Absinthe Van Gothen
| Name | Absinthe Van Gothen |
| Race | Human |
| Type | Monster Hunter |
| Faction | Free Willed, The Night Stalkers |
| Premiere | Desideratum: Blood Bonds |
| Relative(s) | Calis Van Gothen |
Contents
Absinthe Van Gothen
"Killing vampires, hunting relics, and getting laid- ain’t life grand?"
Biography
Pre-Desideratum: Blood Bonds
Originally born in Roosevelt, Utah, Absinthe Van Gothen (whose real name is Abigail McCoy) has lived a turbulent life. She was adopted at an early age to abusive parents in Portland, Oregon, but never knew her real place of birth. As she grew up and came out of puberty, her adoptive father began to sexually abuse her. Her adoptive mother would sometimes join in, and this caused deep psychological damage to the poor girl. She felt worthless and scared to report the only parents that she ever knew. Abby also studied music as an escape from the depression and anxiety in her life, and she can play a wide range of instruments, but her real joy is singing. The pain, anger, and passion that surges inside her only found a positive outlet through music.
Growing up, she gravitated towards the punk and goth scenes. The rest of the school cliques tended to see these groups as outcasts, and as such, Abby and her friends were often harassed by other students. Absinthe always had a fierce fire in her heart, and she did everything within her powers to defend those that could not, or would not, defend themselves- perhaps because she was unable to save herself from her home life. While in elementary school, she met Tobias Nguyen. Abby protected Toby by fist-fighting anyone who picked on him. However, she, herself, was quite a bully and Tobias often found himself ridiculed by his female savior. By the time she reached high school, she had also befriended Scarlett Moffat and Sylvain Eriksson. Absinthe and her friends played music in Scarlett’s garage. After graduation, they met a rich girl named Fawn Everett at a club. The wealthy Fawn became their benefactor and together they formed the band- Absinthe and Arsenic of which she was the lead singer. They became popular in some circles within Portland, and looked to be rising to fame.
Desideratum: Blood Bonds
As seen in the novel, Desideratum: Blood Bonds, Absinthe "Abby" Van Gothen is a punk rock star. One dark night, a nosferatu came for Absinthe and her world changed forever. With the guidance of the nosferatu, Brone Lorcan, Absinthe obtained an artifact called the 'Blood Suit,' a bodysuit forged of the blood of Vlad Țepeș, also known as Vlad the Impaler. Vlad had been infested with the blood of the goddess, Nuit, so nothing could kill him. Even the powerful Nightbred vampire, Lord Ivor, bowed to the might of the King of Vampires. However, in the early 1800’s a man known as Calis Van Gothen went to war against the undead dwelling inside Europe. With the aid of Johann Conrad Dippel and the Ravenhursts, Theodore and Deborah, and a few others at his side, Calis battled the King of Vampires, Vlad Țepeș, and succeeded in destroying the fiend’s body- yet a puddle of red blood remained behind. They tried using magic and science to destroy the substance, but not even sunlight seemed capable. Having no other options, Calis used a pump, fabricated by Dippel, to collect the unholy substance. They placed the vile ooze into a puzzle box. This box was designed by Theodore as a brain teaser and blessed by the magical enchantments of Deborah so that only someone of the bloodlines of those present could possibly open the artifact.
Sealing the mechanized puzzle box with Dippel’s help, it was entrusted into the hands of the Ravenhursts to be locked into their magical vault under Ravenhurst Manor where they sealed cursed objects located on their worldwide expeditions. The box could only be activated with a key. Dippel created a pocket watch, in which to hide the key. The watch required the user to press the top three times in a row, in order to retrieve what it held inside. Theodore took the pocket watch and the box to America. There, outside of Wakefield, New York, the husband and wife sealed the box into their subterranean vault. Theodore held the key, hidden within his watch, for the rest of his life. However, he and his wife were slaughtered by Ophidians and cultists of the Cult of Scales. The watch fell into the hands of Theodore's son, Anaximanes Ravenhurst.
In adulthood, thanks to the efforts of William and Margaret O’Reilly, Anaximanes hired the Irishman, Brone Lorcan, to be his butler. Eventually, Anaximanes ran afoul the evil with Eleanora Blackwood. Then, Reverend Roger Addams led an angry mob and hanged Anaximanes from a tree. However, before his demise, he managed to give Brone the key, and in turn, Brone located the puzzle box and protected it before heading westward to Portland, Oregon. There, he was turned into a vampire by Ivor, eventually devolving into a nosferatu, but Brone managed to keep his sanity and the box hidden. After more than one-hundred-and-fifty-years, he saw a chance to stop Ivor. Eleanora claimed a relative of Calis still lived, and when Brone found her, he took her to the puzzle box.
