A Tarnished Halo
"For fools rush in where angels have fallen through the floorboards once already . . ."
"The Historical (or Legendary) Figure, Making a Comeback"
Alright, here's the story: I was at Barnes and Noble and happened upon a book entitled Bad Girls & Wicked Women: The Most Powerful, Shocking, Amazing, Thrilling and Dangerous Women of All Time. After spending some time flipping through it, I found the figures portrayed in the book shocking, amazing, and thrilling to differing degrees. The important thing for us is that I came away with some notion of how history and so-called "modern fantasy" could be made to intersect in an entertaining way.
Over time (and as I'm inspired to do so) I hope to build a "Who were they then, and where are they now?" gallery of figures whose characterizations I believe will be interesting. I expect there will be some overlap with characterizations I've presented previously, but this is to be expected when the archetypes fit. Of course, if you have contributions or suggestions, I hope you'll share them.
I. A Life of Crime
Ching Shih was . . .
A Cantonese prostitute who was captured by pirates in 1801. Turned over to the pirate king Zheng Yi, the ferocity with which she fought him upon first being released convinced him to accept her as his lover and equal. Together, the two built a allied pirate fleet numbering hundreds of ships and tens of thousands of sailors.
At Zheng's death in 1807, Ching assumed command of the alliance and led it to victories over the Qing imperial fleet, the Portuguese navy, and even the British navy. She maintained control over her pirate empire through a combination of strict discipline, harsh punishments, and a propensity for engaging in brutality against those who dared to resist the power she commanded.
Ching was intelligent enough to be diverse in her criminal enterprises – both engaging in piracy, raiding, and kidnapping and selling protection against it – and also intelligent enough to know when to get out the business. With dissension growing in the ranks of the pirate alliance she led, she accepted an imperial amnesty in 1810 that allowed her to keep the riches that she'd looted over the years.
In retirement, she operated a gaming house (although some say that she was also active in other enterprises of vice) and died in 1844, aged 69.
Ching Shih is . . .
Perhaps a ghost who has escaped from Diyu. This is certainly a sign of continuing resourcefulness, as depending on the tradition that one follows, there are eighteen, one hundred thirty-four, or nearly one hundred thousand hells in the reckonings of Buddhism, Taoism, and Chinese folk religions.
It's also possible that Madame Ching was and is a witch, and that the real source of her power came through deals made with the demons and devils that no doubt inhabit those various hells.
Whether she is a ghost who has forcefully taken possession of a new physical form, or a witch whose dealings with Infernals have endowed her with a greatly extended lifespan (something that would in turn necessitate the faking of her own death), the modern era no doubt finds Ching Shih returning to old criminal habits. This would likely involve the meteoric (some might even say supernatural) rise of a soldier through the ranks of a branch of the Triad or a Tong organization.
Artistic license will go on to determine the degree to which behind-the-scenes criminal puppet-mistress, active criminal overlady, and respectable front for disreputable activities mix in the portrayal of such a character.
The lovely Katsuni is actually of Vietnamese ancestry, not Chinese. That sound you hear in the background is me not caring too much.
II. A Life of Luxury
Of course, Holliday Grainger played Lucrezia Borgia in Showtime's The Borgias. After I learned that she will be co-starring in an upcoming vampire film, the copy practically wrote itself.
Lucrezia Borgia was . . .
Born on 21 July 1746 as the daughter of Rodrigo Cardinal Borgia (later Pope Alexander VI) and his mistress Vannozza dei Cattanei. Coming from a family known throughout history - fairly or not - for its debauchery and political intrigue, historians, writers, and artists have struggled to different degrees with the question of whether the beautiful Lucrezia was merely a pawn in her family's machinations or every bit the scion of corrupt lineage.
It is known that Lucrezia's father and brothers used her to further their political ends through marriage arrangements. It might therefore surprise those familiar with her legend that only one of her three husbands died through foul play. This did not stop her first husband from leveling charges of both paternal and fraternal incest in a vain effort to avoid attesting to his own impotence as part of a deal to annul the marriage. Periods between (and in some cases, during) her marriages saw Lucrezia involved in a number of affairs. One is known to have involved her third husband's brother-in-law.
Whatever her sins might have been, Lucrezia proved to be an exemplary duchess of the Renaissance era, which notably included bearing her third husband a number of children despite their mutual infidelity. But childbirth would prove to be her undoing, as she died at the age of 39 from complications during the birth of her seventh child.
Lucrezia Borgia is . . .
Undead, living out the latest in a string of assumed names and false identities, and loving every minute of it.
The vampire who embraced Lucrezia is most likely to have been her doctor. According to this theory, it was not charity that led him to "save" the dying mother's life, but the foolish notion that he could possess her as his own. Ultimately, the identity of Lucrezia's sire is irrelevant, as his undeath has long since ended. If being a Borgia means doing what you must to get what you want, it also means being able to find others who will do what you want - that, and taking advantage of the carelessness of others.
During the last few centuries, Lucrezia found herself in a position to apply the lessons of her father and brothers with a ruthlessness that might have made even them flinch: marry rich; dispose of the husband; dispose of his wealth. Thus far it has worked well, and Lucrezia has been careful not to remain in one place or time for long enough to draw an excess of attention.
Still, enduring a steady stream of lifetimes will test the willpower of even the most resolute of creatures. Lucrezia manages to stave off madness by feeding her carnal voracity. It would be fair to assert that certain old habits die hard, but it would be just as fair to note that being driven by her demons to certain acts of sexual sadism has landed her no fewer than two husbands - and made the means of their destruction that much easier.
What then of the old stories of how she used to murder husbands for fame and profit? These days, the rumored approach would totally lack style. Or, to hear her tell it:
"To poison a man is a waste of a good time, and a good meal."
Any way she slices it, living the "life" is good on all fronts: sex, money, and attractiveness. Just be careful mentioning Guilia Farnese or Felice della Rovere in her presence. Apparently, any trifling bitch can get into the sorority of undeath by being in the right place at the wrong time. But as long as they stick to working some other side of the street, there won't have to be any trouble. Some old habits don't die at all.