The enmity between the Queen of the Vampires, Belladona, and the Vampire
Lord, Zsarachnor was well-known to citizens of Sapience. The two had
fought for decades for influence over the power of the Consanguine. Though
the power of the Imperium and her childer stood with Belladona, Zsarachnor
had a loyal brood besides him. For all of the Queen's machinations against
the Vampire Lord, Zsarachnor continued to survive, though he did not
thrive. However, one ritual was to change the face of their rivalry
forever.

Deep within his shadowed crpyt, Zsarachnor hatched a plan to undo
Belladona's power by removing her influence forever. Revealing a largely
unknown ritual, Zsarachnor hoped that Belladona would be tempted into
increasing her own power. Knowing he would never be trusted directly, he
made it known that he had a book of great lore and that he would not reveal
it to anyone. With the book, Zsarachnor claimed, he would gain ten-fold
power over his enemy and would be unstoppable by mortals.

His plan worked, as Aren took the bait and pilfered the book from the
vampire. To keep up pretenses, Zsarachnor sent his dark underlings to
pursue the vampire, hounding him at every turn. After a brief deliberation,
Aren turned to the power of Queen Belladona to keep the book safe. Nestled
deep within her castle, the ancestor of all the Consanguine studied the
tome and researched the ritual within. Discovering a number of reagents
needed for the ritual, Belladona split the list in two and sent out one
half with her minions and for the other half demanded that Aren and his
group search.

Caboose traveled far, speaking with Arinas and Vellis in order to research
the visual processes of snails. He then flew to Voryar with whom he
discussed earthen berries which Nightshadow was to pick. A roadside gypsy
offered her assistance in procuring the delicates of butterflies to many
people, including a group who attempted to thwart the ritual of the Queen.
Brave Taryn sought to gather molten lava for the ritual while Aren himself
joined in to interrogate several of Sapience's experts.

While all this was happening, a few of those who proselytize the light,
including Iereas, sought to find Belladona and end the ritual. Belladona
fled from city to city with the help of a number of people including
Nightshadow and Aren, before finally hiding with the Alcazar in Bloodloch,
protected by the city's many guards.

Once all was gathered, the transcendent concoctionist Seasone was summoned
to appear before Belladona. Ever the merchant, Seasone demanded a high
price for her services before mixing the ingredients together into a
special brew. Many looked on while Belladona downed the draught, her
maniacal search for power almost complete. Following the instructions
of the ritual, Belladona traveled to the volcano deep within Rahn's temple
and threw herself into its fiery belly to end the powerful ritual.

Many of the citizens of Sapience were perplexed when Belladona was sensed
within the Hall of the Under King, passing through the ancient ritual of
rebirth. When she emerged from the cave, Zsarachnor pleased with the
success of his plan, taunted the now mortal Queen, now known as the
Cleansed. Without any of her former powers, the woman once known as Yrtez
hid from the world, planning her revenge.

Lore among the Consanguine claims that with the removal of their
primogenitor from the bloodline, the race of Consanguine became more
powerful. Whether this is because their Queen was hiding powers from them
or because their blood was strengthened by her departure is unknown. What
is known is that the Imperium bestowed new ranks on all their members,
usurping the Queen's claim of heritage and presenting it to Abhorash.


Penned by my hand on the 10th of Lanosian, in the year 157 MA.