Absinthe used the key to unlock the box and solved the puzzle. Once open, Vlad sprang out of the jail, oozing over Abby’s body, threatening to take her over- flesh and mind, yet she fought to maintain control. With Brone Lorcan's aid, Absinthe managed to hold the evil blood in check. It became a part of Absinthe, flowing like latex around her curvaceous body, able to shift into different forms whenever she wills it to. This artifact is known as the Blood Suit. Yet, always, at the back of her mind, the call of Vlad echoes, attempting to seduce her towards evil- changing her from a monster hunter into something cruel and unstoppable.
Brone knew of a ragtag group of monster hunters that belonged to a loose confederation of worldwide hunters called the Night Stalkers. When Absinthe arrived at the dilapidated building, known as Sanctuary, to introduce herself, she was stopped by Katerina Mordova, a witch hunter. Katerina sense pure evil within Absinthe, but the evil was not Abby's, it was the psychic emanations ebbing from the blood suit, from Vlad himself. However,, the headstrong hunter would not listen to reason and she attacked Absinthe- only to be promptly defeated. The Van Gothen bloodline gives superhuman powers to their kin when fighting monsters, but being one with Vlad also means Absinthe has inhuman strength even when fighting humans. As Kat sounded the alarm, the other Night Stalkers rushed to the scene.
The sibling zombie hunters, Arion Bishop and Ayana Bishop, the werewolf hunter, Jacques Lombar, the oceanic hunter, Kendra Tallulah, the father and daughter mutant hunters, Roy MccCoy and Molly McCoy, the dragon hunter, Rosaline Vaas, the skinwalker, Sani Lightfoot, the goblin hunter, Selena Santana, and the mad scientist, Siri Solen soon poured into the hallway. Absinthe soundly beat them all until Molly kept Abby's attention, and Roy snuck up behind her pointing his gun to the back of Absinthe's head. Being calm and cool, Roy took time to question Abby and it was decided she could stay. As each night passed, to prepare herself for facing off against the vampires, Absinthe went on a new hunt with a Night Stalker.
Mountain Hunt
The first night was the Mountain Hunt on Mount Hood. The dark elf, Adrasteia, had deigned humanity a threat to the mountain. She found that the constant mortal hikers were reckless and cared nothing for the land, and finally reaching a breaking point, she conjured a massive storm. Over the next few months, whenever people tried to climb up the mountain, she summoned tumultuous blizzards. This led to fewer humans, which meant more monsters. With the arrival of the monsters, the peaceful barbegazi living on Mount Hood sought aid. Jacques came to the mountain and tried many times to assail the summit, but the magical weather forced him down.
The situation on Mount Hood deeply bothered Jacques and he began formulating a plan. Just after he finished writing some notes, Absinthe came into the storeroom and talked with him. Feeling emasculated at his defeat the night before when Absinthe first arrived, and desiring to save the barbegazi, he left Sanctuary and went to Mount Hood.
Once there, he met up with the little hairy creatures and they went with him. He climbed to the summit and the barbegazi forged an ice bridge for him, allowing him to enter the cavern where the dark elf dwelled. However, when he faced Adrasteia, she used her icy magic. Though a massive, muscular man, he had no experience fighting mages or elves, and within minutes, he stood encased within enchanted ice. Absinthe Van Gothen, however, was not far behind him, and she managed to enter the cave as well.
Jacques had given Adrasteia some entertainment, and she saw Absinthe as the same. The two sparred, but her Van Gothen power, the Blood Suit, and items procured at the House of Haggle gave Absinthe the upper hand and the fledgling monster hunter managed to kill Adrasteia. As death grew near, in anger and disbelief, she sought to collapse the entire cave to kill everyone present, but no more power remained in her corporeal form. Upon her demise, she vanished from the Physical World and rematerialized within Niflheim, yet would forever remember the human that had soundly beaten her.
After Adrasteia died, a hidden chamber opened, holding the artifact which the elf had guarded- the fire sword named Dyrnwyn. Abby used the magical flames to melt the enchanted ice that held the lumberjack, and together, they descended the mountain to the joyous songs of the barbegazi. That night Jacques learned about humility and grew as a person. He also now trusted Absinthe as she had saved his life.
Caverns Hunt
The night after assisting Jacques on the Mountain Hunt Absinthe goes with Selena Santana to the Marble Halls. When Absinthe Van Gothen arrived at Sanctuary, Selena Santana's companion, a gremlin named, Grimey Geargrinder, was wary of Abby and her possible motives. However, Selena found the woman to be very attractive. She had not felt that way about anyone since her girlfriend and family had died at the hands of goblins at Carlsbad Caverns. Selena offered to take the fledgling hunter on a goblin hunt. Absinthe had already visited the House of Haggle, a monster shop ran by the hobgoblin, Hobs Hornswaggle. The nosferatu, Brone Lorcan, had informed Absinthe that in the other direction of the cavern was a lair of goblins and to avoid it. Together, the pair made their way to the place.
