Shelzza is the vampire shown in depictions at the bottom of the Vampire: The Masquerade First Edition rulebook that follow important points in her unlife. Speculation is that she is of Toreador (highly likely) or Ventrue descent. It also shows information about her childe, Kyle, who is the splitting image of her dead lover in the past. Shelzza appears only in this edition of the Vampire: The Masquerade and is abandoned in subsequent volumes.
Comprehensive History[]
Shelzza, newly arrived in a city teeming with mortals, had much to learn about hiding among them. Drawn by the lust and need for blood, just as the first of her kind had been, she felt the ancient hunger gnaw at her soul. As daylight came, she retreated to her mausoleum Haven, haunted by the dead but untouched by madness. She slept, finding solace in the isolation of the crypt.
Upon awakening, Shelzza was confronted by three visitors who bore the scent of Elder blood. Their command was undeniable, and she followed them through the crowded streets of Babylon, through the herd she had once controlled. Now, it was she who was led, prodded forward into the palace of the King. Her unease melted away when she realized the King was of her kind. The sight of the blood sculptures in his court overwhelmed her senses, igniting a passion she had never known.
For three nights, she and the King bound their souls together in a ritual more profound than the mere consumption of mortal blood. Though they could not fully experience love as mortals did, the King made her his Queen, and together they ruled Babylon. Yet, whispers of discontent grew in the marketplace. Many feared that Shelzza would bear the God-King’s children, and voices of dissent quickly turned into violence. A mob, enraged by fear and jealousy, stormed the palace to demand the King's removal of Shelzza.
Demons seemed to descend as flames engulfed the palace. The King, though ancient, found his Bloodline helpless before the fiery rage of his attackers. As the sun rose, Shelzza fought desperately to survive its deadly rays, her body pierced by the light like lances. With her strength failing, she slipped into the earth, finding peace in the embrace of Final Death. Enclosed in the ground, she dreamed of her King, their love, and the passion they had shared.
Centuries passed, and Shelzza awoke again, her memories softened by time. The world had changed, but she remained unconcerned with mortal affairs. As Crusaders besieged Tripoli, Shelzza paid no heed to the conflict. She commanded kings and armies as she had before, but her interest in the Mediterranean world began to fade. The glory of Babylon was gone, and the modern world brought her only revulsion. After a time, she returned to sleep, waiting for an era that might please her.
When she awoke again, the world was entirely different. Paris, vibrant and full of energy, offered her new pleasures. She moved through its elite circles, leaving behind the sickly mortals she had once preyed upon. The New World, young and seductive, called to her, and in the southern United States, she found a place that felt like home. Prohibition-era Chicago became her playground, and she settled into a new Haven, finding excitement in the city’s illicit nightlife.
It was in Chicago that she encountered Kyle, an artist enamored with Michelangelo’s work. Shelzza, intrigued by the man’s potential, began to stalk him, planning to make him her next Embrace. She manipulated events so that he would attend a private screening of a lost Michelangelo piece—one that depicted the palace of Babylon, an image pulled from her own memories. Kyle, awestruck by the painting, fell easily into her trap.
As Shelzza Embraced him, Kyle was overwhelmed by the experience. His mortal blood, though fragile, intoxicated her, and he quickly fell under her control. Yet, Kyle struggled with his new existence. He was both repulsed and enthralled by his first taste of blood, and his Frenzy overtook him. Shelzza watched as he wrestled with the reality of his new life, haunted by his human ties. He visited his family one last time, desperate to touch his son, to feel human again, but knowing that his old life was over.
Kyle’s journey into the vampiric world was marked by conflict. He grappled with his new instincts, torn between his lingering humanity and the predator he had become. Shelzza, however, had other plans. She sought to mold him into a loyal companion, preferring to control him as a puppet rather than be alone. But Kyle resisted. In a moment of rebellion, he seized a wooden object and, in a frenzy of hatred, drove it into Shelzza’s heart.
For Shelzza, an Elder of immense age, the sensation of pain was foreign, but a wild fear surged through her as she felt herself immobilized by the stake. Kyle, delirious with rage, was not finished. He prepared to cleanse the world of her presence entirely, torch in hand. As the flames consumed her, Shelzza’s long existence came to an end. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.
Kyle, now free from her influence, found that the Beast within him had receded, though the memories of those horrible nights would never fade.
