Another excellent read. Reading Nick's history was fascinating. BUT I do wonder
about one passage that says Nick can be killed by decapitation. This must be an
error because when Vachon first entered the series he has lost his head in a
plane crash but managed to pull himself back together and do just fine. Wasn't
Vachon a handsome hunk of vampiric flesh? Hubba Hubba! I think I'd still rather
have Nick tho. Gloria.
Right Fang Girl
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
-----Original Message-----
From: Mistress of the Night <[email protected]>
Sender: [email protected]
Date: Mon, 30 May 2011 07:42:59
To: <[email protected]>
Reply-To: [email protected]
Subject: [TheDarkGift] Nicholas de Brabant
Nick Knight
Nick Knight is a fictional character on the Canadian television series Forever
Knight. He was portrayed by Geriant Wyn Davies.
Life as a Mortal
Nick Knight was born as Nicholas deBrabant in France in the year 1190. He was
born into a noble family, and eventually became a Norman Knight. Early in his
career, he was sent to Wales on behalf of the Catholic Church to investigate
pagan activities. While there, he had been framed for the murder of a young
pagan high priestess. The real murderer, a local official, arranged for his
conditional release, provided that he leave Wales and fight for the Church in
the Crusades as penance. His service during the crusades was troubled.
(Although never mentioned in any episode, series creator James Parriott stated
that during the crusades, Nicholas was captured by Muslims and suffered a
brutal incarceration lasting many years. During this period, he became bitter
and began to lose faith in God.)
Brought Across
By 1228, Nicholas had returned to France. One fateful night in a tavern, a
drunken Nicholas met a beautiful lady named Janette duCharme, who intrigued him
with talk of gaining immortality. She then introduced him to Lucien Lacroix. He
revealed to Nick that both he and Jeanette were in fact vampires and wanted to
bring him across (to the world of the undead.) Lacroix tempted Nicholas with
the prospect of having eternal life, eternal youth and power beyond his
imagination. Having been sold on the idea, Nicholas readily agreed to allow
Lacroix to turn him into a vampire. Lacroix then brought Nicholas to the
catacombs of Paris for his first feeding. This involves killing a mortal for
their blood. After some brief hesitation, Nicholas killed the first of what
would become many victims for blood, and fully embraced life as a vampire.
Life as a Vampire
Being a vampire has given Nick extra-ordinary powers. He has infra-red vision
and has enhanced hearing. He can move at incredibly fast speeds, can fly and
has super human strength. He has the ability to hypnotize some people (however,
some mortals, known resisters among vampires, are immune from hypnosis by
vampires.) This skill has proven useful when trying to extract information from
people, erase or alter their memories or getting them to perform some kind of
action. His heart beats only once every ten minutes. Although he can suffer
serious physical injuries, his wounds heal within a matter of hours. Cold
weather does not affect him in anyway. He is also immune to all forms of
disease and illnesses, and poison gas will not harm in. When he is threatened
or acting on his vampire instincts, his eyes turn yellow and he bares fangs.
With his incredible powers comes a heavy price. Sunlight will cause Nick to
burst into flames, so he cannot go outside during the day. He does not enjoy
eating any food, though he can drink some liquids and occasionally mixes blood
with wine. Ingesting large portions of food make him violently ill. The smell
of garlic makes him sick. He is compelled to look away at crosses or other
religious symbols. Touching blessed objects such as crucifixes or holy water
with physically burn him. Vampires must keep their true identities secret from
the public. In order to avoid suspicion from others, Nick can never stay in one
location very long. Every few years or so, he will move on, a term used by
vampires which refers to leaving an area and establishing new life in a
different area under an assumed identity. Although immortal, Nick can be
destroyed by a stake being driven through his heart, sunlight, fire and
decapitation.
Unlike other vampires depicted in fiction, Nick (or other vampires depicted in
the series for that matter) does not sleep in a coffin. He cannot turn into a
bat or other animal forms. He can see his reflection in a mirror, and silver
bullets cannot kill him.
For over 700 years, Nick traveled with both Lacroix and Jeanette, leading a
very evil life. He and Jeanette became lovers, and at one point lived together
as man and wife for 97 years during the Renaissance period. Jeanette eventually
ended the relationship. Although Nick was devastated, he eventually accepted
her decision, and the two have remained close friends.
Over the centuries, he began to realize that murdering people for their blood
was wrong. He resolved only to feed on those who deserved death, specifically
those who committed major crimes. He rationalized this behavior by claiming
that he was acting as Gods instrument of vengeance. It was around this time
that he began to entertain notions that perhaps he made the wrong choice
becoming a vampire, and expressed and interest in regaining his mortality.
Although Jeanette and others in the vampire community expressed mild amusement
with Nicks ideas, Lacroix found such thoughts unacceptable, feeling that Nick
should accept his vampire nature. He cruelly mocked Nicks desire to regain
mortality, and went out his way to frustrate any and all attempts by Nick to
reclaim it. Nick responded by leaving Lacroix and Jeanette for periods of time,
some lasting a few years or even decades. Such rejection hurt Lacroix, who
looked upon Nick as a son. Eventually, Lacroix would locate him and make him
return to his vampire family. Lacroix went too far once when teaching Nick a
lesson about his vampire nature, a lesson that resulted in tragedy for a woman
Nick fell in love with. From that moment on, Nick resolved never to kill anyone
again, under any circumstances, in order to feed.
