Steffen Peregrinus Frost

Out of Character (tell us just just a bit about you outside RP)

Name: Sub... as in sub_rosa. =)
Age: I’m in my mid-twenties, though I still feel like I’m only eighteen...
Gender:
Note: “Keepin’ Halloween Alive, 3-6-5!!”


In Character

Name: Steffen Peregrinus Frost
Age: 62
Gender: Male
Note: Yes... another one! He's also part-vampire (a fact he keeps "in the closet" if you will). Sorry, he doesn't sparkle... and he never will. XD

Teaches: Muggle Studies... though is also the school caretaker. You don't want detention with him - trust me!



Parents: Steffen and Isabella (nee Falkenrath) Frost
Grandparents: Peregrinus and Ambrosine Frost; Bertram and Isabella Falkenrath
Siblings: Ivo, Bertram, Ambrosine, Rose
Aunts & Uncles: Auberon, Dashiell, Carina, Irene, and Amethyst Frost; Ludwig, Bartholomew, Egon, Adelaide, and Ermentrud Falkenrath
Nieces & Nephews: Blythe, Peregrine, Filibert, Gretchen, Sara (disowned), and Ilse Frost
Cousins: Too many to list; most if not all are dead anyway
Children: Elisabeth Frost (lost 1 month after birth); Bertrand (age 21); Kriemhild Isabella (nee Frost) Eckstein (age 19); Wilhelm Auberon Frost (age 18); and Iris Sieglinde (nee Frost) Keene (age 16)
Grandkids: Robert Frost (6; Bertrand’s son); Deforrest Eckstein (5; Kriemhild’s son); triplets Helen, Lore, and Melanie Frost (4; Bertrand’s daughters); Alexander Frost (1; Wilhelm’s son); and Ellery Keene (6 months; Iris’s son)



Skin color: Pale
Hair Color: Black
Hair length: Shoulder length
Eye color: Icy, steel blue
Size: 5’ 9”; light to middling weight
Build: The slender side of average. Not really the sporty type, but he does get around and can move fast enough when necessary despite his age. His "condition" of being part vampire is very much a secret, and also aides in keeping his build as it is.


Pictures:





[The only face I use in conjunction with my characters named 'Steven' ... Alice Cooper! ]



Crushes: none at this time
Mates/Spouse: Hilda Brahms (Muggle; died giving birth); Sieglinde Grunewald (Witch; died from illness)
Status: Widower... available if you really want.



Personality
Steffen Frost is a complicated man, although the same can be said of many people. He can be generous and kind... but they don't call him 'Frost' solely because he enjoys winter. When not on good terms with someone the wizard is very much like a block of solid, almost-impossible-to-thaw ice. When crossed he can be particularly spiteful, thirsting for vengeance. Being lied to is something he does not tolerate well even though he himself can and will lie through his teeth if he has to. He can be the nicest, sweetest guy in the world... ("could be" being the key words there) yet at the same time Steffen also has side of his personality that tends to be apathetic and cruel. Most of the time this change is triggered by noticeable circumstances, however it has been seen where he can and does switch between the two modes of personality rather rapidly without a known reason. Steffen frustrates easily when things don't go according to plan.

He does not demonstrate empathy very often unless he is comfortable around you, already animated, or in a similar state as the person he's speaking to... though that does not mean he cannot or does not feel it. Where he has the occasional moment of uncertain emotional response, the wizard's focus upon a person, subject, or project in the works or even the tiniest details therein could not be any more intense even if he tried. You will know when you have his full and undivided attention, previous absent-mindedness thrown out the window. It doesn't take much to get Steffen animated about something, and when he is animated expect to hear a lot of talking and be witness to an unwavering preoccupation with the subject until another matter of interest crops up. He is slightly verbose, going on long-winded explanations or tangents when he has something he needs to get off his chest.

Despite being a little awkward socially - part of this stemming from his partial-vampirism - he will generally approach people without hesitation when his vampiric tendencies are low. Steffen prefers to observe them for a short while beforehand whenever applicable in order to get a feel for the person. There is a sense of witty charm about him when he speaks. It is this wit that also allows for him to have a decent sense of humor... although dark and morbid overtones are by no means beneath him. In fact, if you were to ask Steffen how he himself classifies his sense of humor, he would tell you straight out: "It's dark... but that doesn't mean I can't have light, good-natured humor, too...".