However, Stenhållare, Son of Dovregubben, a troll, felt the women enter his domain. He had just purchased an Adder Stone and was eager to use it. Summoning an immense amount of his power, he created a rock hand to grab one of the women. As the hand reached for Abby, Selena pushed her out of the way and was pulled through the very ground and deposited hundreds of feet below the surface and into the troll’s chamber. While trapped, he disarmed the woman of her adamantine weapons given to her by Guðmundur Sigurðsson, forged by his father, Sigurð. Though exhausted from his magic spell, he was going to use the Adder Stone on Selena and impregnate her.
Then, he received word from his minions that her companion, Absinthe, was wreaking total havoc among his forces. Intrigued, he decided to rest as she exhausted herself. If she managed to actually reach him, he would simply smash her into submission and then use the stone on her, ensuring that his sons would be as fierce as she. Absinthe fought through hordes of goblinkin and other fouls monsters lurking in the subterranean caverns of Marble Halls, and she did manage to reach the vile troll. However, he sorely underestimated her. Thanks to the blood suit, a suit made from the very blood of Vlad Țepeș, and her own inherent blessed Van Gothen bloodline, she stood her ground against the massive troll.
Abby realized that none of her weapons were harming Stenhållare. He laughed and gloated as the wounds sealed shut his flesh regenerating at a rapid rate. However, the night before, Abby had acquired the artifact, Dyrnwyn, a mystical sword of fire. Having disarmed Selena, a woman well-known in his circles, the troll thought any true threat to his life was absolved, but as Absinthe hacked him with the fiery sword, the wounds cauterized, and Stenhållare eventually fell dead. Absinthe collected Selena’s discarded swords and helped the woman flee to safety as the enchanted section of the Marble Halls collapsed around them. Now Absinthe had proven to another of the Night Stalkers that she meant well. She saved Selena from a fate worse than death, and the pair became close friends.
Forest Hunt
The night after the Caverns Hunt, Absinthe goes to Forest National Park. The plague witch, Baba Yaga, had began polluting the forest with her dark magicks and when confronted by the dryad, Draeope, the witch chased her away. Draeope finally called upon the forces of nature, and the magical creatures of the wood assembled to wage war on the witch. At this point, having no other choice, the dryad summoned the Ute shaman and skinwalker, Sani Lightfoot. The witch hunter, Katerina Mordova, had previously tracked Baba Yaga to the area, but had no exact location where Baba Yaga had hidden. However, when Sani informed Kat that the witch was in the national park, Katerina could not leave fast enough to face the witch and avenge her sister, Yulia Mordova, who she thought was dead at the hands of Baba Yaga herself.
Seeing the two hunters rushing away from Sanctuary piqued the interest of Absinthe Van Gothen, and she covertly followed them to Forest National Park. Baba Yaga had not been idle either, and had forced the local ogres to aid her in battle. She also called upon the Unseelie Court of fairies. However, the main bulk of Baba Yaga's army were plague witches, newly corrupted from a local group of Portland druids whom had been worshipping nature. The battle lines were drawn along the Columbia River.
Draeope blew the battle horn and the two sides met. The plague witches proved incredibly powerful, especially with hordes of ogres and dark fae and other creatures at their command. They pushed further across the river and destroyed a large swath of forestland, but with Sani and Kat’s help, the battle shifted, and the remnants of Baba Yaga’s army retreated across the river. Draeope’s own forces were diminished greatly, her remaining defenders fanning out in search of any more witches on their side of the river. These defenders discovered Absinthe and she was forced, several times, to fight and destroy these goodly spirits of the forest, as like Katerina, the creatures sensed only evil emanating off Abby. Abby managed to slay these guardians and even assisted the goddess Hecate. Absinthe also gained a blessing from a Fairy Queen.
Eventually, Absinthe made her way to Draeope, Lightfoot, and Mordova guarding the bridge over the Columbia River. Katerina could wait no longer for revenge for her sister Yulia Mordova, and she chased after the witch. Sani stood against Absinthe, still believing the Blood Suit to be a threat, yet Absinthe defeated him. Draeope then assaulted the Van Gothen woman, and the pair fought a vicious battle, but in the end, Draeope again found herself defeated. Expecting to be killed by Absinthe, the dryad was completely shocked when she was spared. She watched Absinthe hurry across the bridge onto the corrupted Baba Yaga side of the forest. As Absinthe had been fighting Sani and Draeope, Katerina had rushed to Baba Yaga’s hut. The witch had cursed a tree, using it as a guard, and Kat ignored the warnings that it gave, leaping over the walls around the cottage and facing off with Baba Yaga- this time expecting to kill her.
However, as the pair fought, Baba Yaga used Kat’s emotions about Yulia to throw the girl’s attacks off long enough to gain the upper hand. She then used mesmerization magic and enthralled Katerina’s mind. The witch knew that Absinthe had also come and she intended to use Kat to defeat her own ally. The witch imbued Kat’s daggers with shadow magic and gave the girl the power to turn invisible at will- that very will itself currently shackled to the witch.
