#volturi worldbuilding

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17/ ∞ No place like home - Volterra: The town that The Volturi call home was founded by them in 978 BC, then known as ‘Velathri’. Becoming their base of operations and the centre of vampiric culture. It is also heralded as the safest place to live in the world, much of it is attributed to the strict laws around hunting as well as the fact that The Volturi owns all of the town and the surrounding areas to this day. 

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16/ ∞ No place like home - Aro’s Vault: Deep beneath Volterra within the caverns you will find a door under lock and key. The only one in the palazzo who has access to the grand vault is Aro; who has collected memorabilia for millennia. Some of the artefacts hidden there are of immense value, while others hold sentimental significance. It is said that the last Didyme’s belongings are stored there for eternity. 

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15/ ∞ No place like home - Marcus' Quarters: The eldest king occupies the 6th floor of the western wing with his private quarters. His rooms include his private salons and personal artefacts he would rather not anyone else behold. On a good day you will be able to hear beautiful piano music come from his quarters, nobody else is allowed in the room while he plays though.

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14/ ∞ No place like home - The Entrance Hall: When one enters Volterra you are keenly aware of what awaits. There are two statues facing opposite one another with a staircase parting them ominously. This is not the entrance humans get to see, but the ones vampires will have to pass when they have been called upon or brought in. The two statues are Justitia: personification of the moral force in judicial systems, and Prudentia: personification of the ability to govern and discipline by the use of reason. An eternal reminder of what is at stake to vampires who face The Volturi's law.

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Hey hey, just me popping in your inbox. And this time nothing Angsty, (can I get a reward for that? xD)

I saw you post a little while ago under “things in Aro’s fault.” The watch of Mary Of Scott’s. And I have my own little headcanon that Aro has the famous B necklace of Anne Boleyn in his fault.

And that the pearls in her daugther Elizabeth’s crown, which are rumored to be the same pearls, are actually just different once’s that have been replaced by Afton (if my time line is correct and he would have been a vampire.)

Sorry, just a little thought that I had, and I was wondering what you would think of it.

Bye bye

Greetings friend, and thank you for popping into my inbox. I have had quite a day, and thinking about my precious vampires is a nice distraction. This little thought of yours did give me inspiration, enjoy.

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬

"Are you crafting a new set of crown jewels for the so called virgin queen?" His partner in crime for the night drawled, letting out a noise of frustration as he watched the careful disassembling of the intricate crown. Had Afton been less talented he probably would have found Demetri's constant chatter distracting, luckily he often found the greek mans tone rather soothing.

"Now, now Demetri..." the words were mumbled under his breath as he carefully pried one of the precious pearls out if its spot in the crown. It had come as no surprise that Aro had requested that he retrieve the originals, the necklace currently laid out on a plush emerald cushion in Volterra did not have as high of a value if incomplete. "You cannot rush perfection." A much less precious pearl was inserted into the crown, mortal eyes would never see the difference. Afton sighed, turning to watch the restless tracker whose attention seemed to flit about the room "Scared of Henry's ghost?" he teased before turning back to his handiwork.

A hollow laugh echoed through the room, Demetri's earnest amusement bouncing off of all the precious jewels around them. Afton heard as his fellow guard adjusted his posture, leaning on to the ornate table by the door and making it creak under his weight. Even through the dim light of the room he could see Demetri's eyes light up with amusement, "Never,-" he said without hesitation, a secretive smile on his face. "I hated that bastard and I hope he is begging for mercy wherever he is."

[volterran-wine]

I would love to see a timeline on what life would look like for a new recruit in the Volturi. If they applied or do they only get summoned, for example. Do the newbies share quarters until they’re in a higher rank or how long they get to stay before it’s decided that they’re needed. Do they learn martial arts or any combat other than grabbing and throwing? Not the first to say this and probably won’t be the last, but I too love your writing!

Good Evening Anonymous, and thank you so much for your question! You all have been so sweet these past few days. I am almost overwhelmed by all of the love.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐕𝐨𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐢 & 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭

When it comes to getting new members, The Volturi is always open for anyone to present themselves before the kings. There is somewhat of an interview process where they will interrogate the potential recruit on why they wish to join in the first place. Between Aro, Caius and Marcus no one wishing ill upon The Volturi is able to get past this process.

They do invite vampires to join their guard, they always have the option to decline, however that doesn't mean they won't ask again at a later date. If the kings truly want someone in their guard, they will usually find a way to entice the potential recruit.

New recruits do share quarters below ground, and many who are in the transitionary guard will continue to do so for as long as they are a part of The Volturi. If they are fortunate enough to become a permanent part of the guard they will be moved into private quarters closer to the kings and queens.