Steffen is a very changeable person. Like the varied sense of humor his limitations on patience change rather erratically. He is prone to changing his mind rapidly and becoming exceedingly obstinate once a decision is made. The wizard is quite bold in proclaiming his magical status, often before the muggles he finds so keenly fascinating (being burned at the stake is utterly hilarious to him), but keeps his vampirism as a very deep and dark secret. Or, rather he tries: when angered or overly hungry the vampiric fangs begin to emerge... and that's never a good sign for someone.


Around Family
In general, Steffen likes most of the remaining members of his family. There aren't many, but for the most part he gets along with them. Family is a cornerstone for Steffen from which he derives the most comfort, since they know, understand, and share his "condition". He is not the easiest man to live with, as his late wives would be the first to tell you, but towards his family Steffen is a kind and generous man, rarely getting angry with them. He rarely hears from his elders or sister, receiving the most familial contact from his children and grandchildren.

The wizard tends to play favorites with the members of his family, though in truth he loves them all equally. Except his niece Sara, whom he personally disowned. They had been quite close, the little girl often going to him for anything and everything under the sun. However, once she came of age and learned that the Frost line was "tainted" with vampirism she immediately ran away to become a nun, shunning her family ties and all within it that consumed the lifeblood of another. Steffen, being her personal advocate since the girl could walk, had gone to try and convince her to rejoin the family, to embrace who and what she was. Instead they argued and raged at one another, until the bond that had been forged through the years finally broke apart. It was Steffen himself who erased her name from the family tree, not having the heart to kill her, and proceeded to make all magical fortifications stronger when it came to resisting Sara's magic. His family didn't need a second massacre on their hands...

Amongst his children it is his daughter, Kriemhild, and his younger son Wilhelm that receive most of the favoritism. Steffen does not always get along with Bertrand due to his tendency to spoil Helen (one of Bertrand's daughters) rotten, and favor her over the other grandchildren on a whole.


Around Enemies
If there is one thing you don't want, it's to be enemies with this wizard. The occasional cold attitude towards those not considered his enemies is nothing compared to the ice his foes are showered with. Steffen is a firm advocate of employing vengeance as justice for a wrong, and has no problem voicing threats openly and rather aggressively. He tends to quickly go over-the-top in his anger to the point of being a bit "wand-happy" and hexing or preparing to hex anything that moves.

His preferred means of dealing with enemies is to go after the family of his target or anything the target holds dear, creating as much chaos, disorder, and pain as possible for the poor soul. Steffen's enemies are likely the only other people to see the vampiric fangs aside from his family. The wizard/vampire generally keeps a coin made of crystal that he uses to determine if a flash of light from a curse or his fangs shall be the last thing a defeated enemy shall see...


Usual Mood around strangers:
Steffen is congenial enough unless he is caught already in a bad mood or at a "bad time"... like... nose-deep in a goblet of blood. He prefers to observe before approaching a given person, often rather intensely, in order to get a feel for the person he's about to speak to. It takes him a bit before he truly warms up to a new person. This is because Steffen is constantly attempting to hide his vampirism due to the hate and fear that vampires are subjected to by most members of wizard kind. He talks the most to people he has taken a genuine or precursory liking to.

It is rather obvious that Steffen has a keen fascination with individuality and the muggle world. He is constantly curious to learn what makes everyone he encounters an individual: what they like and don't like, and why, as well as other tidbits of similar albeit trivial information. This curiosity tends to come across as nosiness or being annoyingly meddlesome. Strangers may come upon him fiddling with a muggle device or examining a schematic for building such devices, and he will gladly explain in great length precisely what he is doing if asked.

Overall, Steffen genuinely tries to make an effort to be civil to strangers despite knowing that if most were to find out he were even a one-hundredth part-vampire they'd be sending the likes of vampire and bounty hunters after his hide. So long as it isn't too much to ask for, by his standards, and the person in question isn't a vampire-hater, Steffen will generally do all in his power to assist them. Incentives and bribes are always a plus, too...