Absinthe managed to gain the favor of the guardian by obtaining glowing stones from the dwarf, Virvir, and destroying the evil forces of the witch in the area. As Abby rushed to meet the witch, Baba Yaga ordered Kat to attack. Absinthe soundly defeated Katerina and turned her sights on Baba Yaga, but as ever, the ancient witch knew that she would be victorious. However, to her absolute shock, Absinthe turned out to be something beyond the normal heroes that she had ever faced. This human appeared powerful beyond compare and protected by the Adder Stone which she had gained from the caverns hunt Absinthe managed to slay the ancient witch. This removed the control over Katerina’s mind, and the pair left together. However, Baba Yaga had always been wily, and she had a contingency plan for this. Unknown to the pair, Yulia watched them grow and already began research on how to bring her mistress back from the Outer Darkness.
Absinthe was awarded the artifact, Gleipnir, a mystical rope, by Draeope for having saved the forest. Katerina and Sani both apologized for having distrusted Absinthe because of the Blood Suit, and Katerina gifted Abby with the Talisman of Žemyna.
Sewers Hunt
The night following the Forest Hunt, Absinthe descends into the Portland Sewers. Roy McCoy mentions that Molly has disappeared. He asks Absinthe to help him locate her, and they make their way to the sewer system. Thanks to the Talisman of Žemyna, Absinthe enters the sewers without being infected by a thriving colony of xenopoxian mushrooms and fungi. This area is lit by yellow lighting, and Absinthe navigates the sewers to find Molly while Roy searches another area. Eventually, Absinthe finds her way into a section lit by red lights. In this zone are mutant spiders. It turns out this is where Molly had gone and she was trapped in webbing. Absinthe shot the spider crawling on Molly, but it had bitten Molly and now she was turning into a spider mutant. Abby was forced to knock out Molly when the woman tried to bite her.
When Roy found Molly, he pulled his gun ready to kill his own daughter rather than her becoming a mutant. Absinthe managed to convince him that there might be a cure, and he acquiesced. Just as they were about to depart, a gate slammed down separating Abby from the pair. As Roy took the unconscious Molly outside, Absinthe ventured onwards to find a way out. However, she stumbled upon a plague priest from the Cult of Corruption. The vile man had been performing unholy rites to his god, Nergal, to raise a filth golem, but needed one more soul.
Absinthe managed to defeat the cultist and he fell into the pit of waste. His soul completed the ritual and a grotesque and corpulent filth golem rose from the slop. Again, the Talisman of Žemyna proved useful at giving Absinthe extra resilience against the infectious creature and she finally managed to bring it down. After that, Roy dropped a ladder down and he and Absinthe made their way back to Sanctuary. There, the scientist, Siri Solen, took to studying Molly's condition. Roy had not felt so powerless since his wife, Muriel, had died, and he grew very emotional. All that he wanted was Molly to return to normal.
Siri recognized what this was, because she had been forced into working for the pharmaceutical company, MedUSA. The corporation was really a front for the Cult of Scales seeking to revive the snake god, Ophion. Through their experiments they had merged the snake god's mutating venom with a myriad of DNA, including spiders. This substance, called xenopox, would turn people and animals into mutants. Siri knew of only one place to obtain more of the vile substance which she theorized could be made into an antidote. Siri then set out for the Hawthorne Asylum to get a pure strain of xenopox from the evil Doctor Demented. Though worried, Roy expresses gratitude to Absinthe for helping him find Molly and for convincing him to spare her life. As thanks, he gifts Absinthe the Seal of Solomon, an ancient ring artifact once worn by his late wife, Muriel McCoy.
Docks Hunt
With Molly locked in a cage back at Sanctuary, the night after the Sewers Hunt, Absinthe and Kendra Tallulah go down to the nearby docks. Stealing a boat they head towards Sauvie Island. Kendra has long sought the ghostship named The Flying Dutchman. The pair was separated when a kraken rose up from the sea to devour them, attracted by the Blood Suit made from the blood of Vlad Țepeș. Once Kendra hit the water, she quickly put space between her and the behemoth. In truth she was spared because the creature only wanted to consume Absinthe and add Vlad’s power to itself. Kendra watched the massive beast come down on Abby creating a tidal wave and assumed the worst.
While Kendra steeled herself and swam all the way to shore, into the thick swirling fog that she knew signaled The Flying Dutchman’s arrival, Absinthe was in the ocean depths, pulled down by the force of currents. She and Vlad both assumed Absinthe would drown. Even Vlad feared this because only now in symbiosis with a mortal, like Abby, could he die. If she died or every turned into a monster, he would cease to be. So, having no other choice, Abby sucked in a lungful of water, and was fine! It turned out that the Seal of Solomon, the ring Roy McCoy had given Absinthe after the Sewers Hunt, granted power of the elements. One of these abilities was water breathing.
