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[wolfsbane-archive]

Hello friends!

As I'm sure you've all noticed, everyone at Wolfsbane House has been too busy recently to send much out. With all the Vanderwolven business going on, we've all been rather distracted. This is all to say that Dorian and I are being sent away for the time being. Clement has told me that he will continue to send letters out, but I sincerely doubt it. Sadly, I won't be able to post much here either, but I will try when I am able! I'm currently reading a book by Andromeda Lioncourt which I wish to tell you about once I am finished.

We should only be gone for a couple weeks. We're mostly being sent away so that Clement and Jihei can focus on making the house safer. Once all of that is done, Dorian and I will be allowed to return. I'll tell you about it all once I'm back, though! I'm not sure exactly where we're going, though. Even if I was, I'm sure I couldn't tell you.

In any case, I will miss you all terribly. Please write if you can, and I will respond when I return!

Hugs,

Elvira

[wolfsbane-archive]

A new letter about vampires has just been sent out (here)! Clement mentions that there have been 'family issues' with the Vanderwolvens—they've been sending people to spy on the house, which has made everyone anxious, especially him. I believe that to relieve him of some of his stresses Dorian or Jihei will send out a letter next month. Hopefully it will be all on time next time!

I've been thinking more as well about who that letter Dorian got could be from. I can't be too nosy (especially right now) but if I find another note I will let you all know!

Hugs,

Elvira

[wolfsbane-archive]

I've found it! My review of Volume Quatre includes a description of a code which Mme. Chausson used to communicate with others while the original Ravissants were in hiding. Using it, I decoded the message and found that it says this:

dorian. no safe way to send you my name. too dangerous here. can avoid [HIM] for only a little while. my sisters are not so lucky. thankfully they are already vampires. i am human. talk to the greek one. she will know. little bat.

I... don't know what this means. i redacted the name in there because it bothers me to look at, but I know I will have to go back and look at this post sometimes, or talk to you all about it. i don't know who this could be from, though. i think that "the greek one" is me, though.

Dorian sent out a very lovely letter with a (translated) interview from Angèle Chausson!!!!!! It is very interesting to read, especially with all the journals of hers I've been reading (I am one-quarter of the way through Volume Six, by the way). You can read it here.

Also, I am not sure if he meant to include this, but he provided this strange note with his letter that I cannot make sense of! I may have kept it from him that I have it, but he has not asked for it back. It isn't in his handwriting, though. Do any of you know what this means?

qen.a nrjlg rqlhz nr b nteh rr n iv vg b alnygy uy.z vge e b bypl uasylgr e yrq ncef  zuza nxg u er a.frjy aj vgrogbva bfs n bfa b laz.gbqarbfue.panbqqrmseby  vgrjvr lffrfnragf hx.gnxhy ulnrnenlizvr.vn hn.gy bgrtrxbr u vyxb.ygy n.

Hugs,

Elvira

[wolfsbane-archive]

Book Reviews with Elvira!

Due to the length of the last Journal I read, I decided to find something a bit easier to get through. however, I may have chosen wrong!

Fish and How to Eat Them

This book was verrrry difficult! Clement has compared it to Plato's Allegory of the Cave, or Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist in its allegorical complexity (his words). I have only read it once, but I feel I will need to reread it several times before I am able to understand the themes I know are there. The book, written by vampire hunter Neil Lawrence, is about how vampires hunt, and how to protect yourself from them. It centers around the story of a young man learning to fish, taught by a wizened bat who hangs from the sleeves of the young man's coat.

Despite the fact that I for the most part didn't understand it, I enjoyed reading this book. On the surface, the story is very funny, though the bat can be a bit obtuse and confusing, saying things that the young man (and myself) are not even sure how to begin to understand.

My rating for this book is 5 out of 10 teeth, though I am sure that once I have read it a few more times I will have a better opinion of it. It was very difficult for me to get anything besides surface level themes about pain and predatory behavior. Again, I will need a few more reads to truly understand what is going on.

Clement has suggested that I read another Neil Lawrence book which he wrote with Andromeda Lionheart called So You Want to Raise a Human, a novel about two vampires who accidentally come into possession of a human toddler. Both he and Jihei have read it and said that it is very funny, but also a little sad. Do you think I should read it?

Hugs,

Elvira

[wolfsbane-archive]

Clement has written a second entry in his series about vampire hunters! I'd never actually heard about Robert of Antibes, but it is very interesting to read about him! You can read it here.

