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"I am Belle Morte, I am Beautiful Death, gaze upon me, desire me, but come to me, my petite ones, and I will give you all you desire."
—Belle Morte[src]

Belle Morte, also known as Beautiful Death, is a Vampire Council member and apparently personally responsible for the rise of "sexy vampires" in the Anitaverse. She is a beautiful, pale skinned, dark haired, with eyes the color of dark honey and is known to be at least 2,000 years old.

All members of Belle-Morte's bloodline tend to be selected for their beauty, and some of the vampires in her line are visited by the ardeur, becoming incubi or succubi that need to feed off of lust as well as blood, but able to also project the ardeur to control others. In some cases, Belle Morte has demonstrated the power to actually "resculpt" the features of vampires in her bloodline, making them still more beautiful than when they were chosen. Jean-Claude, Sabin, and Asher are all of Belle Morte's bloodline.

History[]

"Belle Morte's line has powers that neither she, nor I, possessed. Belle was something new. All the others descend from us, but her and the Dragon. She was never human to begin with, so she was always different from us." Father of the Day describing Belle in Skin Trade

Described in Skin Trade by Vittorio as "something new," a new type of Vampire, Belle Morte was the master of Jean-Claude and Asher. Vittorio says her line has powers that neither he nor the Mother of All Darkness possessed, and that she was never human. It appears she, like Moroven, was not a human before becoming a vampire nor is it known how she became undead. It's possible that succubi are a separate species, like Lamia, Fey, and Naga. She resides in France, as the rest of the Council did before its dissolution.

Five years after Jean-Claude became a Vampire she sent Asher to "look him over" and determine if he should be brought to her court. She collected beautiful blue eyed men and was interested in Jean-Claude because he also possessed the ardeur. Following the death of Julianna, Jean-Claude brought the wounded Asher to Belle and offered a hundred years of servitude for her help in healing him. After he was healed she banned Asher from her bed because she could not stand to see his scarred body.

She entered Anita's mind in Narcissus in Chains, when Anita was affected by the ardeur and fed from her and the men around her. Using her necromancy and the triumvirate, Anita bound Belle from harming them in any way, and from contacting them through her power. Belle seemed to feel regret that she let Asher and Jean-Claude leave, as they are the only two to have ever left her side willingly.

Belle wants to become the Council leader, and believed that her power was the cause for some of Marmee Noir servants waking from their long sleep. She helps Anita resist the attacks of Marmee Noir in Skin Trade.

In Cerulean Sins, she sends Musette to visit Jean-Claude's lands, and possessing her body tries to feed on him with her ardeur. Because Jean-Claude has became a sourdre de sang, she is unable to harm him and force Asher to come back to her court. In Skin Trade she helps Anita avoid being possessed by Marmee Noir.

In Bullet, it is revealed that along with the rest of the Council, Belle has taken the power of Marmee Noir into themselves; this opens a way for her to possess them all. Belle and Padma, under the influence of Marmee Noir, try to call Anita's beasts and make her Belle's animal to call. They fail because of the help Anita receives from both her triumvirates and her animals to call. Richard uses his version of the ardeur to help Belle break the control Marmee Noir has over her and she warns them to find the Traveler to help them. She then runs away, her whereabouts unknown, as she is hiding with the protection of the Harlequin.

Powers & Abilities[]

Being over two thousand years of age, Belle Morte is exceptionally powerful and can be counted as among the powerful vampires in the world.

  • Immortality - Belle Morte is over two thousand years old and retains the appearance and beauty of a voluptuous young woman.
  • Superhuman Strength - Although she tends to avoid physical confrontation, she is immensely strong considering her age and status as a master.
  • Animal to Call - Belle Morte can call all the "great cats" and their corresponding lycanthropy strains. In the beginning she was able to call only leopards, but as she grew in power, all the other "great cats" answered her call (presumably lions, tigers, leopards, jaguars, etc).
  • Ardeur - As the first of her bloodline and the source of the ardeur she has incredible control over it. She can induce lust from a distance (extending to at least hundreds of people at a distance of miles). She also draws power from lust.
  • Empathic Voice Manipulation - Anita characterizes Belle's voice as "having the inside of my skull rubbed with fur." She is also the one that trained Jean-Claude to use his voice as a tool of seduction.
  • Mental Abilities - Belle Morte can make mental contact with all new vampires of her bloodline, including Anita, although as a vampire learns to control his powers and hungers he can close the "door" that allows her access. She can also serve as a mental "bridge" between willing members of her bloodline. She can also enter the minds of vampires not of her bloodline, even master vampires, and make them go insane with rage. She used this power on Marcel, a Master of a City, who had challenged her, for her sit on the Council. Marcel then killed his entire household. She also used it on Jean-Claude to weaken his control of the ardeur and make him jealous and try to kill Micah, when they first met.
  • Sourdre de Sang - Belle is the progenitor off beautiful vampires. After most of the Vampire Council became bored of siring vampires, she took the mantel, and for the past hundred of years the majority of vampires sired are from her bloodline.
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