Which Wizard? A Moonspell Reimagined Character Guide

The Volturi

Sulpicia

Marcus

Athenodora

-

Aro (deceased)

Caius (deceased)

Didyme (deceased)

NOTES: So, in 'Life and Death' there's no genderbending of the Volturi. I like the alternate pathway taken, and decided to keep it the way Meyer wrote it, and this is the 'Life and Death: Twilight Reimagined' explanation for the Volturi coven:

In order to prevent Marcus from leaving the coven, Aro killed his sister, Didyme, Marcus's mate. In the Twilight series he got away with the murder and his ploy worked, but in 'Life and Death: Twilight Reimagined' his mate, Sulpicia, witnessed the murder and exposed his crime to Marcus. Before he was executed, though, Sulpicia had a servant named Mele* take Aro's power and claimed it for herself in order for the coven to function efficiently. Once his power was given to her, Sulpicia found out that Caius was in on Didyme's demise as well and he was executed too. She has since ruled the world of vampires alongside Marcus and Athenodora**.

*Mele is a member of the Volturi, who has the ability to absorb the special gifts of other vampires. She only exists in the novella Life and Death: Twilight Reimagined.

**'The Queen of the Damned – The Life of Athenodora' is the introductory chapter of 'Day of the Dead', fourth and last 'Moonspell' book. It is about the life of Athenodora, the main antagonist of the story. Below, I've written a short 'Life, Death and Magic: Moonspell Reimagined'-world omake scene of 'Queen of the Damned' to explain where Athenodora's mind is at. It won't make much sense if you haven't read the The Queen of the Damned – The Life of Athenodora (and if you haven't, it's literally the first chapter of 'Day of the Dead' after the foreword and you don't have to read 'Day of the Dead' to make sense of it).

'The Queen of the Damned – The Life of Athenodora', Life, Death and Magic edition:

She had been furious to learn of Aro's crime against Didyme. The other vampire had been a sister to her, a doted one, and she had been viciously pleased when it was decided he was to be executed. Except before he was burned, Sulpicia had her little pet thief steal Aro's power, and with the new power, her sole remaining sister uncovered a devastating truth- Caius had known all along of Aro's plan.

For days, she had existed in a haze of disbelief and anger and conflict. She loved Caius- he was her mate; her other half. But she had also loved Didyme, her sister having possessed a Gift that was as inherently good and joyful as the younger vampire had been.

Finally, nearly a week after her husband's treachery had been revealed, she finally visited him. His legs and arms had been ripped away and were being stored in another part of the castle so he couldn't try to escape. He looked... weak. She'd never seen him look weak before.

She didn't ask him why he'd done what he'd done. They both knew the answer to that- power. It would always come down to power, for those like them. What she didn't understand, though, was why he had seen Didyme's death as necessary to the path to that power- or, and even more importantly, why he had not once counselled her on the matter to request her input.

They had been perfect mates together; both power hungry, bloodthirsty and possessing more then just an edge of cruelty. If Caius had just talked to her then they wouldn't be in this mess- she had never had issues with seeing through Aro's games; she'd been navigating a Royal Court and ruling an entire kingdom through a puppet king she'd groomed herself since long before Aro had even left his mother's womb. And not once had she ever let Aro touch her; her mind was hers, and hers alone.

"I slaughtered every person involved in my brother's murder," she says to Caius, finally. "Didyme was my sister." The implication hangs heavily between them and her mate flinches. She sighs. "I love you," she tells him, because that is the truth; bare and uncomplicated. Should she try, she could likely convince Marcus and Sulpicia to let her take Caius and flee to a permanent exile- Caius may have known and approved of Aro's plan, but he had not actually murdered Didyme. They could both go, leave Volterra and never return. But...

But the thought of being nothing, being nobody; of going from a member of the only vampire Royal coven to- to just yet another ordinary vampire is very nearly unbearable. And while she had in her human life let the ugliness of emotion rule her head after her brother was murdered, she knew more now. Knew to be patient, to be calculating, to not allow herself to be ruled by her anger. Knew to ask herself the hard question of what she could live without- Caius or power. The answer burned in her veins like fire.

"I'm sorry." She tells Caius, and his dull, weary crimson eyes soften. She kneels and cups his face in her hands, his fatigued but accepting face. He understands. Of course he does. He is her soul mate, after all. Nobody knows her better then he does, she thinks, not even Herpo.

She kisses him, once, before rising back to her feet and exiting the dungeon.

An hour later, he is executed.

She stands as close to the flames as she can while he burns. Later, she and Sulpicia and Marcus begin to work through deciding how to run the coven. Caius's loss is a jagged, bleeding wound in her chest, and Marcus and Sulpicia are both similarly grieving. They have all lost their mates. But, as Athenodora sits on the throne her mate once sat on, the pain starts to lessen.

One day Sulpicia and Marcus will likely die by her hand for what they did to Caius. She knows this. But she will not kill them yet, not when they are so very useful to her.

Sulpicia is a fair ruler and when Marcus's grief isn't too overwhelming he is a good king. There was a reason Aro was so afraid to lose him, after all. She chooses to stay more of a silent presence, happy to let Sulpicia grow into her confidence and ability as a queen. But Athenodora is and always will be The Queen. Her human life was a game of politics, and the burning flames that made her into who, into what, she is had never erased the memories of the Courts that had shaped her, and that which she had learned as the Queen of Athens. All the vampires look to Sulpicia and to Marcus. And she, just as carefully and thoroughly as she had with her brother, grooms the two younger vampires into her perfect little puppets.

Darling Sulpicia never stood a chance, never having being trained in politics; when she was human she was a commoner, a mere merchant's daughter, selected by Aro as his mate for her beauty, kindness and submissive nature, though the inherent goodness of the naivety he had coveted in her had ultimately lead to his inglorious downfall.

Marcus, now perhaps if he had not been so consumed by his grief then he could have noticed her machinations before it was too late for him. Maybe he had, but in his mourning he just hadn't cared enough about anything to be bothered by it, a significant mistake on his part as by now she has tangled him all-too thoroughly in her web; twisting his mind and his thoughts to her own so completely and skilfully that the lines between his opinions and the ones she had imposed on him blurred to the extent that he could no longer tell them apart.

Whatever the reason, it matters little, for she is now both King and Queens of the Volturi; and for this moment it is enough.

(She has not let Sulpicia touch her since that day. She will never let her sister embrace her again. It is the price she will pay for her power).