Theaten is the eldest of the Immortalis and the first son born to Primus and Lilith. Long before Nicolas, Chester, or Tempestas entered the world, Theaten stood as the oldest of their bloodline and the first of Primus’s children to establish himself within the Deep. His Evro is Kane, the feral embodiment of instinct and survival, while Theaten himself serves as Kane’s Vero. Together they form two halves of a single being, though few pairs could appear more different.
In his youth, Theaten displayed tendencies that even other Immortalis considered unusual. Among his preferred pastimes were kidnapping local women, subjecting them to punishment, and pursuing romantic relationships with skeletons. Lilith eventually intervened and brought these pursuits to an end, insisting that her son conduct himself with the dignity expected of his position. Theaten complied, though often reluctantly, and spent the centuries that followed constructing the image of a refined aristocrat.
That image became the foundation of the Kingdom of D’Aten. Surrounded by luxury, ceremony, and endless displays of status, Theaten built a court that reflected his belief that power should be accompanied by grandeur. His closest companion became the vampire Tepes, whose bravery during the War Before the Dusk earned Theaten’s admiration and the title of Count. Over time, Tepes and his consort Anne became fixtures within Theaten’s life, and together they cultivated a world of extravagant banquets, elaborate etiquette, and carefully maintained appearances.
Beneath the elegance, however, lurked the same darkness found throughout the Deep. The banquets of Castle D’Aten are infamous for their consumption of living tributes, transformed through etiquette and ritual into spectacles of aristocratic excess. Theaten himself developed a fascination with collecting the skulls of tributes. Following a suggestion from Nicolas, he began adorning them with wigs, a practice he considered surprisingly tasteful despite widespread disagreement from everyone else.
For all his wealth and authority, Theaten’s greatest weakness is indecision. He possesses power but rarely exercises it with confidence. He craves certainty yet constantly seeks guidance from stronger personalities. Throughout his life, others have made important choices on his behalf, often because he proved incapable of making them himself.
This weakness is most apparent in his relationships. Although deeply attached to Anne, Theaten spent years wavering between her and his favourite tribute, Calista. Rather than confronting his feelings directly, he drifted between the two women, unable to fully commit to either. Ultimately, the decision was made for him. Nicolas helped Calista escape and ensured her return in such a way that Lilith became convinced she represented a threat. Once that seed had been planted, events unfolded predictably. Lilith decided Calista must die, and Theaten allowed it to happen. Though he may not have desired the outcome, he lacked the resolve to oppose his mother. The loss of Calista therefore became another example of Theaten surrendering difficult decisions to stronger individuals.
In contrast, his relationship with Anne endured. Although Anne, Tepes, and Theaten maintained a complicated arrangement for many years, Anne remained the person with the greatest influence over him. Their private relationship existed beyond the public structures surrounding them, and Anne consistently exercised an authority over Theaten that neither Lilith nor Tepes could fully replicate. This influence only deepened after Nicolas manipulated events that ultimately led to Tepes’s death. Recognising both Anne’s importance and her hold over his brother, Nicolas later arranged for Anne and Theaten to marry. While the gesture appeared generous on the surface, it also served Nicolas’s interests. He understood that Anne’s influence could guide Theaten far more effectively than threats, arguments, or manipulation alone.
Theaten’s relationship with Nicolas is defined by equal parts affection, frustration, and humiliation. As brothers, they share a bond that neither fully abandons despite the endless schemes and betrayals between them. Nicolas delights in exploiting Theaten’s insecurities, particularly his obsessive-compulsive tendencies. Whenever complaints about Nicolas reach Castle D’Aten, they follow a predictable path. Lords complain to Tepes, Tepes complains to Theaten, and Theaten attempts to confront Nicolas. These encounters inevitably end with Nicolas burying him beneath distractions, irrelevancies, half-truths, and outright nonsense until the original issue is forgotten entirely.
Nicolas’s interference extends even into Theaten’s romantic prospects. When Allyra initially finds Theaten attractive, Nicolas immediately identifies him as a potential rival. Rather than confronting the issue directly, he invites Theaten to dine with Allyra and carefully sabotages the occasion. By removing various fixtures and disturbing the environment, Nicolas triggers Theaten’s obsessive-compulsive behaviours. Instead of presenting himself as a confident and desirable alternative, Theaten spends the evening distracted by details nobody else notices. The date becomes a disaster, and Nicolas successfully undermines another potential threat without appearing responsible.
Theaten’s relationship with Kane further exposes his insecurities. Kane embodies everything Theaten wishes to suppress: instinct, simplicity, and a complete disregard for social expectations. Theaten frequently finds Kane embarrassing and prefers to keep his distance whenever possible. Unfortunately for him, Kane openly prefers Nicolas. Over time, Nicolas becomes the brother Kane genuinely admires, while Theaten is left watching his own Evro gravitate towards someone else.
Despite his flaws, Theaten is not without genuine feeling. He loves deeply, even if he struggles to act decisively upon those emotions. His attachment to Anne is sincere, and part of that attachment stems from a preference he rarely admits aloud. For all his regal posturing, Theaten secretly enjoys surrendering control. Anne understands this better than anyone, which is precisely why she is able to influence him so effectively.
His preferred form of execution reflects his own peculiar sense of order. Theaten removes and consumes the tongues of those he condemns. Over centuries this practice has become synonymous with his rule. To him, the tongue is the source of gossip, insolence, dissent, and disrespect. Removing it is therefore not merely punishment but the restoration of proper order. While others regard the practice as barbaric, Theaten genuinely considers it civilised, particularly when compared to the behaviour of his brothers.
For all his crowns, castles, and ceremonies, Theaten remains a profoundly human figure by Immortalis standards. He is not brought low by a lack of power but by an inability to decide what to do with it. Surrounded by stronger personalities, he repeatedly allows others to shape the course of his life. His story is not the tragedy of a king who lacked authority, but of a king who possessed authority and too often surrendered it to someone else.