Also, I haven't managed to decode the rail cipher yet (I included it below so that you all can look at it), but I think that it's a coded version of another code, which is why it's so hard! I haven't figures out the shift amounts yet though. I've also been looking back through my old posts, but it is slow going since I have so much other work to do.

qen.a nrjlg rqlhz nr b nteh rr n iv vg b alnygy uy.z vge e b bypl uasylgr e yrq ncef  zuza nxg u er a.frjy aj vgrogbva bfs n bfa b laz.gbqarbfue.panbqqrmseby  vgrjvr lffrfnragf hx.gnxhy ulnrnenlizvr.vn hn.gy bgrtrxbr u vyxb.ygy n.

Hugs,

Elvira

[wolfsbane-archive]

By far the hardest book I've ever read, now all the way finished and reviewed! I feel I've gotten slightly off-track with my original intention of learning more about vampire magic, but these journals are, for the most part, very exciting! I was not raised with vampires, so everything I read about them is, for the most part, new to me. So, without further adieu...

Journal d'une Sorcière, Volume Six

One of the longest journals, and certainly the most rewarding to finish! This one talks more about the finer points of human politics – this journal covers Mme. Chausson’s life from 1842 to 1861. She discusses primarily the rule of Louis Napoleon Bonaparte (Napoleon III), the Crimean War, and the Second Opium War. None of these are particularly relevant to my interest in magic, but she does discuss this sometimes.

Discussions of magic in Volume Six focus mostly on protection magic and charms. Many of the protections put on Chateau Blanc began to wear off, and Mme. Chausson was faced with the task of creating more long-lasting protections, so that she, Mme. Lehmann, Mme. Bakke, and M. Fellner could continue to live there, protected from the Vanderwolvens. While the pressure to capture Mme. Lehmann had begun to wear off, Mme. Chausson emphasizes that one can never be to careful with the Vanderwolvens, a sentiment I can only agree with!

While the descriptions of spells and charms in this journal are interesting, I think I am going to rate this an 8 out of 10 teeth. The magic is interesting, but I am not very intrigued by the intricacies of human politics and history! I have never been really interested in history generally. I am more excited for later journals, where Clement has told me she discusses and works through the creation of the Ravissants and their magic practice.

On a slightly different topic: I managed to find a book in the library on codes. I’m nervous to ask anyone about this, in case Clement or Jihei take it away and insist that I’m too young to be in whatever business this letter is about. There is a chance, of course, that it’s just something private with Dorian, but I haven’t had anything this interesting happen in a while! Anyway… I think that the code is a rail cipher! I know I wrote or read something about rail ciphers recently, and I’m digging to try and find it. If any of you could look to see if I posted it somewhere that would be much appreciated!

Hugs,

Elvira

[wolfsbane-archive]

Dorian sent out a very lovely letter with a (translated) interview from Angèle Chausson!!!!!! It is very interesting to read, especially with all the journals of hers I've been reading (I am one-quarter of the way through Volume Six, by the way). You can read it here.

Also, I am not sure if he meant to include this, but he provided this strange note with his letter that I cannot make sense of! I may have kept it from him that I have it, but he has not asked for it back. It isn't in his handwriting, though. Do any of you know what this means?

qen.a nrjlg rqlhz nr b nteh rr n iv vg b alnygy uy.z vge e b bypl uasylgr e yrq ncef  zuza nxg u er a.frjy aj vgrogbva bfs n bfa b laz.gbqarbfue.panbqqrmseby  vgrjvr lffrfnragf hx.gnxhy ulnrnenlizvr.vn hn.gy bgrtrxbr u vyxb.ygy n.

Hugs,

Elvira

[wolfsbane-archive]

Another journal down! Only 11 left to read now that I have read Volume Cinq, though there are still 3 volumes we don't yet have. Dorian said he is friends with one of the men at the print shop which Mme. Chausson now uses for publishing her journals, and he may be able to get me volumes 11-13, but he is not sure. Crossing my fingers!