Absinthe then found herself surrounded by krakenites, creatures of the Cult of the Deep, their glowing eyes peering out from the inky darkness. Suddenly, Absinthe saw the massive kraken rising up from the sea floor to devour her whole. Having been to the House of Haggle earlier in preparation, Hobs Hornswaggle sold Abby bombs. She released these and they quick sank down into the mouth of the kraken. Exploding the magic items ripped the creature apart from the inside. Slaying a kraken is rare in all of history, and this act brought the attention of the sea god, Dakuwanga. He imparted a blessing upon Absinthe as a reward for her bravery.
From there Absinthe fought her way through creatures like mermaids and sirens, until she finally reached the shore. Once there, draugrs assailed her. Eventually she made her way into the thick swirling fog, unable to find her way further. Backtracking, Absinthe went to the Warrior Rock Lighthouse on the shore. Turning the light towards the fog allowed her to navigate it. Kendra had made her own way there as well and Absinthe suddenly appeared. The sight filled Kendra with joy. Before the pair floated a transparent, ethereal ship- the Flying Dutchman. Kendra tried to board it, and fell through. It appeared that as with a ghost, solid matter passed through the cursed ship. However, using the artifact, Gleipnir, a magical rope Absinthe had been gifted by the dryad, Draeope, for saving Forest National Park from the plague witch, Baba Yaga- Absinthe managed to latch onto the ship. Amazed, Kendra watched as Abby climbed up the rope and boarded the ship. However, again, when she tried to board, Kendra fell through the ship.
Thanks to Vlad’s blood, Absinthe walked between the dead and the living in some dimensional frequency, and this allowed her to interact with The Flying Dutchman as if it were a corporeal vessel. Alone, Abby descended into the bowels of the ship and found a treasure trove of cursed items. She was assaulted by a pirate ghost, Captain Hendrik Van Der Decken. She managed to defeat him and thanks to the blessing from Dakuwanga, Absinthe even procured some cursed treasure, the blessing protecting her from the curses. However, once Kendra was informed that Hendrik was really sailing the seas and attempting to hoard cursed items to protect mankind, she called off further searches for the ship and remained at Sanctuary promising to aid Absinthe in the upcoming fight against the Nightbred.
Asylum Hunt
The next night, following the Docks Hunt, Absinthe was shocked to learn that Siri Solen was still gone to Hawthorn Asylum. She had sought the aid of the Syndicate of Immoral Nihilist (S.I.N.) supervillain Doctor Demented as he had access to pure strain xenopox and Siri needed to make a cure for the mutated spider mutant Molly McCoy. Roy McCoy had planned to go, but Abby said she would handle it and for him to remain with his daughter. Out in the forest, Absinthe made her way towards the abandoned asylum. That was when she ran into a massive ancient wolf creature named Lycaon. He had followed his trail and scent of Doctor Demented, and eventually found the doctor’s base of operations- the abandoned Hawthorne Asylum.
When Absinthe Van Gothen arrived looking for Siri. The moment her scent hit his nose, he became enraged, for it was not the Van Gothen blood that Lycaon smelt- but the Blood Suit. Instantly, he imaged this woman was allied with Vlad Țepeș, and so he attacked with ferocious fury. Surprising him, Absinthe held her own, and even managed to bring him down. Thinking his end had finally come, he accepted death, but Absinthe spared him. The moment she said that she was a Van Gothen, he knew it to be true and finally noticed the faint scent of the familiar blood as he had been one of Calis Van Gothen's friends. Needing nothing more to confirm that she was an ally, the pair assaulted the Asylum.
Inside the creepy place, they split up because of the sheer size of the building. Absinthe fought various blood mutants, like gorers and infected. She also faced off against supervillain henchminions like demented nurses and psychos. Abby also faced off with the giant undead man named Karloff. Sewn together from corpses and animated with a strange blood compounded, the undead behemoth originally fell in love due to his childlike mentality. However, when she turned him down he became irate and threw a tantrum attacking her. In the end, she defeated him and made her way to the evil supervillain.
When she reached the inner sanctum, she found Lycaon had been captured. She found Siri Solen was alive and still helping the doctor. It was by coercion because Doctor Demented had threatened to destroy the Night Stalkers. Being over a hundred-years-old and a founding member of the supervillain faction called S.I.N., doc had no fear of Absinthe. He had stood against some of the most powerful Altruistic Coalition of Ethics (A.C.E.) superheroes of the past, and was even the arch nemesis of Veteran, himself. Attacking with a high powered laser, the mad scientist grew concerned and shocked when Absinthe managed to dodge the beams. Ultimately she reached him and pummeled the supervillain into submission.
Afterwards, the doctor slipped away and initiated a self-destruct system he had installed in the Victorian building. The heroes managed to escape in time and Absinthe had obtained a vial of pure-strain xenopox. Once back at Sanctuary, Siri immediately set about to create a cure for Molly. Meanwhile, Lycaon began to understand that history was repeating itself in a way, and he chose to aid the Night Stalkers in their fight against Nuit. There was some turmoil as the hyperborean monster hunter, Jacques Lombar, became angered. His wife, Meline, had been turned into a werewolf, forcing Jacques to slay her, himself. Though Lycaon is completely different than the creatures known as werewolves, Jacques did not see it that way. His own guilt and helplessness at what happened to Meline forced the lumberjack to place blame on Lycaon.
