The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide (25 page)

M
ARCUS

Marcus is physically the youngest of the Volturi. He was transformed into a vampire before he was twenty. Aro found Marcus soon after his own transformation. Marcus was a solitary nomad at the time, but he quickly grew fond of
enthusiastic young Aro. Aro was the first friend Marcus had as a vampire. When Aro wanted to form a coven with Caius and Athenodora, Marcus was hesitant. He didn’t trust the very intense and bitter newcomer, but Aro talked him into the partnership. With his gift, Marcus could see the growing ties between Aro and Caius, but he never truly understood what Aro saw in Caius.

Marcus’s life changed dramatically when Aro brought home his newly turned younger sister, Didyme, along with the first members of the guard—vampires who were drawn to Didyme’s aura of happiness. None of these early subordinates lasted more than a few centuries; they were still experimental at that point. Didyme’s gift had always been with her, though subtler during her human years, and so she was used to many suitors. She did not take these suitors seriously; her true allegiance was to her brother. After her wild newborn years were over, however, she came to admire Marcus greatly. They fell in love with the strongest romantic bond of any of the Volturi, as Marcus was in a position to know.

They were so happy together that soon Aro’s ambition to dominate the vampire world became increasingly less important to them. After a few centuries, Marcus and Didyme discussed leaving the Volturi to live on their own. Aro, having read both their thoughts, knew these plans. He wasn’t pleased, but he pretended to give his blessing.

Marcus’s power was much more valuable to Aro than was Didyme’s. On the battlefield, Marcus could easily determine the leader and key members of the opposition by the bonds between them and the other fighters. He could tell which person would die for another, which would turn traitor given incentive. In a diplomatic situation, Marcus could see how foreign vampires felt about the Volturi if they would not allow contact with Aro. Within the coven, Marcus could see if some
one’s loyalty was wavering, or if someone’s feelings for another had become stronger than their bond to the coven. He was also quite dangerous in a fight—a skill Didyme did not share.

Aro waited for an opportunity, and when he knew he would not be caught, he murdered his sister, despite the fact that he truly loved her. Aro’s grief was genuine, and Marcus never found out that he was responsible. Aro seemed to do everything in his power to discover the culprit, but of course all of his efforts, combined with those of Marcus and Caius, came to nothing. Once he’d given up hope of vengeance, Marcus became incapacitated by grief. He lost interest in the coven and began to consider suicide. Aro had sacrificed his beloved sister in order to keep Marcus’s valuable gift in his coven, and he was aghast at the possibility of losing Marcus after all. Aro discovered Chelsea and used her gift to keep Marcus tied to the fortunes of the Volturi; he was unable to abandon the coven, even through suicide. Chelsea’s gift kept Marcus loyal to Aro, but it was not enough to make him show any enthusiasm for the Volturi. Aro tried to make Marcus more amenable through Corin’s gift, but Marcus refused to accept her comfort. He did not want to forget his pain. Corin’s gift proved more useful with the wives.

O
THER
M
EMBERS OF THE
V
OLTURI
C
OVEN

ATHENODORA
Caius’s mate

DIDYME
The deceased mate of Marcus, and sister of Aro

SULPICIA
Aro’s mate

A
LEC

Alec was born in England around 800
A.D.
, son of an Anglo-Saxon woman and a Frankish soldier. He was born a few minutes after his fraternal twin sister, Jane. Both Alec and Jane had strong psychic abilities that were evident even in their human state. Aro was made aware of Alec and his sister through the thoughts of a visiting nomad. Aro visited the twins but decided they were too young to transform immediately (the Volturi had already instated its rules about immortal children). Aro left them in the care of their parents, planning to return in a few years. Though the twins’ gifts were obvious to anyone paying attention, Aro observed no menace toward them. They were only toddlers at the time, however, and Aro did not foresee how public opinion toward them would change as they grew. If he’d had any suspicion of the villagers’ eventual reaction to them, he would have taken them back to Volterra and raised them himself.

Eventually, the superstitious locals found the twins too frightening to endure.

Alec and Jane grew older. As they got bigger, the villagers found their unsettling natures more and more disturbing. Their talents had not taken a focused shape at that point, but bad things tended to happen to people who were unkind to the twins or their family, and good luck followed those who were friendly to them. Eventually, the superstitious locals found the twins too frightening to endure. They were accused as witches and condemned to be burned at the stake. Aro was apprised of the situation by a nomad who knew of Aro’s interest in the twins. Aro hurried to the village, arriving just in time to interrupt the execution.

The horrible pain of burning affected both of the twins deeply, and shaped the way their psychic gifts manifested themselves after the transformation. As Alec burned, his entire focus was on escaping the pain. As a vampire, this focus translated into an ability to totally anesthetize any human or vampire. Because he could project this sensory deprivation over many targets at the same time, he became the single most valuable weapon in Aro’s arsenal.

C
HELSEA