Journal d’une Sorcière, Volume Cinq

This journal covers a much longer span of time than previous journals of Mme. Chausson, but th book is not as long as you think! The first three years (1824-7) were still when she was in hiding with Mme. Lehmann, Mme. Bakke, and M. Fellner, so the entries are quite quick, mostly covering where they are, when they plan to move, and how they obtained food. It seems that, at night, one of them would go to a local farm and steal a sheep or goat, which they would slaughter and share before burying the poor thing. They sometimes saved bones and fur for magic, and in one instance they were able to trade sheep wool for clothing for M. Fellner, but they preferred to keep their packs light. They returned to France in the summer of 1827, living in the same Mme. Chausson lived in since before she was turned!

Surprisingly, this is the first book in which Mme. Chausson discusses her life before being turned. She does offhandedly mention some things in Volume Un, but not very much. Several entries after her return to Chateau Blanc (her ancestral family estate on the river Garonne, about 15 km north of Bordeaux) detail her memories of her childhood, her parents, and her brother Alphonse, who died when he was 16 and she was 13. She includes many lovely drawings, based on paintings in the house. She says that the only reason that the Chateau was not disturbed is because, through some spellwork and other mischief, she gave the house a reputation of bing extremely cursed. It does not help that her father was killed there by mercenaries, and that Mme. Chausson herself was turned there (consensually, surprisingly enough. I do not think that I mentioned it in my review of Volume Un, but she was turned by an unnamed friend who was latter killed by one of the Vanderwolven brothers in a duel, according to Dorian).

This book also discusses a lot of the magic that Mme. Chausson used to protect Chateau Blanc, as well as spells that she learned from Mme. Lehmann and Mme. Bakke, who are both powerful magic users in their own right. Like other journals, there are a great many diagrams which Dorian and Clement had to help me decipher. My French is still in need of improving, but I’m getting well enough I think!

I believe that my rating for this book would be a 9 out of 10 teeth. It gave me a good insight into a great many things, especially the reasoning behind many Ravissant beliefs. Having had to ask Dorian a great many things about the journals has also prompted him to state that he may call Mme. Chausson and write an interview of her for one of his letters. Exciting!

[wolfsbane-archive]

Hello friends! Clement sent this letter out last Friday without telling me, so I wasn't able to put out the post to go with it! He's decided to start a series on famous vampire hunters -- this first letter is about his father. You can read it here.

Hugs!

Elvira

[wolfsbane-archive]

Back to Mme. Chaussons journals! These have been getting easier to get through as I read. Originally, I had to go between a dictionary and Clement to get a good understanding of the text (I never learned French -- just Greek, Romanian, and English!), but at this point I've started to get longer stretches where I can read it by myself and understand it! Now, without further adieu,

Journal d'une Sorcière, Volume Quatre

This journal covers Mme. Chausson’s life between 1816 and 1824. According to Clement, this was during the Bourbon Restoration, after the fall of Napoleon. Mme. Chausson doesn’t talk much about this – in 1815, between this journal and the previous one, she moved from her home in the south of France to Switzerland, where she helped Adelaide Lehmann, Gudrun Bakke, and Edvard Fellner hide out after the publishing of Rosenacht. Before that, Mme. Lehmann and Mme. Bakke were living in Germany, moving frequently in hopes that they would not be found. With the assistance of Mme. Chausson, they were able to save M. Fellner and find a temporary residence in Switzerland.

This book also covers a lot of the topics covered in Die Macht, because of Mme. Chasson’s interactions with Mme. Bakke, a very talented witch. This marks a turn in understandings of how magic is performed within European vampirism. It is quite interesting how Mme. Chausson describes the differences in the origins of magic within different vampiric groups. In Revissant magic, I believe that it comes from the heart, but, the way that Mme. Chausson writes about it, I believe that the magic of Vanderwolvian practitioners comes from the bones and sinew of the body, one's life source. I think I prefer Reissant magic, to be completely honest! Ha ha.

Anyways, I think that this book is 8 out of 10 teeth. It was a little dry and sparse, but from what I understand, Mme. Chausson was very, very busy during this period and until her return to France in 1827. There was also the inclusion of different coding systems that she used – the one which she mentioned that was used the most was a Caesar cipher shifted 12 over, then a rail fence cipher with key 2 and 2 offset. Maybe I should start sending messages in code! Ha ha. Just kidding.

Anyways, that's my review for now. On to the next book!

Hugs,

Elvira

[wolfsbane-archive]

my character sheet for dorian from my little story @wolfsbane-archive :-) he's a vampire who's very into music, magic, and alt fashion :-)

[wolfsbane-archive]

Dorian has written a very lovely letter about the Ravissants, for those who might not know much about them! You can read it here.