In the courtyard of Sanctuary as Abby and the Ute shaman, Sani Lightfoot, spoke with Lycaon, Jacques arrived in a fury. He fought Lycaon, but Absinthe intervened and someone’s life was saved, which of the pair we shall never know. Jacques talked with her about the incident and ultimately apologized to Lycaon. He learned from the experience just how bitter he had become and took the first steps towards closure in regards to Meline. Thus Absinthe had saved many people in one night.
Graveyard Hunt
The next night, after the Asylum Hunt, Absinthe was relieved to find Molly cured. However, she stumbled upon information that led her to believe Arion and Ayana Bishop had set off alone to face an undead army led by the evil Heloise Laveau. She immediately went to Lone Fir Cemetery to aid the pair even if they did not want help. When Absinthe arrived, she found black, unmarked government vehicles. Soon Bureau of Demonic Analysis (B.D.A.) Agents swarmed Abby, guns drawn. She as approached by a sorceress named Catalina Castillo. Catalina forbade Absinthe entrance and warned the Night Stalker to stay away.
Absinthe was never known for her respect for authority, and soon she snuck into the graveyard. In only a few steps a tall lanky shape formed from the swirling fog, Baron Samedi. Heloise had made a pact with the death god, Ah Pwash, and she had corrupted the very land of the graveyard. This diminished the Loa’s power, and after accepting tribute from Abby in the form of cursed gold which she had received on the ghost ship, The Flying Dutchman, Baron Samedi asked her to collect six souls from unclean undead in the cemetery as each would empower him enough that he could break Heloise’s magical seal around the central crypt. Absinthe managed to do this by slaying a gjenganger, a nachzehrer, a pontianak, a strigoi, a revenant, and a wraith. Once she managed to destroy these undead, Samedi gained enough power to open the way.
Absinthe found that the B.D.A. agents had been slain and turned into risen. She also fought and killed the now zombified Catalina whom had led the government raid. Abby found Arion and Ayana had managed to reach this crypt as well, but she found them bound. In the chamber sat a magical portal, which appeared almost open to the Outer Darkness. Heloise had been trying to make a portal to the Deathrealms, and bring Ah Pwash to the Physical World. Absinthe and Heloise clashed and with demonic powers at her disposal, Heloise managed to defeat Absinthe.
However, she was killed from behind by the Bishop siblings whom had escaped their bindings while Abby had Heloise's full attention. After Heloise’s death, Samedi claimed her spirit for himself. Meanwhile, Absinthe gained the artifacts, Helm of Hades and the Staff of Dadga, which Heloise had been using. Absinthe and the Bishops returned to Sanctuary.
Museum Hunt
The next night following the Graveyard Hunt, Brone Lorcan comes to warn Absinthe that she needs to obtain the Scepter of Osiris. This artifact can be used to stop the impending summoning of Nuit. Abby sets out to the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. Using the Helm of Hades to become invisible, she sneaks into the building. However, she soon learns that a necromancer named Evelyn Addams has arrived with a boogeyman called The Anax, and the pair seek the very same artifact. Absinthe then runs into Delores Beck, curator of the museum. Having avidly studied the strange and the occult, Delores knew of The Anax and his faction the Shadowed. Absinthe then moved onwards.
As she moved through the museum she faced Shadowed, such as arachnophobes and nosophobes, and Risen, such as mummies and skeletons that Evelyn Addams had animated. Eve grew impressed the longer Absinthe managed to continue, though the the Anax practically begged to consume Absinthe's soul. Finally, now herself growing vexed, Eve animated a tyrannosaurus rex skeleton. Using bombs, Abby managed to defeat the abomination and continued to give swift chase.
Finally, Absinthe reached the area of the museum about Egypt, and there at the sarcophagus of Khufu, she confronted the shadowy pair. Khufu had been interred with both the Scepter of Isis and the Scepter of Osiris. As Eve worked on unsealing the enchantments of the sarcophagus she ordered the Anax to stop Abby. Absinthe expected another fight like those before him, but his very aura seemed to distort time and space. His very un-nature, like a walking void shaped as a man, appeared to tear at the fringes of her consciousness and none of her weapons could harm him. She found herself surrounded by a swarm of his minions, and as she stood frozen in abject fear the massive boogeyman approached, his nightmarish visage reflected in Absinthe's crying eyes.
However, in that moment, the Shadowed, including the Anax, instantly vanished into nothingness. At his banishment, Absinthe found that she could move again, r fear draining away. She looked up to watch Evelyn rush by in terror. Eve feared Khufu, as the mummy had, with only a wave of his scepter, sent all the Shadowed horde back to the Shadowlands. Absinthe then fought the ancient Pharoah and managed to destroy him using the fiery sword, Dyrnwyn. Ready to claim her prize, she became upset as Evelyn had summoned the Anax again. However, Eve faced off against Absinthe herself.
