executed.
?AS I STARED AT THE ANCIENT SIENNA WALLS AND TOWERS
CROWNING THE PEAK OF THE STEEP HILL, I FELT ANOTHER, MORE SELFISH
KIND OF DREAD THRILL THROUGH ME.?
— Bella, on her arrival in the city of Volterra (
ARO
NAME: Aro
DATE OF BIRTH: Around 1300 B.C.
DATE OF TRANSFORMATION: Around 1260 B.C.
SOURCE OF TRANSFORMATION: Unknown
PLACE OF ORIGIN: Greece
HAIR COLOR: Black
EYE COLOR: Red/black, with an overlying milky film (vampire) HEIGHT: 5‘10?
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Aro has an average build and is incredibly graceful in his movements. He has shoulder-length jet-black hair and perfect features. His skin is translucent white, slightly resembling the casing of an onion.
SPECIAL ABILITIES: When he touches someone, he can read every thought the person has ever had.
EDUCATION/OCCUPATION: He is one of the three leaders of the Volturi coven, along with Caius and Marcus. He usually acts as the Volturi spokesperson.
FAMILY/COVEN RELATIONSHIPS: His mate is Sulpicia. His closest coven members are Caius, Marcus, and Athenodora. His natural sister, Didyme, is deceased. He and the other original Volturi are served by members of the Volturi guard.
PERSONAL HISTORY:
Aro was born in Greece just after 1300 B.C. All his life, he was ambitious; power was always his primary goal. It was in the pursuit of this goal that he was transformed into a vampire in his mid-twenties. During the first century of his vampire life, he joined forces with two other vampires, Marcus and Caius, and transformed two humans into vampires: his sister, Didyme; and his future wife, Sulpicia. Aro formed this coven (which also included Caius‘s wife, Athenodora) in order to further his ruling ambition, seeking strength in numbers to augment his own powerful mind-reading talent. Originally, Aro, Caius, and Marcus agreed to rule jointly, but Aro was always the decision-making force behind the threesome. It was Aro who devised the plan on which the Volturi ultimately founded their reign over the vampire world: the concept of vampire laws of mutual convenience. Over time, Marcus lost interest in the coven due to personal tragedy, and Caius grew obsessed with solely the punitive side of governing. Aro handled every other aspect of the Volturi rule.
Aro was the last of the coven to form a romantic attachment.
Aro was the last of the coven to form a romantic attachment. After Marcus and Didyme fell in love, Aro felt that the balance of power had swung away from him (before this, he would have counted his sister an infallible ally; now he assumed she would side with Marcus in any difference of opinion in the coven). Aro decided in advance that he would rather choose a human and create a mate than look for his match in another vampire, who might have ties to her own creator or other relationships that would complicate his plans. He had a certain type of woman in mind, and he found what he was looking for in Sulpicia: a lovely young orphan with few ties to her human community. He courted her successfully, and she agreed to be transformed into a vampire and join Aro as his wife. She remains totally devoted and loyal to Aro.
Aro had chosen to transform his sister because he hoped she might have a gift similar to his own powerful mind-reading gift. He was disappointed in this, and later disposed of her when she got in the way of his plans by distracting Marcus — her mate — from Aro‘s goals. One unintended consequence of this action was the near total debilitation of Marcus by the loss of his mate. Aro and Caius were both disturbed to realize that they were vulnerable to a similar devastation; they immediately sought safeguards for their own wives. Over time, as Aro and Caius increased security in every way they could devise, Sulpicia and Athenodora became virtual prisoners in their home. Part of their confinement, however, included a vampire talented at making them feel content. With Corin as part of their personal guard, Sulpicia and Athenodora never objected to their incarceration.
He created the Volturi guard out of gifted vampires who shared his desire for authority.
Despite his failure with Didyme, Aro never stopped seeking out talented vampires who could add to his power. He created the Volturi guard out of gifted vampires who shared his desire for authority. The guard were never fully part of the coven or the ruling body, but they gained prestige and protection by joining them in a subordinate position. After Aro acquired Chelsea (then Charmion) — who had the ability to bind people to one another and break any bonds that already existed — he was able to influence vampires to join the guard who would not otherwise have been motivated by power or prestige.
Aro made one of his best discoveries around 800 A.D.: the young twins Jane and Alec.
Having already created a prohibition against immortal children, Aro left the talented humans to grow up in their native village, planning to transform them when they reached adulthood.
Unfortunately, Jane‘s and Alec‘s psychic gifts were very pronounced for mere humans, and drew the notice of the other humans around them. Though still children, Jane and Alec were condemned as witches and burned at the stake. Aro arrived immediately upon hearing the news and found them still alive, but barely. He freed them and set the transformation in motion at once. Then, having revealed his true nature in a rather dramatic way, he was compelled to destroy the entire village in order to obey his own law. He left no witnesses, and brought home his two most valuable assets.
?THE GIFT WAS PRESENTED IN AN ORNATELY CARVED, ANCIENT
WOODEN BOX INLAID WITH GOLD AND MOTHER-OF-PEARL, ORNAMENTED
WITH A RAINBOW OF GEMSTONES.?
— Bella, on Aro‘s gift (