Your Story Please?
Steffen Peregrinus Frost is the fourth child of Steffen and Isabella Frost. For all intents and purposes, both lines are of pure wizarding stock. It is even proven so in compendiums of magical genealogy. However, the Frost line carries a secret that not even the books speak of: ... since the year 300, all those bearing the Frost name and connected to this particular line are also vampires. Or rather, as the bloodline re-filled with witches and wizards, part-vampires. It is not something that is openly shared except a person’s most-trusted due to the hate and fear that is often hewn at those of vampiric lineage. There is not much of worthy note regarding the Falkenrath family from which Isabella hails, other than the fact that they raised owls and falcons, as well as tended to other such birds of prey.

His childhood was as good as any other’s that was well-to-do, though his father was strict as an oak and his mother sharp as the edge of a dagger. As the youngest son (but second-youngest child) born unto Steffen and Isabella, there was a measure of favoritism towards him. The child awarded the most favor was Ambrosine, the second-born and first girl child to grace the family tree. Being the favored children was not all it was cracked up to be, Steffen learned, because while the rewards were doubly sweet... punishments were twice if not four times worse. His father was not big on open affection, preferring subtlety or showing none at all. His mother, on the other hand, was quite the opposite when he wasn’t in trouble.

Normally if a part-vampiric child in the family did not present symptoms of requiring blood at a young age, they would learn of their heritage at the age of 16 as that was invariably the time when symptoms normally manifested. The oral history of how the Frost clan turned vampiric is often told amidst walking through the family crypts. Therein were their deceased vampire kin resting in urns full of ash, or caskets bearing only bones and a stake through the ribs piercing a preserved but ruined heart.

Steffen learned of his family history a year early, and not because he thirsted for blood. Nor did he catch sight of a relative draining a victim. Instead, at the age of fifteen, Steffen awoke in the dead of night to complete and utter chaos: a band of vampire hunters had finally found Frost Mansion and were killing all not in their party that got in their way. They never really stood much of a chance between the hunters, the flames, and explosions that turned the entire mansion to rubble.

But there were a few that survived...

From the rubble they arose slowly, ensuring their attackers had considered their work done and left those within the building to ‘rest in peace’. This group consisted of two of Steffen’s uncles, an aunt, his sister Ambrosine, and his neice, Sara. Sara was still much too young, but Steffen was close enough in age to be taken down to the crypts before moving on. His uncle Auberon took him on the tour through their ancestry. The young man came out enlightened, but no less grieved. The reverence for family history which the Frost ancestors had kept to deeply moved Steffen. It was so much so that the young man refused to leave the site until the bodies and piles of ash of fallen family members above-ground had been taken care of. What pieces of remains from his parents, grandparents, siblings, and nieces and nephews went into an old, magically-charmed, bloodied pillowcase. Ashes he found that had once been a person were first gently placed into a small jar conjured from thin air, then added to the pile. Auberon, Dashiell, and Amethyst thought the behavior quite strange, yet touching, and thus didn’t stop the young wizard.

They relocated to a muggle village that was very close by, hiding from the vampire hunters in the area. A few days after getting settled in, Steffen sought out the closest friend he’d made since childhood: Melchior Ravenclaw. He needed someone to talk to – to help distract him from the fact that his entire life had been upheaved with the decimation of almost his entire family. Expectations for the younger boy to understand were low, but the boy was the only one Steffen really trusted. And thus, in the process of explaining the terrible incident he revealed to Melchior with his secret. For a split second Steffen thought he’d made the wrong decision, for the other wizard seemed rather wary of him. After taking some time to get used to it, Melchior seemed to accept the fact his best friend was a vampire, and everything was good once more. Or, rather, as good as they could get. The talking didn’t bring his family back, but Steffen was relieved and grateful that he found someone outside of family affairs that he could trust.

After the chat with Melchior and certain the other boy would keep his secret, Steffen began scouring libraries in wizarding communities that he and his family would take trips to visit. Although he could not take the books with him, therein one particular tome was a method on how to resurrect the dead. Intrigued, Steffen wrote down as much as he could squeeze on a scrap of parchment he happened to have with him. The ritual needed to be performed on a full moon. Steffen found it ironic and pleasing that said phase of the celestial body was only days away. The thought of having the most important (to him) family members back simply elated him. Steffen’s only concern however was that the magic to perform such a feat seemed a bit out of his league... but he was hell-bent to try it anyway. His attempt was noble but its execution was flawed in a way only those two or three times his age would have seen. It almost killed him, but instead left a mark: odd, blackened formations around his eyes that wavered in pattern. Healers of the age had no idea how to cure it, and so he was stuck with it. Sometimes the markings would vanish of their own accord or with a little coaxing in the way of concentration.

