𝐈 - THE BEGINNING  ^{_{a mortal, once. one that bothered herself with practice and tradition of old folk arts, for the sake of her small community. little did she know she attracted the attention of something darker. she should have seen the slow and insidious plague that crept in. everyone getting sick with no real cure. sleepless nights of wailing. a man came, claiming to be salvation. a bishop. all she had to do was invite him in. the gods, he promised, would answer.}}

𝐈𝐈 - THE EMBRACE.  ^{_{it was agony. others would describe their embrace into darkness as ecstasy. hers felt like death. not cold, not comforting, but a writhing agony that contorted body and soul. all she can recall are flashes of her hands tearing, slashing, begging for help wordlessly and only met with violence, blood, and darkness. cloudy memories leading into a nightmare, that had only just begun. when she awoke, her hands were bathed in blood. an insatiable hunger churned inside. it, she, had devoured every living thing in the place once considered home. all but bishop, who had told her the gods had forsaken her. but follow him, and she may yet be given salvation. beg, worship, work, pray, and maybe her soul would be spared - as long as all of those she had eaten.}}

𝐈𝐈𝐈 - THE MONASTERY.  ^{_{"to achieve salvation," he preached, "one must endure." to put an end to a hunger she couldn't sate, she followed. he called it the path of the night; the church of angellis ater. her, and many others suffering the same curse obeyed. they would be buried alive and left for days, until the hunger got too much. they would be bound, facing another, until one's hunger got too much and broke their shackles to devour the other. bodies broken, minds warped through various methods. only those strong enough, or be it desperate enough, would survive. valentina was one such few that survived, even if it meant eating those previously referred to as siblings. bishop would remind her that the atrocities she had committed would still need atonement. she obliged. over time, she was placed into the inner circle, to follow his gospel to the letter, or die.}}

𝐈𝐕 - THE RITUALS.  ^{_{chosen for a reason, he claimed, one of valentina's duties was to assist in blood rituals. it was use either those that foolishly wondered into the confession booth, or her own. time and time again she was brought to the brink of death, to be returned. "a miracle of the gods," he claimed, "for your work is not yet done." while it was torturous, it was a distraction from the hunger only sated when given the order to devour an unruly subordinate. silently she studied the circles, the dark arts, better preparing herself for the next. she assisted, despite it being in her detriment, as morbid curiosity grew. as she grew better, she hosted her own. as the inner circle grew closer, many competed to keep the favor of their bishop. even if that would result in true death.}}

𝐕 - THE TURNING.  ^{_{many wanted to remain in the inner circle, remain of use. it meant they were guaranteed to survive. valentina and a few other sisters deemed useful would be invited individually to serve the bishop for the night. many wished to be the bride. valentina followed purely for the sake of survivable. though as tensions grew, members of the clergy weren't above eliminating one another for best position. valentina's in particular, as the witch, was desired. there was an attempt on her life, resulting in her assailant's demise. but while many desired to parade corpses as trophies, low on blood, she couldn't resist her hunger. she ate her sister. she devoured her entirely. and for the first time in a century, valentina experienced a moment of clarity. a moment free of the red haze of hunger. but as it returned, she could only see the rest of the clergy as meat.}}

𝐕𝐈 - THE SLAUGHTER.  ^{_{an assassin she was once, but this was simply slaughter. not that she left much in the way of evidence, devouring the clergy entirely; in blood, body and soul. one by one, they fell. one by one, she grew stronger. eventually, the only one left was bishop himself. he tried reasoning. she went for the throat. it lasted days, but valentina was persistent. she had finally found salvation. it was with his spine torn away, and his veins drained dry.
when morning came the church was nothing but cinders. and seemingly, no survivors.}}

TIMELINE.

est. 1450s.  ^{_{a mortal, a witch. crumbling under pressure, accepted the assistance of a holy man. a village slaughtered, her corpse the only one missing.}}

est. 1500s - 1675.  ^{_{a nun known as "sister caine" seen with the church of angellis arter. quiet, observant, though always seeming pale and weak. when attempting to recover the lost, sister caine couldn't be found.}}

est. 1680s - 1765.  ^{_{a woman known as "vala babel" circulating on the list of witch hunters. listed as a member of a hecata coven, a group of apparent witches that made it their mission to release others facing prosecution. the group had been known to also be advisors to the elite, turning tides through whispers in ears. the coven, known for dark arts and divination, was infiltrated. she was the last one there, greeting them with a smile and a bow. interrogated for answers by various means, she just laughed at their attempts. she was sent to burn. when the flames vanished, there was nothing. a black cat watched the embers.}}
est. 1770 - 1830s.  ^{_{a hunter’s alias, the amaranth, whispered in secret circles with both admiration and dread. her target were night stalkers, as she was never afraid of the dark. likewise, her hits were never seen again. certain elites, be them nobles, clergy, others, spat the name in disdain. those would brandish her a new title, the diablerist. these names are still held with the same spite to this day by circles that prowl the night.}}

est. 1850 - 1870s.  ^{_{a young woman is accepted into a european university named “valena belle”, studying linguistics, history and literature. achieving multiple qualifications. she was disqualified due to starting what appeared to be a coven on campus. she also had never attended a single lecture, only ever being seen in libraries and archives at night.}}

est. 1885 - 1940s.  ^{_{“the amaranth” makes a reappearance after a brief break. some think of it as a young hunter having read too far into the occult and chosen the name. others knew better. she stalked the night, much to the dismay of many. sometimes involved in dismantling criminal organizations, both overt and covert, around europe; ”they’re just as bad as the monsters, thus need to suffer the same consequences.”.}}

est. 1945 - 1975s.  ^{_{a woman named “valyntina baldin” arrives in england with no fixed address, and no clear accent as to where she was from. appearing as a book shop owner, assisted in smuggling books and tomes on magic and dark arts. stranger occurrences lead to even stranger mysteries. the bookshop itself was attacked. walls were defaced with a sigil that almost looked like a cross. pages were torn. there was blood, but no evidence as to where it came from. the owner was nowhere to be found. the smuggling was only revealed when investigators were looking into the disappearance. it's assumed the smuggling was why she was targeted, but that was all the information on the case. it has long since gone cold.}}

est. 2000s - present.  ^{_{presently, the lady valentina de belle resides in a manor far from modern civilization, and she likes it that way. an enigmatic woman, she travels, wanders and most importantly, lives freely and lavishly. dark whispers still refer to her as the diablerist, and other kindred whisper that a blood hunt has started to see her dead. not that this stops her from enjoying the freedom of the night.}}