This interview was conducted by Jochen Adams with Gail Z. Martin for the German Science Fiction/Fantasy magazine Phantastich. It was printed in Jan/Feb 2009 to coincide with the release of the German translation of The Summoner.
JA: From reading your webpage it quickly becomes obvious that you love vampires. What is it that makes the "children of the night" so fascinating?
GZM: I take a little different slant on vampires than a lot of people. I tend to think of them as a metaphor for surviving a shattering experience of loss or trauma. The language we use to describe trauma/loss is very similar—feeling that one has died, no longer to enjoy regular activities, loss of appetite, awake at night, withdraw from other people, feeling as if their “old” life is dead to them. The challenge is to regain one’s humanity rather than seeking vengeance or completely withdrawing from life. Yes, the trauma/loss “brought you across” into a new existence against your will. But what you do with the enhanced insight and raw sensitivity of your post-traumatic experience is up to you. Such an existence is indeed a “dark gift”—part gift and part curse. No one would wish for it, and yet, from such experiences many people have been able to draw inspiration for art, music, drama or great achievements. Many others who are unable to find the light in the darkness, are overwhelmed and give in to anger/vengeance or go under.
JA: Without giving away to many details: Can you tell us a bit about the vayash moru?
GZM: In the Winter Kingdoms, it is a known fact that magic works, ghosts exist and the undead are real. The vayash moru are the best known of the undead, and are what we’d consider to be vampires in that they feed on blood, cannot go out by day, can be killed by decapitation, complete immolation or (for younger vampires) a strike through the heart. They do not exist in large numbers, but they have the capacity to live for hundreds of years, if they are successful at adapting to their new circumstances and avoid being destroyed. To become vayash moru, it requires an intentional act on the part of the maker—just being bitten is not enough. A vayash moru can feed without killing, and he/she can also exist on the blood of animals. Vayash moru remain beholden and psychically bound to their makers for a very long time and tend to cluster in broods or “families” with their makers and “siblings.”
Tolerance for vayash moru differs by kingdom. Nargi is the least tolerant, and actively hunts and destroys vayash moru without regard to their actions. Trevath actively discriminates against vayash moru, who are forced to exist covertly. Isencroft, Margolan and Eastmark neither welcome nor discriminate against vayash moru, and as a result vayash moru exist covertly, since their reception varies by locality. Principality is home to the holding of Dark Haven, the traditional refuge of the vayash moru and the location of the Dark Lady’s temple. In Principality (and especially in Dark Haven), the vayash moru are openly integrated into society, live and intermarry with mortals, and remain a part of their human families after being brought across.
Throughout the Winter Kingdoms, there exists a Truce between mortals and vayash moru that has existed for several hundred years. Vayash moru promise not to exploit or murder mortals (with the exception of criminals, who are often staked at the village edge as an offering). Mortals, in return, agree not to hunt or persecute the vayash moru.
JA: The social structure of the vayash moru is quite complex. Can you tell us a bit about it and how you have created it?
GZM: Even after death, personality, social class and wealth influence vayash moru society. However, since immortality is good for accumulating wealth, some vayash moru have attained wealth and social position after being brought across that they could not have attained in life. Acceptance of these vayash moru by others who were noble as mortals depends on the individuals involved. Loyalty is first to the maker, then to the brood, and finally to the vayash moru “tribe.” Families can be long-time rivals, feuds do exist, and individuals can and do betray each other. In Dark Haven, vayash moru and mortals retain closer ties (including intermarriage) than in the rest of the Winter Kingdoms. Vayash moru can and do have romantic relationships among themselves, and some couples remain together until one is destroyed. While vayash moru often reflect their human backgrounds in terms of kingdom of origin, language, devotion to a particular aspect of the Four-Faced Goddess, most vayash moru pay some tribute to Istra, the Dark Lady, Patron Aspect of outcasts and Those Who Walk the Night.
The social structure of vayash moru society is still evolving, but as far as creating it goes, I really just put myself in their frame of mind and ask myself questions based on what would change or remain the same given relative immortality and the acquisition of supernatural abilities such as speed and strength.
JA: Many of the vayash moru are likable and dangerous at the same time. Isn't it difficult to create individuals that combine these two character traits?
GZM: Aren’t all people likeable and dangerous at the same time? Everyone has the capacity within for great evil—or for great good. What they do is ultimately based on their moral choices and understanding of how the world works.
JA: When you read "The Summoner" you get the impression that the vayash moru are more than just another kind of "ordinary" bloodsuckers. What are the main differences between the vampires you created and other vampires?
GZM: I’ve never seen vampires as being any more monstrous than regular people. After all, regular people have committed all of the “monstrous” things that have happened in the world. I see them as seekers, trying to regain their humanity after experiencing great hurt or loss, or as renegades, giving up all trace of humanity in order not to feel any more pain. That’s the essential human choice everyone must face sooner or later: Wall yourself off and never be hurt again, but lose your humanity in the process, or dare to love and trust and live with the possibility that you will be betrayed.
As for differences….well, first of all, forget about mirrors not working. They work just fine (so would cameras if they existed in the time period.) Garlic is annoying, but it won’t keep a vayash moru away. None of the weapons based on Christianity work (silver, crucifixes, holy water, dogwood stake, etc.) because Christianity doesn’t exist in the world of the Winter Kingdoms (none of our “real world” religions do). There are some folkways and some blood magic rituals that have limited (and sporadic) ability to ward off vayash moru, but they don’t work as well as mortals would like to think they do. My vayash moru generally remain at the age at which they were brought across, although legend has it there have been exceptions.
One of things that creates the greatest distance between vayash moru and mortals ultimately is not the “Dark Gift,” but rather the passage of time. Vayash moru tend to remain in contact with their mortal families, partners, and/or lovers during what would have been their own mortal lifetime. The ties to extended family becomes more tenuous as the generations pass. The most successful vayash moru are able to adapt to the changing world around them and remain interactive. Some vayash moru feel the passage of time too strongly and ultimately lose their moorings. They often choose to commit suicide. Time itself is the greatest threat to vayash moru.
JA: Will we read more about the vayash moru in the successive books?
GZM: Absolutely. Book 3 is Dark Haven, and the vayash moru will play a major role in the next two books as the Truce between mortals and vayash moru begins to splinter.