They will receive basic training in the very beginning, usually overseen by Santiago and Felix these days. It is their duty to make sure every vampire is properly suited for the life The Volturi is living. Among other things they will make sure they have their bloodlust under control as well as their more animalistic instincts.

Felix is a bit of a mentor to newer recruits, often being paired up with them due to his likable personality at the same time as his presence demands a lot of respect. This mentorship might last anything from one month to six depending on the recruit and how quickly they find their place within the coven. Demetri infamously spent 9 months together with Felix, and some (Afton & Corin) likes to joke about how he never truly left him.

After the basic training and mentorship recruits will go through a much stricter regiment together with Caius, who oversees the training of the entire guard on the regular. He will administer various tests to see if the recruit is capable and well adjusted enough to be a part of his army. If there is no exchange of trust and respect between Caius and the recruit at this point in time he will promptly excuse the recruit from service, thank them for their time and send them out of The Palazzo.

If every test and trial is passed with flying colours the recruit will either go into the transitionary guard or get further training together with the higher guard. Either way there will be a small ceremony where the new guard will receive their official Volturi crest from one of the kings.

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I guess this is a world building question or maybe one related to gifts.

How easy is it for vampires to pick up other languages? Would a vampire being able to immediately understand any language spoken to them count as a gift (useful to the Volturi) or would any average vampire be able to “learn them all” over the years?

The only way I could picture that gift cropping up would be if they were already fond of languages before their change.

(Side note: what gift could you see yourself having?)

Good morning dear, I hope you are well and thank you for your question! This definitely is a worldbuilding question, as well as another post I can file away in my Vampire Anatomy tag.

𝐕𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐬 & 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐬𝐬

𝙊𝙣 𝙑𝙖𝙢𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙚𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙡 Now, Vampires have according to canon perfect recall; which means they can in theory memorize new words without a problem. However, when it comes to understanding and speaking different languages, more work goes into it than mere memorization. It gives a bit of an advantage but they still have to practice pronunciation, sentence structure and the subtle nuances. Even if they actively listen to foreign languages and memorize them, there still needs to be an understanding of what they are hearing; if not they are just remembering a bunch of random words that sounds like gibberish. Context is key.

So I do believe all vampires can learn many languages if they want to, they have a good foundation for it and all the time in the world. I think it would come down to if that was something that interested them or not.

𝙇𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙖𝙪𝙜𝙚 𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙂𝙞𝙛𝙩 This concept is within the realms of possibility for me, some people have an easier time picking up languages; so it makes sense that it can manifest as a gift. Meaning that they instantly can understand any language that is spoken to them regardless of if they have heard it before or not. I imagine this sort of gift would have been very useful to The Volturi in the early stages of their coven and rule. At that point their goal was to communicate the new laws and create good relations with as many vampires as possible. In the modern day it probably is not as vital. I believe many of the vampires there have learnt various different languages over the years, so it's not a gift they are in dire need of. Nice to have, but not a must.

𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫 I will have you know I thought about this for a good while, for I interpret this as you asking me what gift I'd have based on my skills/talents. Others have claimed that I am a good orator, and when it comes to my job I spend a lot of time pitching and presenting my opinions and work in front of others, the end goal; convincing them I am correct. So, perhaps I could develop The Gift of Compulsion.

[volterran-wine]

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐕𝐨𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐢 & 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞

Due to some requests I have received I have decided to write a little bit about a topic I find fascinating and important when it comes to The Volturi and vampires in general; and that is how they view the people around them from different backgrounds.

Within my worldbuilding posts I have spoken about how vampires view humans, their stances on feminism and how they might view their still human mates.

It is my headcanon and belief that after about 100 years of existence vampires tend to lose their connection to their humanity, and will stop caring about human sensibilities. I believe vampires are much better at seeing the bigger issues in the world, vampire philosophers is an intriguing concept to imagine.

Of course The Volturi do respect other cultures, celebrate them even! They have been fascinated with the human race's advancements in all the sciences and arts through millennia, that does not just include euro-centric topics might I add. I believe most of the vampires that reside in Volterra are all quite well read and traveled, they are after all hundreds of years old. Wether it is a mate or a new guard does not matter, anyone is welcome as long as they can pull their weight and respect the laws.

When you become a vampire you do lose your humanity, no longer are you part of the society you were born into. And with time; opinions and biases that was clung to so tightly will loosen until they completely disappear. There is no place for racism, xenophobia, misogyny, biases or judgement. No fear of the unknown for you have eternity ahead of you. What vampires and by extension the Volturi care about, is your deeds; what have you used your gift of immortality to do?

Honestly? I think vampires laugh at some of the "issues" we as humans have cooked up for ourselves.