents were, and putting two and two together with a name mentioned in the journal (Mendorin) he vowed to himself that he would confront Mendorin one day. He got his wish in finding him quite by accident, only attacking the demon had been a great mistake on his part. Mendorin put an end to his mortal life, and sent him in a death plunge to face his own personal demons in the underworld. When his entire life was put before him, Arkael failed to defeat his past, and was promptly sentenced to start his life all over again as a mortal creature again. Arkael was reborn as Avery to extremely prosperous parents in London, his past life as Briard forgotten by him. He lived a privileged life, never knowing about the criminal undertakings of his parents as drug and arms traffickers. His parents were what all parents should be on the outside; loving, caring, attentive, compassionate, able disciplinarians, who raised him well, but they concealed their illegal and dangerous operations from their son for his own protection. Avery had never held a weapon in his life, only marveled over his father's arms collection as the 'novelty' attractions he thought they were. Owed to his parents secretive lifestyle, he was however very isolated in the Mansion they owned by the River Thames in Bexley London, the Manor and well tended grounds separated from the sprawl of London by a large stone wall and iron fence and twenty acres of woods and river shoreline, he living a very sheltered life from age ten until he began traveling after he graduated from high school. His parents were gunned down on his 15th Birthday in London City, and being their only son and living relative, Avery inherited all their wealth, Estate, property and stocks. Avery proved to all concerned parties that he was able to take care of himself and graduated from high school when he was 16, being extremely intelligent and a quick student.

The youth decided to travel before he went to college, planning to major in Arts and Literature at London's University of the Arts. He traveled for two years, seeing nothing of the world that turned him against it. The employees his mother and father had hired when he was 15, remained in his service, including a Maid and Gardener. His modeling jobs, the artwork he sold, the poems and articles which he published, aided in maintaining the cash flow, the interest alone on his bank account covering the rest of his pursuits, paying the bills and the employees wages. When at home, Avery worked hard on the grounds and the house. Helen lived in the Manor while Thomas lived in the Coach House. The only chore he did not throw himself into was cooking, because the truth be known, he is a horrible cook, having a tendency to burn everything as he drifts off with fanciful thoughts of poetry, paintings he envisions, or stories he is writing. Around people he knows, Avery is typically spirited and fun loving, with a lively sense of humor. Those who knew and loved him always said that Avery was a joy to be around, his good heart and gentle spirit the kind which shines so brightly his company would lift even the lowest spirit. Avery had never in his life experienced any violence first hand (as Avery) until just recently. Because he is adrongynous, he was very shy, and had never had a love interest until shortly after his 18th birthday. When he met Lavoy, a renaissance vampire in a very youthful, charming, and altogether handsome package, his entire life changed drastically. Lavoy introduced him to physical pleasures, and to death and rebirth into his earth-angelic form. Though some would call him a vampire's carnal slave, he was never treated like one, called one by his master or clan-mates, and never felt like a slave. Life to him was heaven, until chaos struck him from all sides.

The impossible happened, and Lavoy knocked him up. As an angel, all his 'parts' worked, only Lavoy and Avery alike were clueless that Avery was capable of producing children, and indeed he only could because Lavoy was angelic as well, and because Lucifer was a meddling menace at times. As Avery's twins quickened inside of him, he was confused and scared, having no idea what was wrong with him, and he hid all his fears as best he could from Lavoy, because of his confusion. He did not understand why he was sick, or why he was getting fat, and worse, before anyone could discover that Avery was pregnant of all things, the Morning Star placed the clan in a deep state of sleep and gated them to the world of Morashtar. The clan was delivered to their destination at The Sleeping Dragon Fortress (nick named Black Camelot), with exception of ONE member who had gone astray. Avery did not arrive with the others, but in the wilderness of the Black Cavern mountains to the north of the River Haven Kingdom chosen for the Black Lion clan to inhabit.

