Daniel's History

Daniel was born around 1953 in the USA. By the time he is 22 or so, he is working as a freelance reporter, who interviews random people off the streets in hopes of getting a good story. One day, he happens upon Louis de Pointe du Lac, a vampire. Louis's tale moves Daniel greatly and he is overcome with the desire to be born to Darkness himself, but when he tells that to Louis, it only angers the vampire. Louis drinks from Daniel to scare him and disappears, leaving Daniel with his thirst for vampiric life.

Of course, this young reporter is not about to be thwarted in his pursuit at this threat. He leaves immediately for New Orleans, transcribing the interview on the way and sending them off to a New York publisher, although that matters very little to him. 10 days later, he arrives in New Orleans at the house where Lestat is said to have resided. Walking around the deserted house, Daniel is thrilled to discover various little items that confirm Louis's tale and Lestat's existence.

Daniel had been exploring the house for several weeks, when one evening Armand suddenly appears. The vampire attacks Daniel; but instead of killing the boy on the spot, Armand locks him up for several days. On the 4th day, he reappears, curious about the mortal who knows Armand's name. He tells Daniel to run away as best as he can and that he will watch. If he gets bored with Daniel, he may choose to kill him then.

Thus begins the chase, but no matter how far Daniel flees, Armand would always be at his side. At first, Armand would be quietly watching from a distance, but eventually he tires of that and begins speaking to Daniel. The vampire has no qualms about waking Daniel up in the middle of the night, just to have the mortal call up Paris or to drag him to the theater; he finds greats pleasure in ordering preposterous amounts of food at the restaurant and watching Daniel eat.

Finally, after four years of being on the run, Daniel spends a quiet Armand-free summer in Italy. It is then that he realizes that something is amiss; that Armand has become for him a 'secret lover.' Armand does eventually appear, and for the first time, they taste each other's blood, an acknowledgement of their love. The chasing game ends and the two settle down together for a new phase in their lives.

Mainly living in Manhattan, Armand tries to learn about the 20th century through Daniel. They mingle among mortals and it appears almost as if Armand has regained some of his humanness. He steadfastly refuses to make Daniel into a vampire. At one point, Armand decides to 're-enter life' again and goes on treasure hunts etc. to amass a huge fortune. He then has the Night Island built in Miami. It is mainly for Daniel, but it is also so that humans may actually enjoy the 'culture' that Armand's compound has to offer.

The two move to the Night Island, but the desire to be immortal becomes more and more pressing for Daniel as the days and months pass. He accosts Armand with arguments, why the vampire refuses to make Daniel into one of his kind, how he is loathe to grow old and die while his lover lives forever, and doesn't Armand love him enough to do this for him? Armand however, sticks adamantly to his refusal--saying that he would rather kill Daniel than work the Dark Trick on him--although the fighting can break him down into tears. Furious and desperate, Daniel leaves the Night Island to roam the world once again.

Once away from the Night Island, Daniel leads a miserable life, spending his money on liquor until the money is all gone, then living in the streets. Only when he is absolutely desperate and in physical danger does Armand come fetch the reporter, but as soon as Daniel recovers, he roams off again.

Such a life continues for a while, but in 1985, Daniel (who was at the time wandering in Chicago) is overwhelmed by the sinister dreams of the red-haired twins and calls out for Armand. Armand comes to retrieve Daniel, himself greatly disturbed by the same dreams, the warning message from nowhere, and the mysterious destruction brought upon vampires around the world. He is determined to go to Lestat in San Francisco, the only place that seems safe. Daniel is on the verge of dying, his body eaten away from the inside by alcohol. Unable to bear the thought of losing him, Armand finally makes Daniel his own.

Once in San Francisco, the two head to Lestat's Halloween concert. (Somewhere around here, Armand shyly says to Daniel, "I love it well enough the way you turned out." That just killed me! Armand is too cute!...sorry, back to the story at hand...*g*) It is Armand's plant to join Lestat there, but at the end of the concert, the whole place becomes complete chaos. Young vampires out to get Lestat begin attacking him; the mortal fans begin 'attacking' Lestat for other reasons. On top of that, the attacking vampires suddenly burst into flame, causing utter bedlam. Armand and Daniel abandon their plans to join Lestat and flee the scene.

The pair then head to the Sonoma compound, as do the other remaining vampires. Although Daniel should be worried about his safety, he is more excited about the fact that he is finally meeting all the vampires that he had only read about or heard in legend. Everything he sees and hears is fresh and exciting to him, and he is purely elated from the joy of having become one of the elite group of vampires.

At the end of the Akasha incident (?), the two take the vampires (minus a few) back with them to their Night Island, where they all rest and recover from their emotionally and physically straining ordeal. We see Daniel chatting with Khayman about ancient Greece and Troy, or talking with his idol, Lestat (there is a problematic passage where Lestat says how he thinks Daniel would come away with him if he asked. Poor Armand must have been furious with Lestat for saying that!). Without a doubt, Daniel appears quite happy and satisfied.

Unfortunately, we hear little about the interviewer boy beyond that.

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Updated July 10, 1997