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, and 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, and flows like latex around her curvaceous body, able to shift into different forms whenever she wills it to. 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 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 krakenite 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 Jaques on Mount Hood, 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 mushroom 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. Abbyd 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.
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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