In the wake of the deaths of and failed attempt to resurrect his family, Steffen took an unnatural interest in the dead and their final arrangements. At his new home within a muggle community he ensured the remains he collected were laid to rest in the back yard, going so far as to make grave markers, and guarded the miniature cemetery to make sure nothing and no one disturbed the resting places at night. Not more than a year later, at the age of 16, Steffen acquired a job at the local cemetery as its caretaker. It wasn’t much but it was a means of income and, in Steffen’s eyes, the perfect means to acquire blood without arousing too much suspicion. The dead being, well, dead... they wouldn’t need their lifeblood anyway so the wizard/vampire saw no wrong in it.

Six years later Steffen found himself interrupted from feeding upon a corpse that was recently laid to rest by his niece, Sara. They had been quite close ever since she was in the cradle; his favorite out his siblings’ kids and a fact he had no qualms in demonstrating. Sara always came to ‘Uncle Steffen’ for everything from idle chit-chat to deep conversations requiring the advice of an older, mentor-like figure. However, seeing him as he was with blood that was not his dripping down his chin and fangs that in her opinion were so long they nearly punctured his lower lip simply horrified the young witch. Because she was only a week off from being considered “of age”, Steffen explained to her in great detail the Frost family history. He allowed her to taste the blood he had been feeding on, let her examine and prod the fangs she’d never seen before, and answered all questions she had. When Sara finally left the cemetery, albeit in a daze, Steffen couldn’t help but perceive that their conversation had gone well because she had calmed from her initial fright rather quickly and seemed accepting of all he told her.

He was wrong.

Two nights later, Sara ran away in the dead of night. She told no one where she was going or why. It was not until Steffen found a note hidden away where he knew she knew he would look for clues that they learned she had run away to become a nun at the local church. The knowledge disappointed him. Steffen told his family what had occurred only nights prior. In the note, Sara went on to say she was terrified to see what her uncle had become and that she thought she had known everything there was to know about him. She joined the church in hopes to expunge her own family-inherited vampirism, believing it an evil taint upon her soul. To say Steffen was hurt and angered by what he saw as betrayal did not even come close.

Despite his feelings, he still went to the church to see Sara. She was his favorite and lately only niece, and he her mentor of sorts and formerly-favorite uncle. It was his mission to persuade her to come home and acknowledge the facts of her heritage. To make her realize he was the same old Steffen in spite of what she had witnessed. Repeatedly she refused him, argued the morality of the taking of blood from others. It reached a head when Sara raged at him that she hated vampires, and their former mild-toned debate became a shouting match. The final straw was when Sara lashed out, attacking him with a stake of hawthorn wood. It did not catch him in the heart, but it was enough to weaken him and tear their former bond asunder. With a few huffed words of parting he retreated, giving up on the woman-child he had once sworn to his eldest brother he would always watch over.

He did not return home immediately, instead arriving at the cemetery in which he worked. To Steffen’s immense surprise his aunt Amethyst was already there waiting with wand drawn and medical magic supplies handy. Somehow she had known he would go there instead, and that he would be injured, but she at first refused to tell him how she had known. By muggle standards the wound could and should have killed him, but with the combination of spells, potions, and vampiric genetics it wasn’t quite as lethal as Sara perhaps had intended. Amethyst told him to rest, and his world went black.

When Steffen awoke again he was completely healed. And, he discovered, three days later. Rising from his bed at the cabin on-site at the cemetery grounds, the wizard immediately returned home. He didn’t really want to do what he was headed there to do, but Sara had made her bed and now in his mind she must lay in it. Approaching the re-formed genealogical records of the Frost family, Steffen removed Sara’s name from the history. Auberon and Dashiell had tried to stop him from doing it, but Steffen was much too quick for them. The two older wizards grabbed and shook him, demanding an answer, only to have a concise one issue from the lips of Amethyst. Steffen could only stare in stunned silence at his aunt, who had recounted the entire thing with startling clarity. He was about to ask how she knew when she revealed both that she’d gone with him in secret, and that her first love had reacted the same way regarding vampires.