Although French is Nicks first language, he has learned many others over the
centuries. He is fluent in Cantonese Chinese, English, German, Italian, Latin,
Mandarin Chinese, Russian, Spanish and Vietnamese.
He has also encountered several historical figures over the years, including
Joan of Arc, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Grigori Rasputin and Adolph Hitler.
Police Career
By 1992, Nick had re-established himself in Toronto, Ontario as Homicide
Detective Nicholas (Nick) Knight for the Metro Toronto Police Force. He had not
killed anyone for blood for past 100 years, and subsists on cows blood to
satisfy his hunger. However, he must constantly struggle to control his urges
to drink human blood as well as hunting humans. He chose policing as a
profession in part to try to re-establish a connection with mortals, and also
as a self-imposed penance for the numerous murders and other crimes he
committed over the centuries. Nick worked permanent grave yard shift at the
27th precinct due to his nature, although he explained to his superior, Capt.
Joseph Stonetree, that he had to because he was allergic to sunlight. Although
Stonetree had his misgivings about Knight, he tolerated him because he was an
excellent detective. Originally, he initially worked alone, but Nick was
partnered with Det. Donald Schanke, a capable detective who
was a complete opposite of Nick in terms of personality and approach to police
work. Although the two initially butted heads, they came to respect each other
and became close friends, although Schanke never learned that Nick was a
vampire.
Nick was also working with Dr. Natalie Lambert, a coroner who assisted Nick and
Schanke with their murder investigations. Lambert met Nick in the morgue one
night, when his apparently dead body was brought in. To her surprise, she
noticed no apparent injuries, and was shocked when he came to life and started
drinking blood samples in her lab. Rather then fear him, Natalie took a
scientific interest in him. She agreed to keep his vampire nature a secret, and
has been helping him to regain his mortality through a variety of means, such
as encouraging him to use a sun tan lamp to develop UV tolerance, developing
synthesized blood for him, etc. Although she occasionally expresses frustration
over Nicks lack of progress, she has also developed strong feelings for him,
though Nick is reluctant to act on them.
It was in 1992 that Lacroix located Nick in Toronto, and destroyed another
attempt by him to regain his mortality. Nick was forced to destroy Lacroix by
driving a burning stake through his heart in order to save someone. Jeanette
was also living in Toronto, operating The Raven nightclub, which both vampires
and mortals frequented, and re-established her friendship with Nick
Nick resides at 101 Gateway Lane in a three story loft, which is accessible by
a freight elevator. The windows are covered during day light hours by metal
shutters to prevent the sun from getting in. In his spare time, he often plays
music on his grand piano and paints. He drives a 1962 Cadillac more out of
necessity then vanity. This model of car has enough trunk space for a person to
easily fit into. Nick has often climbed into the trunk and stayed there for
several hours in situations where the sun suddenly rises. Nick has amassed a
personal fortune over the centuries worth $478, 000, 000. 00 (Canadian), which
was gained through illegitimate means.
Transfer and Reunion
Within a year, both Nick and Schanke were transferred to the 96th Precinct,
under the command of no-nonsense Capt. Amanda Cohen. Like Stonetree, Cohen was
exacerbated at times by Nicks unorthodox police work she respected him as a
Detective.
It was around the time of Nicks transfer that he made a shocking discovery. His
old master Lacroix was alive and in Toronto. Lacroix had unsuccessfully tried
to frame Nick for a murder in order to force him to move on and live like other
vampires. Lacroix claimed to a stunned Nick that he was "far too old and
powerful to be killed by a burning stake."
(It was never clearly explained how Lacroix re-generated, implying that Lacroix
must have more powers then Nick, and that for some reason Lacroix has not
taught him all his knowledge of vampire ways.)
Nick was exonerated when Schanke arrested the real killer. An uneasy truce was
formed between the two, though Lacroix still continued to urge Nick to return
to his vampire family. Lacroix settled in Toronto and became a late night radio
show host. Nick would often listen to his shows while driving his Cadillac.
Tragedy and Change
In 1995, both Donald Schanke and Amanda Cohen were killed when a plane they
were traveling on was blown up. Nick was devastated over the loss of his
Captain and partner. Further complicating matters was the fact that Jeanette
suddenly left Toronto without any explanation, signing over The Raven to
Lacroix, who began broadcasting his shows from a booth inside the club.
Nicks new partner was Tracy Vetter, a recently promoted detective who was often
willing to take risks. Vetter's father was a member of the Metro Toronto Police
Commission, and she was determined to advance her career on her own merit. Like
Schanke, Vetter was unaware that Nick was a vampire. Captain Joe Reese
succeeded Cohen as head of the 96th precinct. An American ex-patriot, Reese
respected Nicks detective work, even though he was frustrated at times by Nicks
unorthodox methods.
Janette did return briefly to Toronto in 1996 seeking Nick's help. While in
Montreal, she fell in love with Patrick, a mortal fireman. She eventually
became mortal again, drawing blood from Patrick, a little at a time, while
making love to him. When Patrick was murdered, Jeanette sought vengeance
against his killers. Nick and Jeanette eventually tracked them down. Jeanette
was shot by them while in a burning house. Nick brought her across in order to
save her (over her expressed objections.) She again fled Toronto for good this
time, leaving only a centuries old portrait of herself in Nick's loft. When
LaCroix learned what had happened, he told Nick in all sincerity that he didn't
know whether to laugh at him or cry for him. Though he had lost his daughter,
he felt that in many ways he regained his son.
Peace in the Shadows,
Mistress of the Night
http://thedarkgift.freewebspace.com