The Story of Shelzza[]
Shelzza has much to learn about hiding from the mortals around her - she is new to this city (p.21)
Just as the blood called to the first among her kind, the sweet ichor is both a lust and a need for her. (p.22)
Daylight has come and she seeks safety in her mausoleum Haven. The dead haunt this place, but they do not yet inhabit her mind. (p.23)
Shelzza awakens to find a trio of visitors who smell of an Elder blood. They bid, nay command her to accompany them. (p.24)
Through the crowded streets of Babylon they travel, through the herd she tends. But now she is the one who is prodded. (p.25)
Her discomfort grows as she is directed into the palace of the king. But he is one of her kind and she rejoices. (p.26)
The sculptures of blood set Shelzza's senses aflame. Never has she known such passion. (p.32)
Over three days, they irrevocably bind their souls together. The blood of mortals is as water in comparison. (p.33)
They cannot fully know love, but he makes her his Queen and they rule the city together. (p.34)
Nightmares have grown to whispers and whispers to open conflict in the marketplace. (p.36)
Many voices speak out against the new Queen, for they think she will bear their God-King children. (p.37)
They attack the palace to force their King to be rid of his Queen, but their resentment quickly becomes rage. (p.43)
The red tongues that lick around them are those of demons come to claim their souls (p.44)
He is ancient, but his Bloodline is as paper in a flame. (p.45)
Rays from the sun pierce her body like lances, but she struggles on (p.46)
As she slips away into Final Death, Shelzza is pulled downward into the earth. (p. 47)
The peace she finds while encased in the ground reassures her. She dreams of her King, her passion. (p.48)
The past has lost its edge and her memories are all of her King. Powers gained over centuries have made her bold again. (p.49)
She cares little that the Crusaders hold Tripoli - mortal affairs are of little consequence to her. (p.50)
King Philip II commands his army to advance. (p.51)
Shelzza commands him otherwise. She wishes to see more of the world. (p.52)
The fresh air of the Mediterranean delights her powerful senses. (p.53)
This is progress? Where is the glory of Babylon? (p.54)
She feels only revulsion for this infested city. The blood here does not call to her. (p.55)
Shelzza decides to sleep again. Perhaps the world would be more to her liking when she awakes (p.56)
His work at the Sistine Chapel completed, the artist puts the Babylonian palace on canvas, guided by Shelzza powerful memory. (p.57)
Paris thrills her. The sick still wander the streets, but she moves in different circles. (p.58)
The culture is young, but the energy of the people in the New World is seductive. (p.59)
In the South, she feels most at home. (p.60)
The waterfront of Prohibition Chicago provides her with excitement. (p.61)
Chicago has a charm that is not lost in the following half-century. Shelzza settles in a new Haven. (p.62)
Kyle has an eye for painting but not the skill, thus photography serves him well. (p.78)
His Life is full and happy. Kyle returns home to a beautiful wife and healthy child. (p.81)
"Midnight Michelangelo" announces the flyer. Kyle's idol. (p.84)
Kyle's thoughts are as lovely as dreams when he gazes upon the master's works. But just as God created Adam... (p.88)
The impossible has happened, her King has returned. Though now mortal, soon he will be hers again - forever. (p.90)
She could strike now, but it is too soon. The prey must come to her. (p.94)
She stalks her prey and lover to learn of him and prepare for his Embrace. (p.100)
He senses something, someone. From behind his curtains, he scans the yard, but sees no one in the soft light of the moon. (p.105)
Kyle receives an invitation to a private screening of the "lost piece" of Michelangelo. (p.109)
It is a very private screening, but his excitement to see the piece precludes any discretion. (p.115)
The painting seems to be an authentic Michelangelo. It is strange that he would paint a Babylonian palace. (p.117)
She cannot resist a touch, and from a touch to the Embrace. (p.118)
Kyle tries to move aside, but his will is lost to his body. (p.123)
The blood is mortal, but for Shelzza its fragrance is over-whelming. (p.126)
Can a corpse feel pain? When life yet resides in a bloodless frame, then pain is but a secondary concern. (p.130)
Shelzza gazes down upon her King. His new life is about to begin. (p.133)
Kyle struggles to keep his mouth open and catch the tiny red beads that fall from heaven toward him. (p.138)
The blood melts away as it strikes his tongue. Small tremors of life wrack his body. (p.141)
