Photo by Mateus Souza from Pexels

Today, I will pose to you a question that has been on my mind since last year: what is the true identity of Virgil of the Houston Coven? I’ll even offer a titillating follow-up that I thought of back in March, and that is, “Has he now been reunited with his long lost love after one hundred and fifty years?” Keep reading to find out, Citizens!

Editor’s Note: all views expressed in this post are purely speculative, and any “evidence” provided is coincidental. Arion Floros’ Rumor Has It… series is meant to shed light on rumors and discuss them openly. The Arcane Citizen is not making any claims in favor of or against the individuals mentioned below. All comments were shared with consent.

Before I dive into this dish of a theory piece, lovelies, I want you to humor me by taking part in a little exercise. Picture Virgil in your mind–his wild dark hair, his broad nose, his plump magenta lips popping out against his fair complexion… His jungle-green eyes are enough to make a winged stallion go crazy! Sculpted shoulders, slender frame, the perfect height where he isn’t one of those lanky bois…

Now try to think of a fact about him. Something unrelated to his classes, or his club activities, or his appearance. I triple were-dog dare you.

It has been nearly two years since Virgil, everyone’s favorite vamp with a vintage cam, began attending AOA, and there is very little known about him. He looks biologically seventeen, which would normally place his age upon enrollment at one-hundred and fifty–the minimum age for vampires to complete their blood trial–except he completed his trial with six years to spare. He joined the Photography Club within his first month at the Academy, and by the end of the school year he was already up for nomination as club president. His photographs gained attention after our fabulous Prez Fiona and VP Melusine asked him to join the Journalism Club and become their unofficial photographer. He’s captured every school game, competition, event, festival, and feast. You would be hard-pressed to find a picture in the 2019-2020 yearbook that wasn’t shot by Virgil!

However, that’s all we know. It’s information we’ve gleamed based on his time at the Academy. Virgil has shown little interest in anything else, be it sports or other clubs. Outside of the aforementioned journalism and photography clubs, he’s only attended the Undead Support Group at Prof. Blagojević’s request… And that, darlings, is where things get interesting.

He attended their first club meeting back in March, and met Aurilla of the Ferrers Coven for what might have seemed like the first time–if not for the scene that took place. Multiple Haunters, all members of the USG, witnessed the incident.

“It was a little awkward, if I’m being honest,” said Mave of the Horn Coven, a sophomore vampire and USG member since last year. She was also assigned to be Aurilla’s guide. “He walked in with Horace, acting as stoic as ever, and then [Virgil] saw the new girl and just froze on the spot. I don’t think any of us had ever seen him surprised by anything–and here was this freshman who made him look like he was about to piss himself.”

Richard, a freshman ghost and our resident undead bard, offered his own point of view:

“Jude and I were sitting nearby, so Aurilla and Mave were listening as we passionately debated over the evolution of music since the 1800s. Horace walked in, being un chismoso like always, talking ’bout his hunt from before school started or whatever. Like, you could tell Virgil was just not interested in what [Horace] was saying. Virgil’s coven isn’t like [Horace’s]–the Houstons hunt to feed, while the Brutons hunt for kicks. So they walked in, Horace boasting for everyone to hear and Virgil silently coming behind him, and Horace starts introducing Virgil to the group–which, let’s face it, between his photos and his enigmatic presence, everyone had already heard of him. Hell, it was my first time in the group and I knew who he was. But none of that mattered, ’cause while Horace was listing off the names of all the established members present, Virgil was locked in some weird wide-eye stare with Aurilla. She’s a freshman like me, so we share some classes. I guess you could say I have an idea as to what she normally behaves like, and that was not it. She’s pretty composed most of the time, but she took one look at Virgil and her jaw just dropped. Then Horace asked us freshmen what our names were, and when it got to her [Virgil] said her name. I mean, he pronounced it a little weird but it got a reaction out of her. She ran out of the room, and he started to go after her, but Mave told him to back off and went looking for [Aurilla]. USG was cancelled for the night after that happened. I think Prof. Parker stepped in to help Prof. Blagojević talk to them, but neither of them would tell us what any of that was about.”

While irrelevant, it is worth noting that Richard recounted the entire event by memory without even looking up from his guitar. He seriously plucked at the strings and spoke without pause. This kid is a legend… But Ritchie, why did it have to be to the music of, “La Bamba”? It’s stuck in my head now. You got “La Bamba” stuck in my head. I will never forgive you.