When Avery woke alone a day after he had been conveyed to the Shadowlands, he was terrified, having no idea where he was, or how he got there. Things got worse when he was assaulted by the pain of the quickening children in his womb. Their immortal growth rate had sped only hours after arriving in An Morendor. Inside of a week, he gave birth to them in the woods by a creek. He was shocked to the point of being dazed, and did not know what to do...but the squalling of the twins, and their adorable innocence tugged at his heart, and he took them into his arms to wrap them up in his oversized shirt. The twins fed themselves...their needle-sharp fangs piercing his flesh to draw on the blood they relied on as vampiric children. Avery required sustenance too however, and fell into a routine of gathering nuts, and catching fish in the creeks. Ever since he had undergone his immortal transition, eating meat made him feel ill, with the exception of sea-food and fish. He also found some wild apple trees, the apples crisp, tart and ripe, as well as wild grapes. He longed for Lavoy every-day, but no matter how he tried to reach out to him in his thoughts, Lavoy did not answer, nor did he hear Lavoy's call. A trial lay before them to be sure, to find their way back to one another, and for Avery and Lavoy alike to suffer and adapt to the nature of their children as they aged, which they did very quickly. Their needs were hellishly innocent. They simply NEEDED what, even in Avery's womb, they had grown accustomed to, his blissful blood, and they were demanding of their male mother in having their needs for blood met. The twins were powerful in their charms even as infants, and their power grew as with each week they aged the fantastic leap of a year. The trauma and shock of bringing them into the world, watching them grow so fast, suffering their potent hunger, and caring for them never left Avery. By the time they aged 16 weeks, they had dominated Avery completely, and despite any protests he made, they took what they needed from him, while they were ever so devoted, protective, possessive and loving to him in every other way. They weakened him by the taking of his blood, and the weather was turning cold, and so they aided him in gathering the foods he needed to keep up his own strength, and in finding shelter. It was the twins who found the cave which they made their home in. Autumn was well on its way towards winter when the twins found Avery crying one night on his bed of leaves and dry grass, his clothes by now thread-bare, whereas the twins were nude, the cold not bothering them at all. Briard asked Avery what was wrong, and when he answered that he missed Lavoy, the two looked at one another and then curled up with him, carressing him softly to soothe him. Desmond then tore down the wall he had placed around Avery's mind instinctively to protect he and his twin. "Father will hear you now, birth father. Was I wrong to keep him from knowing? I felt you trying to hide us from him before we came into this beautiful world," he spoke softly. Avery was stunned and more than a little frightened. How could they have such power as to hide his thoughts from Lavoy and visa versa? Their power was clearly innate, a projection of their very wills. Feeling his fear, Desmond's will blanketed him, and urging his brother to join him, they used their power over him and took his fear away. Avery was in a state of traumatic blood loss when Lavoy entered the cave, with his progeny Faust not far behind him, to find his lover at last in the arms of two sixteen-year-old vampires whose wings wrapped Avery's shuddering form up like a cocoon as they feasted on him. The oldest twin Desmond, had hair and eyes the very color of Lavoy's, while Briard had Avery's hair and eyes. They were not strangers though, they were Lavoy's own children, which he would discover soon enough, and have to learn to cope with, if not master, in the days and years to come.

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Tragedy struck Avery again and again it seemed. A year after they had been reunited Lavoy's former mate returned to him and Lavoy could not spurn his desire to reunite with promises of forever and fidelity he had so longed to hear from Artorius. But then there was Avery. Lavoy chose Artorius and broke Avery's heart, who he tried to convince would always be clan, even if they could not be mates. But how could Avery stay? Worse yet in that very same week the twins who had grown so addicted to their father's blood came to realize the bane they were to their birth father and make a pact of suicide together. They were not easily killed but found a sure way and took it. They left a note that said they were leaving, nothing about suicide, and simply disappeared, never to be seen by their parents again. Between the loss of their sons and Avery rejecting him to take up with his sire again, Avery was heartstriken and tempted to follow in their sons' footsteps without realizing it. Avery left seven days after Artorius arrived and while traveling was killed by a powerful Alamascan celestial who at the time was a the sworn enemies of the Tsetar. He awoke as an immortal named Mekken this time and remembered nothing of his past between falling and waking. Transient Death was perhaps in that instance a blessing.