Years came and went as they tended to do, with little change befalling the Frost family. Ambrosine never re-married, and eventually struck out on her own. Steffen remained in the home they had built within the muggle community, though most often stayed in his cabin at the cemetery. While they remained in the village, the wizard fell in love with a muggle by the name of Hilda Brahms. They courted for several years, finally marrying upon Steffen’s thirtieth birthday. She was seventeen, and the daughter of a carpenter. Steffen’s uncle Auberon and aunt Amethyst did not approve of the union, but tolerated it since the young man was one of the last in their line. For three years the newlywed couple tried to have a baby, and finally succeeded in their fourth year of wedded bliss. Preparations for the impending baby were partaken with much enthusiasm. The excitement was so intense, in fact, that Steffen had let slip to her she was a wizard by furnishing what was to be the child’s nursery entirely with magic. It was a blow to their marriage to say the least, and they came dangerously close to splitting up due to Hilda’s fright and what Steffen saw as intolerance of magic. In time they made up, and once more looked forward to the arrival of their baby.

Late a warm August night, Hilda went into labor. Steffen had been out tending the graves since he couldn’t sleep. One of the midwives was sent to fetch him, and in an instant he rushed back home. He was made to wait, pacing, outdoors since the birthing was still taking place and men by superstition not allowed inside until the baby was born. By mid-morning the wizard became a father to a healthy baby girl... but Hilda had passed on in the process of giving life to their child. A bittersweet beginning to a brand new era for Steffen, the wizard held the child in his arms and merely stared blankly at the corpse of his wife for hours... or as long as he could get away with before the babe – whom he named Elisabeth – began to fuss. He left the child in the care of a midwife while he made funeral preparations for his wife, going so far as to bury her himself.

Steffen continued to live his life with baby Elisabeth in the Muggle community. One of the midwives stayed on with Steffen to help care for the baby while he was either away at his job or taking up Melchior on his regular invitations to join him for dinner. The opportunities to do either were welcome distraction from his constant dwelling upon the latest loss. Melchior’s company always seemed to do wonders in lifting his spirits, and in turn Steffen generally tried to repay the favor.

It concerned Steffen that a couple of weeks into caring for his daughter that the child cried almost incessantly, only falling asleep once she had exhausted herself in her father’s arms. Repeatedly he asked the midwife if maybe he was inadvertently hurting the babe or doing something wrong. At the back of his mind, Steffen wondered if perhaps Elisabeth mourned the passing of her mother, just as he himself mourned.

One month to the day of Elisabeth’s birth, the wizard approached the crib to find the baby had stopped breathing. He shouted in hysterics for the midwife since he didn’t know much about medical magic or even muggle medicine, but there was nothing she could do. The child had died mysteriously in the night. Distraught at his family being torn apart all over again, Steffen numbly hoisted the lost child out of the crib and held the body. He told the midwife to take what money he owed her and leave, using no small amount of icy venom in his words. Only once he realized he was alone did Steffen scream his distress to the heavens, allowing the fangs to drop into prominence since he needn’t worry about hiding them. Although he knew it was sick, even though he’d done the same to many others dead longer than his daughter, Steffen bit into the delicate and incredibly soft flesh, drinking the blood of his child while weeping a trickling stream of grief. He had hoped to possibly learn what had happened to her by doing so, since a few times he’d received visions of a “victim’s” life before death upon consuming their lifeblood. But no answers came.

Three days later, Steffen finally got up enough mental and physical endurance to give his daughter her last rites and bury her beside her mother. He had no idea that while he worked he was being watched. It was midwife that had once helped him take care of baby Elisabeth that caught him using magic to dig the child-sized grave. Muggle authorities and clergy were summoned immediately to apprehend him for using witchcraft on holy ground, and imprisoned him. He did not deny that he had in fact used magic, because that was the truth and he had no qualms admitting it since it was so natural to him. Thus, the muggles scheduled his execution for that very evening. The laughter that escaped Steffen when he learned he was to be burned at the stake at midnight sounded rather delirious, indeed. He faked his death that night, casting a freezing charm on the flames to prevent harm from befalling him. The wizard even charmed his continued maniacal laughter to sound like screams of agonizing pain. It was a doubly hilarious attempt at an end to Steffen, seeing it as the muggles’ means albeit in vain to kill both vampire and wizard within him.

Escaping from the muggle village, Steffen continued to hide himself amongst muggle community after muggle community for the next four years. Invariably, it would not be long before someone would catch him doing magic and thus he would need to relocate once again. Whether he did this on purpose or by accident is debatable, as are the intentions of the magic that was cast. Without a doubt each instance ended in his being “burned” at the stake, and each time Steffen became more and more vocal as his laughter disguised as screams intensified with every instance.