Eve's shadow magicks threatened to consume her sanity. Finally, unable to beat Absinthe, but scared of losing herself to shadow, Eve ordered the Anax to defeat Abby for good. Again the Anax, unstoppable by any means Absinthe could possibly possess, closed in on her and made ready to turn her into a Shadowed slave. Just before his glowing claw slid into Abby's skull, he stopped at the behest of Brone Lorcan. The nosferatu was once the butler and best friend of Anaximanes Ravenhurst, the man whom had become the Anax. For a moment, the two old friends talked.
Then the Nightbred assassin known as The Reaper attacked to slay Brone, as he had previously escaped her grasp. However, the Anax swiftly and effortlessly shadowed the Reaper, turning her into one of his own minions and sending her to the Shadowlands. After further discussion, it was decided that Brone Would return to the Shanghai Tunnels to watch over Clover Riley, and Evelyn and the Anax would go to Sanctuary with Absinthe to aid in the battle against the Nightbred on the next evening.
Tunnels Hunt
The night following the Museum Hunt, Sanctuary is attacked preemptively by an army of vampires. Every Night Stalker brings their powers to bear, including new allies such as Grigori Rasputin and Anastasíya Nikoláyevna Románova. The battle is merely a ruse meant to keep the Night Stalkers from the tunnels so the Ivor can summon Nuit. However, hopping into Evelyn's hearse, she and Abby drive to one of the entrances of the Shanghai Tunnels.
A vast army of hundreds of vampires stands before the pair. These include the Blood Knights of the Countess Elizabeth Báthory. Normally, this would have been the end of her, but Evelyn summoned the Anax, and he summoned his legions of Shadowed from the Outer Darkness. An all out war between these monstrous factions ensued, and while Eve and the Anax guarded the way into the tunnels, Absinthe slipped inside to seek out and stop the summoning of Nuit.
As the battle raged above, another undead faction of wights led by Zawisza Czarny, also known as the Black Knight had assaulted the passages also in a bid to slay the Nightbred and stop the summoning. However, they were hostile to Absinthe and she fought her way their their numbers. She slayed wights and liches eventually even destroying the undefeated wightlord himself.
Her next obstacles consisted of magical Nightbred. Bone casters and shadow mages could not stop her. However, she eventually ran afoul of Ilihana Fernández whom had come as a puppet of Chernobog in order to devour Nuit. using the powers of the shadow-shard and enveloped with shadows, a suit made of darkness itself, she attempted to drain Abby of essence and soul. However, Absinthe again proved mighty, and she left Ilihana broken and defeated. As the evil spellcaster vanished in black miasma, Abby rushed onward.
Next swathes of different strains of Nightbred assailed her. This included creatures such as Shinda-kisu and Varcolacs. Only the peaceful Vetala strain vampires ignored the monster hunter. Now her path led Absinthe to a direct conflict with the human blood witch, Sangwen Darkblood. Sangwen eagerly awaited the hunter and the pair fought. Sangwen looked to easily defeat Abby, however, in earlier battles of the night, Abby and Vlad learned how to work together to manipulate the Blood Suit, effectively making it a weapon. When Absinthe attempted to flee, Sangwen cast a spell named 'Blood Call', where all the blood in an area would be pulled towards the caster. Normally, this would empower the witch, and in this case, it was meant to drag an unwilling Absinthe back to Sangwen’s side. However, Abby formed a massive spike from the suit and detached it. Because of the immensely powerful pull that Sangwen cast, the spike impaled the witch and she died.
With time growing shorter, Abby pressed on and found herself assaulted by the warriors of the Nightbred. Ultimately she defeated an entire group of Blood Knights. After their defeat, she stood toe-to-toe with the Countess Elizabeth Báthory. Hearing news of her old lover, Vlad, becoming the Blood Suit, Báthory saw a chance at absorbing the blood suit and on the same night capturing the power of Nuit. This is what she had hired the blood witch, Sangwen Darkblood, to claim control over the Blood Suit, and then, she could have Vlad freed from the powers of Absinthe. Eventually she plotted to find a way to resurrect him or at least have him merge with her so that they could be together forever, however, Sangwen had already failed.
As Báthory circled Absinthe, she attempted to have the woman lower her guard so that Vlad could rise, but the Van Gothen managed to hold back the corruption and a fight ensued. As a domnitor strain vampire, Báthory was one of the most powerful vampires on Earth, yet so power had Absinthe grown that the countess had no choice but to retreat.
Now within the inner sanctum, the doors to the summon chamber stood before Absinthe. However, before she could enter, the Jiang Shi Twins attacked her. These were Ivor's personal guards and were feared among the creatures of the night. Ivor had given orders slay Abby and take the Scepter of Osiris before the human ever reached the summoning chamber. Rather than hunt her down, they stayed just outside that very chamber.
