- Meladyan

[...transcript on audio cassette...]

My mortal life, you say... why anyone would be interested in my life, I would not know. But since you are asking, I suppose I will be kind enough to relay what information I can remember on to you and your… studies. I'd like a copy of this myself if you would be so kind as to forward one to me.

I was borne to a family in Chicago, Illinois - the United States of America. [a slight pause ensues] No, I was not borne in Eastern Europe as some of the, how shall I say without sounding too spiteful, distinguished members of our clan were. The family I was brought in to was small, I was the second child of my mother and father. They wanted two boys, but settled for myself when I came along. Their names were Edna, for my mother, and Charles for my father. Edna and Charles Leniskivo. My brother was named Manfred, I was named.. Zenadia Leniskivo [Pronounced: Zee-nah-dee-ah Lean-ee-ski-voo]. I rarely went to school, finding my time with the boys who could read and write outside of the schools. Smart fellows they were, they were the ones who introduced me to it.

I say "it" respectively in detailing Lemesyl, it was often one sex or the other. Although, prior to my embrace, I can safely say it was decisively a he.

I studied at the local public library, anything of the arcane, "weird", or extraordinary. As you might know, there are tons and tons of worthless books on worthless subjects sitting on the shelves of a worthless city library. Not many women at that time could read, myself somewhat included - I was better versed in German than English. But, I picked out bits and pieces of the books, figuring out what was meant or said, and I filed it away for reference in the future if it was ever needed. Most things have not been needed.

I do not know the reason behind Lemesyl's choice of me as a childe, perhaps I just struck it's fancy for the time being; a new toy to play with in a different way than it's different ghouls. I was often the subject of it's experimentation, much like the creatures calling it master. It would mold me to his liking, and then mold me back - I took many forms in my time with it, indeed - all under the illusion of being teachings of Metamorphosis. There is something to be said of "trial by fire".

Something that I saw, after a few years with Lemesyl, was it's affinity with the land. I never much paid attention to it's incantations before a particular date, merely passing them off as senseless Elder Tzimisce babble. We were out, it was searching for.. something.. I never knew what it was after; I was simply drug out to provide secondary help to it. A Usurper attacked us, and rather than being caught unawares - as I would have been, regretfully - Lemesyl called the ground to rise up and engulf the Usurper. Whereas that may not seem much, it gave Lemesyl time to adequately rip the head from the Tremere resting under the ground.

Lemesyl gorged itself on blood for the next 7 evenings. Yes, it was kin to celebration, and it brought over many individuals whom I had never seen before. They all examined me and then spoke in Latin - a language at that time I could not comprehend.

I was given things to read, like a good girl, and told to stay out of the adults' room. He treated me like a toddler, yes. However, the things he had given me to read were far from the beginner level. They were my beginnings in Koldunism, my first step to becoming a koldun.

So, I read. And I read and read all that I could read. Then I got to the books that were inscribed in the language that I was not familiar - Latin. I was so entirely enraptured by the ways of the koldun, that I pleaded with Lemesyl to teach me the language. It did, obviously, but not without first laughing at me for a few long months.

I spent years learning the language before I could learn any more information of the koldun. You know nothing of patience unless you have gone through the same. I can wait for days, weeks, months or perhaps even years at a time, if I need to. [pause and shuffling of papers, then a soft masculine voice "Yes, I understand, it is common for our kind." which is assumed to be the interviewer]

[a snort of sort ensues from "Zenadia"] So it is. I was learning many different concepts at once, and Lemesyl was quite the impatient type. I can fondly remember many of nights taking a lashing from it's tongue as well as it's… appendages. The child's rights activists of these times would have croaked if they had seen what I was put through.

It made me stronger in the end though. I can withstand almost anything thrown at me.

[a pause] So I studied, and I learned. I studied longer and I learned more from Lemesyl. It's almost a pity that it was destroyed when it was, because I was learning so much from it, that it probably had so much more to tell.

I realize now, that the information I know now is sometimes 100 times more than a 'Kindred' [snide voice] in the Camarilla knows. It is almost sad; they truly do not know what they are against and what has happened in the past. Their Elders have conveniently forgotten to inform them. Now they fight for, what? They have nothing to fight for, because they are all directed by their Elders to achieve petty warfare against another vampire. [interviewer: "Is it not the same in the Sabbat?"]

To an extent, yes, but not nearly at the level which those in the Camarilla do.

[interviewer: "You said Lemesyl was destroyed, how did it meet it's final death?"] A ghoul of Lemesyl's turned on it. It was intelligent, but extremely stupid at times. Lemesyl was ripped apart by the ghoul, and I took care of the ghoul- actually all of it's ghouls - afterwards. The thing never quite knew what was happening, I suppose he figured it was about to be another session of torture.. from a new master. [interviewer: "A pet of Lemesyl's killed it. You were nearby? You didn't stop it."] Not entirely nearby. You are out to make it sound like I set the beast against Lemesyl, which.. is entirely false. Not that I mind what you think, simple explanation.

[interviewer: "And, was this recent?"] Yes, this happened 3 nights before the turn of the century. The, true, turn of the century - 2001. Since then, I have been placing my things into a neat storage area, planning on moving to East St. Louis.

[a long drawn out pause ensues, then the interviewer speaks: "East St. Louis? You are planning on dying then."] I can handle myself, I believe I will do just fine there, thank you. I don't mind the fact that the Sabbat have all but been eradicated, you as well as I know that the problem lay with leadership skills. [interviewer: "You are planning to lead there, then?"] Not at all, I would be content to stay behind the scenes, so to speak; the bulls-eye isn't as large for the priest as it is for the ductus. I have opted to take up the alias of "Blaire Bennett" during my stay, I suppose. It is not my first switch of names or figures.

[interviewer: "You seem to have everything in place and planned out in front of you. Good luck koldun in your studies of Koldunism and Ahzi Dakana. A pleasure."]

A pleasure, yes.

[...transcript ends...]