Going on year five of his tour of muggle communities, Steffen happened upon a young woman named Sieglinde Grunewald. She was a witch from his observations of her and her low-key antics that were obvious to the trained eye from a mile away. It was practically love at first sight, and after establishing himself once more as caretaker of the local cemetery he went to the woman’s father to ask for the girl’s hand in marriage. A suspicious man, the father rigorously interviewed Steffan, going so far as to enter anti-vampire territory. As it turned out, the members of the father’s family had been self-professed vampire hunters for ages. The hatred for this man’s prejudices swelled within Steffen’s heart, yet he still desired the woman. Days later Steffen received an owl from the father of the woman he’d actually gotten a chance to speak with while awaiting an answer, and the message was clear:

“My answer is no. I know what you are, and you will not take my daughter from me! Stay away from my family or I shall be forced to take extreme measures!”


To say Steffen became paranoid, as well as enraged at the threat, was an understatement. Determined to persuade the man to let him wed Sieglinde, whom he’d become increasingly involved with despite the warning, Steffen slowly made the other wizard’s life a living hell: strange deaths in his extended family... his business slowly dwindling to nothing in both customers and the acquisition of supplies needed to run said business... odd and gruesome “gifts” left sacrificed upon his doorstep... and the list continued. With each act Steffen left a distinct signature marking of sorts nearby, just to make it known to the other man that it was him. Steffen’s antics culminated in the brutal and blood-drained deaths of the man’s own wife and eldest, only son.

The wizard had no choice but to arrange with Steffen a meeting regarding funeral arrangements. Before allowing the man to depart, Steffen queried once more for Sieglinde’s hand in marriage. “This will be the last time I ask nicely...” Steffen had threatened the wizard, going on to say if it were necessary he’d turn Sieglinde into a vampire in order to have her. The wizard relented, albeit under protest, and consented to the marriage. Sieglinde herself was overjoyed at the prospect of her marriage... unaware of the sinister lengths and means which Steffen took to get her. Neither her father nor husband ever told her.

Once again, Steffen asked Melchior to be the Best Man at his wedding.

The following year, when it became apparent Sieglinde was to bear his child, Steffen became exceedingly worried and insecure. His last attempt to sire a child had not gone well. Whether it had been his vampiric heritage, some defect Elisabeth had acquired, or some other complication... Steffen didn’t know. But it concerned him. Some months down the road he became a father to a healthy baby boy, and Sieglinde had even survived the birthing. They agreed to name the child Bertrand, partially after the boy’s paternal late uncle and grandfather.

After the child grew to be two months old, Steffen considered himself free and clear of whatever curse fate had dealt him in marrying his first wife. With Sieglinde consenting they tried for more children. Three more little ones followed in Bertrand’s wake, all within one to two years of each other: Kriemhild Isabella, Wilhelm Auberon, and Iris Sieglinde. It was after Iris was born and old enough to travel that Steffen insisted upon moving his brood back to the former Frost Manor. Even throughout all the years with Sieglinde he never told her he was part-vampire, though he did tell her of the destruction of his childhood home. Together they rebuilt it into livable accommodation, and moved themselves and their children into the spacious estate. Steffen had wanted to try for a fifth child, but Sieglinde was both unwilling and unable to conceive yet again.

When Iris turned four, Steffen decided to bring his entire brood of little ones as well as his wife to a ball being hosted by none other than Melchior Ravenclaw. He knew the other wizard greatly desired a wife and children. It was not his intent to spark envy but rather to share his family with Melchior after a fashion, for Steffen seen their friendship as being close to brotherhood as it got for two unrelated but very close friends. Little Iris tended to refer to her father’s friend as ‘Uncle Mel’ for she was unable to pronounce his name properly at the time.

Not long thereafter Steffen noticed his friend was earnestly searching for a suitor to make his wife, and was asked by Melchior for assistance and a multitude of opinions. Steffen, unable to deny his friend anything, was glad to lend a helping hand in the search. Although there were many possible candidates for review, the name Rowena and the beauty of the woman had stuck out for him a great deal. Perhaps it was simply because the name was different. Maybe it was more her physical appearance that caught his eye... On the other hand she could have simply gotten his attention because she had gotten Melchior’s as well. The true nature of this small and fairly-recent tidbit is for the moment lost to history.