Brutal tacticians, the sisters deduced it would be wiser to allow the hunter to grow fatigued or wounded as she fought her way through the passages. They also had a stern concept of strength and felt that Absinthe represented a test of strength against the Nightbred in Ivor’s lair. They found those vampires lacking when Absinthe reached the pair. They were shocked to see how much she had grown since their first encounter, and in the end, they were defeated as well. However, as they died, they both felt a profound respect for the hunter that slew them because such a feat would be worthy of such reverence.
Next, Absinthe entered the summoning chamber, and there, bound to the wall, was Brone Lorcan. Though she tried to free him, the seals stood enchanted. That is when Eleanora Blackwood revealed herself from the shadows. The shadow witch cast Shackle Undead on Absinthe, and because of the blood suit, the spell worked. Abby could not move. Just when all hope seemed lost the Anax appeared and snatched up Eleanora, ready for his revenge. However, as he tried to shadow her, Eleanora vanished.
Suddenly they turned as one, shocked to see Eleanora with the Scepter of Osiris. She had cast her spell Dark Duplicate before Abby had even arrived, and while everyone focused on the magical clone, the real witch had stolen the artifact from the kibisis, Abby's pouch. With the artifact, Eleanora assumed direct control over the Anax. Then she ordered Anax to destroy Abby, but Eve arrived in time to banish the Anax.
However, this was also to Eleanora's machinations, and she summoned Nuit, the scepter granting her control even over the Goddess of the Night. Nuit and Absinthe spared as Eve fought Eleanora. In the end Eleanora proved to powerful as a mortem vampire for Eve to defeat, but then she had an idea. Using the other artifact, the Scepter of Isis, Eve turned Eleanora back into a living human, purging the vampiric strain from her body entirely. With Eleanora defeated, the portal begins pulling Nuit back into the Nightzone of the Outer Darkness. Just before the goddess disappeared, she grabbed the Scepter of Isis.
Though Nuit and Eleanora were defeated, Ivor awaited Absinthe in the next chamber. There, Ivor and Clover stood. As Abby fought Ivor, Brone stayed busy trying to keep an enthralled Clover from aiding her evil master. Brutish, quick, and cunning, Ivor gained the upper hand and knocked Abby unconscious. This gave Vlad the chance he had been waiting for and the blood suit consumed Abby's autonomy. Rising to her feet, it was now Vlad in control. Fear painted Ivor's face as he now faced his old master.
Ivor shapeshifted into a bat creature and tentacles writhed from Absinthe's back. The pair fought, and Ivor, in an attempt to cause Abby to regain control, turned his attention to slaying Brone and Clover. It backfired however, because Vlad remained firmly in control over Abby's body, but Ivor exposed his back, and Vlad leapt upon him like a beast. Crashing into the throne, Absinthe managed to regain control over her body. Ivor thought he would be bale to use the same tactics on Abby to defeat her again.
However, Absinthe learned from their fight minutes earlier, and drove a stake into his heart. As Ivor lay dying Clover ran to him. She drank his blood with reckless abandon, and as Ivor died, Clover became some sort of new, strange, stain of Nightbred. Though she was about to attack the pair, Brone reminded her of Walter, her husband, and Clover shot past them into the night. With the world saved the duo made to depart. Abby found that both Evelyn and Eleanora were nowhere to be found. She and Brone returned to Sanctuary.
There, they found that the B.D.A. had locked the place down. Agent Marley Getty talked with them about the need for Night Stalkers to become more than just a loose confederation, and more of a mercenary group that the government could fund- and monitor. The main reason for this was that Absinthe had stopped the demonic goddess, Nuit, and she and the Bishops had stopped Heloise Laveau even though an entire contingent of B.D.A. agents failed and died. They all agreed to do it. She then introduced Brone and asked if the hunters would mind him being an ally because she was in love with him.
To the joy of both, the originally xenophobic hunters had evolved in emotional maturity thanks to Abby's actions on the hunts, and they welcomed Brone into the group. After that, Brone and Abby went to Ghost Nook Island at the behest of B.D.A. agent, Mara Marek. The organization wanted confirmation of the magic vault under Ravenhurst Manor. However, when Abby and Brone found the vault, it was bare. Eleanora Blackwood appeared and told them that Dagan Erebus had tricked the superhero, Trixie Goodwin, into smashing into the vault and removing all the cursed artifacts.
Cult of the Deep: Stormbound
Abby will feature in Kendra Tallulah's novel, Cult of the Deep: Stormbound, in the future someday!
Slugs and Bugs: Invasion
In Slugs and Bugs: Invasion, a scene is available where Abby meets up with Justine Day in the sewers.
Appearance
Abby is a buxom 23 year old. Abby has dyed hair, with a heavy clash of red and black.
Abilities
- Blood Suit
- Physical Attacks
