Thorne (The Vampire Chronicles)

Thorne is a character in The Vampire Chronicles novels written by Anne Rice. He is a vampire that appears in the novel "Blood and Gold", which details the life of the vampire Marius de Romanus. Thorne is a Viking warrior originally called Thornevald that is sent to slay a vampire-witch that has been killing villagers and stealing their eyes. Thorne finds the vampire and learns that she has no eyes of her own, and must take the eyes of her victims in order to see. After a time, the mortal eyes wear out in her immortal body and she must take another pair from one of her victims. This vampire is Maharet, one of the most ancient vampires and the story of how she lost her eyes is recounted in "The Queen of the Damned". Maharet does not slay Thorne but turns him into a vampire and keeps him as her companion. Soon the pair are joined by other vampires, including the druid vampire Mael, who shares an uneasy friendship with Marius. Jealous of Maharet's attentions to the other vampires, Thorne eventually leaves her. He lies asleep for centuries in the ice of the far north, his jealousy gradually growing into a mad obsession. He is awakened by the events of the novel "The Queen of the Damned". Marius makes contact with him using the Mind Gift, a form of telepathy. Thorne journeys south and finds Marius in a large city near the Arctic Circle. Marius enjoys it here as the noonday darkness allows him to live more like a normal person. Marius takes him to his home and discovers that Thorne still harbors a jealous rage for Maharet. Knowing that Maharet could easily destroy Thorne in a battle, Marius tries to dissuade him from his suicidal obsession and begins to recount his life story to Thorne. Marius' story accounts for the bulk of the novel. Thorne politely listens to Marius' account of his life and what he has learned as a vampire. Thorne is particularly interested in the story of the brutal attack on Marius by the vampire Santino and his Satanic cult of followers, who burn Marius in his house and kidnap his apprentice Armand. At the end of the tale Thorne questions Marius why he has not taken revenge on Santino and offers to help kill him. Marius explains that Maharet now rules the vampires as regent for her mute sister, Mekare, and Maharet forbids it. Marius pleads with Thorne to forget the past and talk of revenge, but Thorne still insists on Marius taking him to see Maharet. Marius reluctantly agrees and the pair are mysteriously whisked away. They awaken in a jungle location, where Maharet lives in seclusion with her sister, the new Queen of the Damned. Several other vampires are present, including Pandora, Marius' long lost love; Armand; and Santino. After a brief, bitter discussion, Marius admits that he still wishes to kill Santino. However, he will not because Maharet forbids it, and Marius believes that in order for Maharet's rule over the vampires to be valid, all vampires must obey her. Thorne abruptly kills Santino himself and then attacks Maharet in a jealous rage. Mekare comes to her sister's aid and easily pulls Thorne away. Thorne, knowing he is undone, whispers a request to the mute Queen as they struggle and she complies. Mekare removes Thorne's eyes from their sockets and hands them to Maharet. Maharet accepts the gift and binds Thorne with ropes made of her hair, the only material strong enough to hold a vampire. Thorne ends the novel as Maharet's eternal prisoner, but he is happy knowing that the object of his obsession will always be near him, and that her new eyes will last her forever.

References

* "Blood and Gold" by Anne Rice, The Random House Publishing Group, 2001.