NIGHT ISLAND, a pleasure complex just off the shores of Miami in the state of Florida. The island is five glass stories of shops, theaters, restaurants, lounges and clubs. A wide variety of items are available in the boutiques, including diamonds, Oriental rugs, porcelain dolls and designer fashions. Five films play nightly in the cinemas, and the restaurants represent crusine from numerous countries. The public areas are ornamented by sparkling fountains and flower beds, and are serviced by glass elevators and silver escalators. The island is accessible by boat from Miami and is only open from sunset to sunrise.
The complex was designed and built by the vampire Armand as a way to mingle among mortal folk. A private three-story villa exists alongside the public mall, accessible through a steel door discreetly wedged between two shops. The villa is filled with broad rectangular rooms adorned with medieval tapestries, antique chandeliers, Renaissance paintings, and electronic equipment. Floor-length windows, broad balconies and terraces offer excellent views of the harbor. A private stairway leads down to the cellar, where a steel-lined crypt awaits, sheltering a coffin in which a vampire may sleep.
The villa was briefly inhabited in 1985 by a coven of the eldest and most powerful vampires, such as the infamous Lestat de Lioncourt.
(Anne Rice, Queen of the Damned, New York, 1988)
di RANIARI, an estate in northern Tuscany. Located at the foot of the Alps, the territory consists of craggy mountainous country surrounded by vast fields of red and white irises. Forests blanket the land, periodically cut down to deter attacks by invading armies. The woods are filled with small towns surrounded by fields and orchards. The main estate is guarded by walls 30ft high, circling three villages and the castle itself.
The features of the castle include several tall towers, the highest of which enables a view all the way to Carrara. The oldest tower hosts a small bedroom with gilded furnishings. The centerpiece of the manor is the small chapel, built of a pinkish stone native to Tuscany. The walls inside are decorated with murals by the finest painters of Florence. They portray scenes from the Bible and saint's lives, with images of angels and the Blessed Mother. The floor of the chapel hides a trapdoor opened with a small ring handle that appears to be but one of many inlaid marble ornaments. Underneath the chapel lies a vault filled with treasure, old chests and books, as well as the burial chambers of the di Raniaris.
The castle was constructed in the 1100's by the family. The di Raniaris themselves date back to the time of the Lombards. The land has been invaded several times over the centuries, obscuring native culture and history. In the 1400's the family was ruled by Lorenzo di Raniari, loyal to Cosimo de' Medici in Florence. The inhabitants were slaughtered by the Ruby Grail, a society of vampires from the north. The only survivor was Vittorio di Raniari, the oldest son of Lorenzo. He would later be made into a vampire himself, and now inhabits the castle alongside his bride Ursula.
(Anne Rice, Vittorio the Vampire, New York, 1999)
COURT OF THE RUBY GRAIL, a castle in northern Italy. The structure lies amongst thick forest, a short flight away from the nearest town of Santa Maddalana. Though located in Italy, the castle and its accoutrements are French. The citadel is immense, with high crenulated towers, pointed roofs, arched windows, and soaring battlements. On the outside the structure is decaying, covered with rusted hooks and chains. Entering through the main drawbridge leads the visitor to a courtyard overgrown with weeds and spotted with puddles. Travelling further inside reveals some signs of habitation, such as tapestries hung over balconies and lanterns strung overhead, though the inner courtyard still shows signs of disrepair. Behind a set of large wooden doors lies an impressive garden, laden with various flowers and trees, the walls hugged by shrubbery and vines. Overhead the visitor may see the blood red banners of the Ruby Grail. The garden is inhabited by a large community of singing birds.
Journeying up to the third floor of the castle leads one to the chapel. Brightly colored images of demons and gargoyles dance in the stained glass windows. A frieze runs beneath the balconies and the adornments are serpentine. Examination of the marble walls reveals the word "freedom" as a recurring design. The layout is that of the standard Catholic church, having a Communion Rail guarding the altar. At the very front of the room where a cross would be placed instead stands a stone sculpture of Lucifer aflame, holding a scythe in one hand and executioner's sword in the other.
The center of the floor conceals a large marble slab, entrance to the crypt beneath. The hook itself is gold. The crypt was the daylight sanctuary of the Ruby Grail, a Satanic cult composed entirely of vampires. They would lie on the floor in open rows, covered in shrouds of gold as they slept. To protect them in their helpless state the opening was rigged with a number of sharpened spears. The stairway down is broken, leaving mortal visitors no safe entrance.
The innermost courtyard was known as the Coop, a prison for the mortals who would eventually serve as sacrifices in the blood-drinking rituals practiced by the Ruby Grail. This rectangular court was planted with orange and lemon trees, and filled with hovels of straw and wood. Stone enclaves and vine-covered wire enclosures provided additional shelter. The prisoners were attended to by several vampire servants, thin wretched peasants who hoped someday to be elevated to a higher status. They would prepare a special broth for the inhabitants, the main ingredient being vampiric blood that would calm and subdue the trapped humans.
The rituals consisted of music played on reed instruments and horns, accompanied by Latin hymns sung by a choir of vampires:
The lord would enter in a rich red chausible, wearing an upside-down crucifix and gilded jeweled crown. The baptisimal font made of deep pink Carrara marble would be placed on the altar.. The sacrifices were brought in and stripped naked, cleaned at the font and placed before the altar. The worshippers would then form two lines along the sides of the chapel, to come behind the Communion Rail and claim victims. The vampires drank from the humans, sometimes sharing with each other, until all the victims were dead. The corpses were immediately whisked away by vampire servants. Occasionally the service would conclude with the crucification of one selected victim.
These practices were abruptly halted by the death of the entire membership at the hands of Vittorio di Raniari. The castle was looted to some extent by the nearby townspeople, and the chapel defiled by Vittorio and his bride Ursula. The structure has remained uninhabited.
(Anne Rice, Vittorio the Vampire, New York, 1999)
"The instruments of death await me in their warm and devout kiss, and into their bodies, by the will of God, they shall take my life's blood, my rapture, my soul's ascent through their own, so as better to know both Heaven and Hell in their dark service."