Also, you are all welcome to send any questions you may have our way! If I don't know something, I'm sure someone else here at Wolfsbane House will.

Hugs,

Elvira

[wolfsbane-archive]

Book Reviews with Elvira!

This book has been waiting for me to read it for many, many months now, and I picked it up while waiting for my next volume of Journal d'une Sorcière to arrive. It was written by Jihei about twenty years ago, when he was living in France with Lyla Pearson, a member of the Ravissants. He told me that he started working on it long before he left Japan, but ever felt like he was using the right words. He wrote it in both Japanese and English, and published the two books at the same time. He still feels as if there is something missing from the works, but he told me that it is likely the spirit of his teacher that is missing, something that the book will never have.

見えない黄昏 / The Invisible Twilight

The only book which Jihei has ever written or published, The Invisible Twilight is a chronicle of the life of his master, Goto Taisei, a Japanese vampire who disappeared in 1854 and is presumed dead. It is almost like a very long poem. Even when writing, Jihei is a painter, and these tales (some of which Jihei says are slightly fictionalized, if not outright false) are beautiful works of art. I actually may have reread this book several times before writing this, ha ha!

Invisible Twilight is split into three sections based on the nature of the stories it contains. The first section is, of course, stories about his childhood and early life as a vampire. The second contains stories which Jihei himself experienced, stories about his relationship with his master, who he calls Goto-sensei even now, a little over half a century after his disappearance. The third section is stories about things Goto did in his later life, between the 12th century or so, up to his disappearance. Some of the stories are funny, others are serious, and a few are very sad.

My rating for this book is in no way biased at 10 out of 10 teeth. I very much enjoyed reading (and re-reading!) it, and speaking with Jihei about some of the decisions he made while writing it. He showed me some watercolors he later decided not to include in the book. Maybe I can convince him to share them with you all in a letter some time. He does like to share these stories, no matter how poorly he thinks he tells them. Clement and I, of course, think otherwise, but Jihei is adamant that he must stick to his painting, though rebukes Clement when he says he must stick to his writing. He thinks that Clement is an excellent painter (and maybe he can be convinced to share some of his art, too).

I've gotten a little distracted with this review, ha ha. I have been quite distractable lately, due to Clement and Jihei acting oddly. There's something they're not telling me, but maybe that is a good thing. I think it has to do with the Vanderwolvens. I do not care to hear anything from them.

What books have you all been reading? Do you have any recommendations for me? I will get back to reviewing my Chausson books now that I have volumes four through ten!

Hugs,

Elvira

[wolfsbane-archive]

Introduction to Dorien!

Without further adieu, please welcome our new house member, the Ravissant known as Dorian Piontek! Clement mentioned him in the letter he sent when he returned home, but I requested that he make a proper introduction, which you can read here.

Much love!

Elvira

[wolfsbane-archive]

Clement is Back!

Clement's put together a lovely letter about his trip to Paris! Or, that was what he was supposed to write about. Whether he did that is up for debate. You can read it here.

Like he says in the letter, my ask box is always open should you have any questions for me or anyone else at the house! I will do my very best to respond, and if I don't have your answers I'm sure someone else will.

Hugs,

Elvira

[wolfsbane-archive]

A new house update from Jihei!

Jihei just sent out a letter which you all can read. It includes some wonderful art by him which I'm so glad he's sharing. I'll let you all be surprised by one of the pieces but the other one is this sketch he did of me which I love so much! You can read his letter here.

Hugs,

Elvira

[wolfsbane-archive]

Clement is going on a trip soon, so he won't be available to answer any questions. He's going to visit Mme Lehmann and Mme Bakke in Paris. He said he'll show Mme Chausson my reviews of her journals. He's also hoping to get his hands on more of her books while he's there -- if not all the missing volumes, at the very least six and seven!

Jihei and I will miss Clement while he's gone, but he told us it should only be a week and a half before he's back. He is feeling unwell and would like to get out of Wolfsbane House and see some old friends. He has known Mme Lehmann and Mme Bakke since he was very small, and he says it is always a comfort to see them.

I will make sure to keep you all updated on the books I'm reading and anything else happening in Wolfsbane House. Currently, Jihei has made me abandon my comfy green chair to help him move some busts around. They're very heavy!

Hugs,

Elvira