At length he made his way south to the kingdom of Seumir and its capital city of Serhaubren and it was there he was attacked by a cruel Arcanus vampire who King Byron Decasey defended him from. He offered himself to the vampire and his clan in service but the vampire told him to serve him was to offer himself to Acheron, and before Avery could stand by his offer, the vampire seized him rather violently and dragged him through a gate to his home and enslaved him to his blood. He did this to prevent his fall, as a celestial who was forced to serve him would not fall into Acheron. Byron never did harm to him or forced him to obey him after that. He simply allowed Avery to do as he pleased, and it pleased Avery to provide his clan with blood. He was not their only volunteer blood provider. At length the king's son Prince Shaithis came to him and asked if he would like to travel with one of Byron's progeny, an elf he had sired who refused to hunt for his blood and could not feed on the blood of animals without getting gravely ill. Avery asked what he was like and Shaithis assured him he was a very fine and kind fellow, and so Avery decided to give it a chance. It was the best decision he had ever made.

Avery traveled with Valerien for several years and they became the closest of friends. Avery fell in love with him truth be told but Valerien followed a path of dedication which for him out of personal choice included being celibate as well as an elf of peace. As handsome as the elven vampire was temptation was flung at him quite often but he denied himself with such natural ease that it became clear to Avery he was genuinely content and comfortable in his virtue. It made Avery love him all the more and their friendship continued to grow. Then they had to part awhile when Val wanted to travel home. And so Avery returned to the Corca Clan and there waited and bided his days providing whatever services he could for the clan. It was not long before Valerien contacted him and said he would be home on the morrow. He sounded sad and he had only been home for a little over a week. Eight days in fact. It was the first time Avery had ever heard sadness in his voice. Indeed he sounded heartbroken.

Tomorrow came and Valerien did not arrive as planned. Another day lapsed and still he did not show. He would have contacted Avery had he been delayed. Avery began to worry and reached out in an attempt to contact him. Silence was his only reply. So he went to Valerien's sire who he hadn't even had a chance to meet and spoke to him about Valerien. He ended up having to tell the vampire everything he knew, which Valerien had told him. From being force sired by him while being possessed, to not wanting to add to his burdens after the devil had been exorcised, to his present plans of finally coming to meet him, to being amiss and out of contact. Byron could see how worried Avery was. He tried to contact Valerien himself but had no direction to his reach. He didn't even have a feel for him because they had never even met. He had to have been very far away for Byron not to be able to detect any sense of him though. Knowing he existed activated a shadow of the bond they shared as sire and progeny. Byron HAD felt him before when he was in his home but without at least being in the same room as him and setting his gaze on his progeny the bond lie dormant. "I am sorry... I cannot get a sense of him. Had we met... It hardly matters now. There are other ways to locate him though. I will alert you when I have a definitive answer. Try not to worry in the meantime. He went home you said... Things happen. He may have just gotten held up and is unable to contact you. Try not to assume the worst."

Avery sighed. He felt somehow without really understanding why that the worst tended to happen to him, perhaps it was the fact that he could remember nothing from before he woke up naked at the crossroads of Morendor. He knew how to walk and talk and how to eat and breathe, but he had no idea where he had come from. He began to wonder if he was not cursed or under some spell. He gradually began to figure out how to manipulate the powers he was unlocking one by one inside of him and Byron said he was an uncanny natural with a sword and bow. He also picked up skills he had learned in the past very easily. It was like muscle and mind memory, yet his past it eluded him. Avery looked at Byron almost shyly. "Can you... restore my memories?" he asked hesitantly.

Byron shook his head though he probably could depending on why he had lost them. If Maelmorda was the reason then he would not even if he could which was doubtful. "They will come back to you in time, Avery and if not... perhaps you are not meant to know." Byron had dug in his past and it was not pretty. "It is often better to let nature take its course." Said the very powerful immortal who was so much more than just a vampire. He was just discreet about his authority over the paths.

Avery nodded. "As long as we can locate Valerien I will content myself," he resolved and Byron smiled. He was glad to hear that.

"I will do my best," his patron assured.