On the same day Steffen heard of the wedding, Melchior had asked him to be his Best Man. The wizard vaguely remembers a little “pre-wedding day speech” he gave his friend one night about how now it would be Melchior on the inside looking out, instead of on the outside looking in, and how great that feeling is once the ceremony is all over and done with. The reason the memory is vague is due to the amount of wine consumed that night. Steffen involved himself in any of the preparations Melchior asked him to participate in, hands down... even if he had a seven-year-old child (Iris) attached to him at the hip.

The day of the wedding found Steffen standing right beside Melchior in his appropriate spot as Best Man during the whole thing. He had made sure his vampiric urges were satisfied before attending, though mostly as a courtesy to the new couple. Despite it though the wizard had spotted the bruises upon the fair Rowena Larkhaven’s neck, and had stared perhaps a bit too intently for he had gotten caught doing so. It had merely reminded him of his own marriage to Sieglinde and the troubles Steffen had gone through in persuading her farther to allow their union. He offered a hasty, murmured apology to Rowena and a whispered promise to ‘behave himself’ to Melchior before the reverend began the ceremony.

Years passed, and it seemed like all too soon the days arrived when Steffen and Sieglinde were starting to arrange marriages for their own children. Sieglinde fell dreadfully ill around the time of Bertrand’s arranged marriage, though with the help of Healers had clung to life long enough to see the ceremony. It was on her deathbed that Steffen confessed to her all he had done to have her, what he would do in order to keep her, and perhaps his most potent secret of all: his vampirism. He had asked for her forgiveness and spoke of his love for her, but for the first few minutes after hearing the truth his wife went into a stunned silence. Interpreting it as a demand to know why he had kept all of the secrets and fed her lies, Steffen attempted to explain himself – how he feared rejection and its pains, as well as he felt she deserved to know before she died – but Sieglinde promptly interrupted him with words of bitterness and hatred.

“Go back to Hell, and take your demon spawn with you! I don’t need or want your beady vulture eyes watching over me as I die...” Sieglinde had demanded of him.

Confused and hurt, Steffen physically lashed out at the dying woman. In a last act of love (though he knew it would mean nothing to her) Steffen left the room as she asked so that she could die in peace. His heart already broken, the part-vampire was completely numb when Healers announced with heavy hearts the woman had passed mere hours afterward. Some at Sieglinde’s funeral believed Steffen’s lack of emotion in public or private meant he had actually murdered his wife instead of her having fallen to illness... but they of course found no evidence to substantiate such allegations. Upon burying Sieglinde, Steffen decided a change in trade was needed so he wouldn’t cross the path of his wife’s grave. That trade became teaching and a bit of a dabbler in constructing muggle devices.

Soon after, when Kriemhild was old enough to be wed, Steffen once more resumed where he and Sieglinde left off in trying to find decent mates for their children. He expressly told them to never, ever, divulge that they are part-vampire to their spouses even if one of them were on their deathbed. A watered-down version of what had happened between him and Sieglinde was created for their ears. Naturally, with each wedding and celebration of a new birth in the coming years, Steffen had placed Melchior and his wife at the top of the list of invitations to be sent.

Although devoted to his own pursuit of magical knowledge and the learning of how muggles go about their daily lives in a magic-less world, Steffen initially laughed with Melchior about the creation of a school for witches and wizards when Rowena spoke of the notion. It seemed like folly to him; that even with the best protection magic could conjure they would be found out regardless. To Melchior, he stated the concern of potential students that would be much like himself: one foot in the world of wizards, yet the other deeply rooted in some condition that made them less a person and more a creature or non-human being to prejudiced eyes. Such people like him would be looked down upon by the masses in his view of the world, for he had learned through life that anyone a bit different than the rest of the herd of sheep were instant outcasts.

Steffen did not attempt to sabotage the efforts of the four Founders, merely letting them continue on undisturbed. At the same time, because his best friend’s wife was one of the aforementioned quartet, he was keenly interested in the goings-on. Much thought was given to this odd new place they’d created. Perhaps the four had something that could indeed change the world for the better. Slowly, his conviction in thinking the school would not succeed began to change...