Back to the topic at hand, you’ll notice that our surprisingly observant ghosty-goo Richard was able to place more witnesses at the scene! I reached out to Jude, who would not comment until he heard the beginning part of Richard’s POV.

“First of all, I wasn’t ‘passionately debating’ over anything,” he began. “[Richard] talks almost as much as Horace. I spent the entire ‘debate’ listening to him go on and on about ‘real’ rock and roll. It’s been almost seventy years and [Richard] hasn’t gotten over Elvis.”

Since Jude was a dead-end like always, I decided to get to the heart of the matter. I sought out Aurilla the Saturday following the incident, and got her to sit down with me after her dance meet.

Aurilla: Since you haven’t met with [Virgil] yet, I won’t reveal too much about him.

Arion: Thank you. I think your encounter with him left the entire school on edge, especially since it required the involvement of professors. It’s made me realize that there’s so much about Virgil that we don’t know, and it could give us a chance to get to know one of our up-and-coming dancers, too!

Aurilla: [laughs] Alright. I’ll do what I can to help.

Arion: Well before my first question, I want to remind you of an unofficial rule we’ve had at AOA where we don’t ask Haunters too many questions about their lives as humans–it’s just considered rude. Plus, we know that a century and a half can change a person, so Haunters aren’t defined by who they used to be. I just wanted to ease your mind with the fact that I won’t directly ask about your human lives.

Aurilla: [nods] Thank you.

Arion: Great! So, first things first–on the night of the first meeting of the Undead Support Group, a few witnesses place both you and Virgil there, and they all explicitly state that you both reacted oddly upon seeing one another for the first time. This has led to the speculation that you and Virgil have met before your respective enrollments in the Academy. Can you confirm this?

Aurilla: Yes, we have most certainly met before. I recognized him, and he obviously recognized me.

Arion: That is true, he did speak your name before you were introduced. Though Richard did claim he pronounced your name differently than you do. Do you have any idea why?

Aurilla: The name I’ve taken into my new undead life has been the same since I died, and it’s spelling has only changed a little from my human name. 1870 was an entirely different world–everyone just spoke differently back then.

Arion: I see! Now, this next one might be a bit of a dig, but I do need you to bear with me–and remember, you don’t have to answer. At that meeting, witnesses say that, between your reaction to seeing Virgil and running out of the room after he spoke your name, you appeared afraid of him. Has Virgil of the Houston Coven ever done anything to make you fear him?

Aurilla: No! Heavens, no. He’s never harmed me–that’s not why I ran off. I guess I was just afraid that being in the same room as him would lead to us talking, and that if we talked then I would have to give him some answers. He would need to give me some in return, too, so I’d imagine he’s just as thrown off at seeing me as I am seeing him.

Arion: If you could ask Virgil any question, what would you ask?

Aurilla: [pause] I would ask why he took on his brother’s name instead of keeping his. “Virgil” is a very old-fashioned name, and his real name would have blended in well with modern times, I think.

Arion: Interesting! Would you ask him anything else?

Aurilla: Yeah, I’d ask how he managed to complete his trial so quickly… And whether or not he forgives me.

The freshman vampire would not give any other details on the matter, and Mave swooped in and stole her away for Mid-night Meal. While Aurilla had kept her word in not revealing much on the mysterious sophomore, our brief sit-down had my head spinning. She had answered all of my questions, but her answers had actually left me wanting more. Both of these young vampires died in or around 1870, and they had met around one or both of their deaths. Virgil is an assumed name–which, in reality, is not that outrageous. Vampires are notorious for taking on new names following their deaths, and even several depending on how long they’ve been unalive. Virgil taking on a relative’s name is especially common. To think, however, that his real name would fit in with modern times, makes one wonder what it was once upon a time. Kyle? Chandler? Jesse?

Aurilla had also revealed that, while she was not afraid of Virgil himself, she was afraid that being near him would mean the two would have to answer each other’s questions. This implies that their relationship, be it platonic, romantic, or familial, was rocky at best. Who was Aurilla to Virgil, and he to her? She knew him well enough to know his real name, and the origins of his new one.

And she asked for his forgiveness, which… My lovelies, I’m not even sure what to make of this! Could we have had it wrong all along? Could Aurilla have been the one who wronged Virgil? You’ll have to tune in next week to find out, as that is when I’ll have scored an interview with the one and only Virgil, sophomore vampire of the Houston Coven!

In the meantime, drop a like on this post if you want that interview, and leave a comment down below with any questions you want me to ask! This was your favorite pterripos bringing you entertainment. Kisses!

Arion Floros

Opinions Blogger