She marvels at his struggle for life and recalls her Embrace with him so long ago. (p.142)
Though the blood is gone, the dream continues and Kyle is lost in a world his mind created but cannot possibly understand. (p.144)
Incapable of any thought but for rest, Kyle crawls beside the unnamed woman who has destroyed his life. (p.146)
When he awakens, it is night again. (p.154)
A hunger lodged deep in his being demands attention. He looks for food, but he finds only more blood. (p.156)
He tarries too long - the woman bids him walk with her this evening. (p.157)
The city air is somehow different. The men who walk the streets now seem but animals. (p.158)
Suddenly, she springs upon a man. Kyle is disgusted, yet strangely and horribly aroused. (p.160)
Very tentatively, the Fledgling lowers his mouth toward the man's neck. (p.161)
The first taste of blood exhilarates Kyle, but realization of his deed crazes him. His first Vessel. His first Frenzy. (p.162)
Kyle licks the tears from his cheeks. The taste is more than that of mere salt. (p.168)
He feels a stranger to his own home. The torrent of thoughts, urges, and desires cannot be smothered. (p.171)
He must touch his son to see that his old life created something that will last. (p.172)
His wife stirs as he enters. (p.175)
Their embrace makes him feel human again, but he knows it cannot last. (p.176)
She is the one who must judge him; she must see what he has become and what he had done. She who knew him best. (p.177)
He looks at her a final time, but when their eyes meet, he feels her will slip away. His body chills and he cannot move. (p.178)
He tries to lose himself in a crowd, but the smell of their blood does not leave him in peace. (p.181)
He is a predator and the herd can smell it. (p.182)
The sight of his own reflection entrances him for hours. (p.184)
The old man's song delights the Neonate, but blood music is a more potent melody. (p.186)
He tries to block the deed from his mind, but the man's death echoes in his memory. (p.188)
As he is lifted high, he sees the blood of the old singer draining away with the sewage. (p.189)
Return to the nest, the Elder warns, or find new turf far from here. (p.191)
The last night of "Midnight Michelangelo." The victim needs inspiration and must return. (p.192)
Was it not David who bested a greater foe? (p.193)
She does the guilty return to the scene of the crime. (p.195)
His flight is reflective. He will in time accept his new life, but not with that woman. (p.196)
But Shelzza has other thoughts for herself and her King. She prefers him as a puppet than to be without him at all. (p.198)
She brings him to her, controlling him as she would a mortal. (p.202)
His body is her's, but his mind is yet his own. (p.205)
Death would have been better than an existence such as this, but he charms Shelzza with courtesy. (p.206)
Again he rouses before her. He tests his limbs and delights when they respond as he alone requires. (p.210)
The first wooden object he finds falls prey to his grasping hands and delirious mind. He does not realize what he destroys. (p.213)
Bestial hatred and misplaced satisfaction erupt as he plunges wooden death into his creator and tormentor. (p.228)
At her age, pain is unknowable, but a wild fear unknown for millenia surges through her. If only she could move... (p.232)
His job is not yet complete. (p.235)
Torch in hand, Kyle prepares to cleanse the world of a long endured sore. (p.236)
Ashes to Ashes; Dust to Dust. (p.239)
All vestiges of the Beast are gone, though the memories of those horrible nights will never fade. (p.241)
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- It is highly likely that Shelzza and her story are non-canon material. As her story directly contradicts major elements and lore of Vampire: The Masquerade. Likely made from an early product experimentation for the narrative storytelling that the Storyteller System focused upon.
- Interestingly, Shelzza's story shares many similarities to the stories of both Zillah and Helena. It is likely then that Shelzza's basic story ideas were re-incorporated for these two characters.
References[]
VTM: Vampire: The Masquerade Rulebook, p. Ron Spencer: 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 32, 33, 34, 36, 37, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62
Ed McKeogh: 78, 84, 88, 90, 94, 100, 105, 118, 123, 130, 138, 141
Joshua Gabriel Timbrook: 81, 115, 117, 126, 133
Richard Thomas: 142, 144, 146, 154, 156, 157, 158, 160, 161, 162, 168, 171, 172, 175, 176, 177, 178, 181, 182, 184, 186, 188, 189, 191, 192, 193, 195, 196, 198, 202, 205, 206, 210, 213, 228, 232, 235, 236, 239, 241