At present he has written to the Founders, repentant but still skeptical, in request that he be allowed to take care of the castle for them, as well as offer what he has learned over his many years of living in a muggle community. His interest in the school is fueled by curiosity and academics, as well as thoughts to the future. The wizard realized that one day his grandchildren would walk these halls. Steffen would be able to watch them grow all year round this way, and do his best to keep the children of biased parents from ostracizing them. Upon informing Melchior of his decision and his reasonings, Steffen was greeted with an amused yet supportive response, as well as one request: watch over Rowena.

And watch over her, he will...



Magic Side: “Light, dark, light dark... you youngsters place too much focus on such things. Last I knew the use of magic was not amidst a morality war. You cannot learn of one branch of magic without learning at least something about the other for they’re both on the same tree!”

Steffen does not adhere to a particular side of magic, believing that to be dubbed a true scholar of magic one must learn of both the light and the dark. This has caused him to abolish the notion of such a thing as magical “sides” from his mind. Sometimes, this abandonment from the morality seat of magic ends up leading to possibly placing himself or others at risk... which he often does not realize until after someone gets hurt. Occasionally he tends to believe that there really is no good or evil, but rather only power, and the way in which the caster uses it is what really determines the morality of a bit of spellwork.

Favorite Spell: none at this time



Weaknesses:
Obsessively curious or focused to the point he may come off as annoyingly nosey without really meaning to. Tends to focus so intensely on this curiosity or fascination that everything including his basic needs are pushed to the side until his attention is distracted elsewhere.

The temperamental sort, Steffan can go from congenial and happy to ill-tempered and cruel in a snap. It hasn't exactly done any good for him in the making friends department... There is usually a very tiny trigger that sets him off. You'll know when to avoid him at all costs.

A tiny contribution to his temperamental nature is because he has always suffered from insomnia. Steffen sleeps very little but not for lack of trying. When disturbed from his usual or occasionally longer slumbers he becomes very irritable.

Reckless – When involved in a project or desperate for a solution to a problem, Steffen will go to any extreme to finish it or solve the mystery... even if it involves putting his or another’s life or limbs on the line. He is also audacious to a degree, not bothering to hide his magical prowess all that well. Often it results in the muggle village he's staying at to accuse him of witchcraft and attempt to burn him at the stake. Although it is indeed a bit odd, Steffen enjoys faking his death amongst muggle kind time after time - it never gets old!

The family he has left are very important to him. Although Steffen interprets such emotional attachment as a weakness, it is something he know he can't help.

Finally, being part-vampire is in and of itself a weakness to Steffen. Not only does he have to be extra careful not to miss-step or let slip the nature of his condition, but he also cannot enter certain places without being invited in. He does not have intolerances to sunlight or garlic, although he does tend to sunburn quite badly.


Skills:
- Basic Alchemy
- Basic Potions
- Necromancy
- Illusion
- Transfiguration
- Caretaking (particularly of a graveyard, but he’s adaptable)
- Living undetected amongst Muggles (kept getting caught because he got bored)
- The use of Muggle methods and devices in punishment... coughtorture/executioncough
- Dueling (both muggle and wizarding styles)
- Painting/drawing


Items:
- Crystal Coin approximately the size of a U.S. half-dollar coin (approx 1.5” diameter). Changes color in the light
- Black Dragon-leather gloves
- Journals detailing his life amongst muggles, schematics, and other interesting tidbits
- Wedding Rings from both marriages
- Frost family ring – a large ring of electrum featuring a skull with the word ‘Frost’ engraved into its forehead. The eyes are set with rubies.
- A variety of muggle devices, both mundane and sinister, as well as muggle weaponry
- A bloodied, ivory-colored pillowcase. The blood doesn’t seem to wash out...
- Elisabeth’s baby vampire teeth
- Another journal, specifically for his musings and drawings
- Goblet made from the skull and partial spine of what that looks eerily like a human
- Various aromatic sachets given to him by the women in his immediate family (primarily Kriemhild, Iris, and attempts by Helen) to aid sleep
- A phial of what looks like red ink... but is it really ink?



Favorite Color: Black
Favorite Figure in History: Wendelin the Weird
Voice: Hmm... difficult to explain, so here are Voice Sample 1 and Voice Sample 2 for the appropriate frequency and pitch of his voice.
Theme songs: I Know Where You Live by Alice Cooper
The Toy Master by Avantasia (feat. Alice Cooper)
Pick Up The Bones by Alice Cooper