Application History
It was November 7, 1760 when Lestat started his life in the Auvergne region of France on his families land and in his families castle. Though the village they tend to still sees Lestat's family as being the aristocrats of the region the family itself is broke. Lestat does not get along well with his two brothers and his father and it is his mother Gabrielle who is his closest and perhaps only friend in Lestat's childhood.
Through out his mortal life Lestat would try and break away from his family. He feels stifled in his parent's castle and he often feels like the outcast in his family. Once when Lestat had gone to a monastery to learn to read he had enjoyed the experience so much that he decided he wanted to become a priest. His family didn't have the money to send Lestat to a proper school to become a priest, preferably someone in a position of power since that was all that would be fitting for a noble. Lestat's father was furious and his brothers had to literally drag Lestat from the monastery and bring him home. The second time Lestat tried to escape his family he ran away with a troupe of actors that had come to the town he lived in. Lestat loved their face paint, their costumes, and above all their carefree nature. After spending many knights talking with the troupe he decided to sneak out of the village with them. The troupe found him when they were already a days ride out from town and seeing as how Lestat seemed generally ready and willing to learn the ways of the actor they allowed him to stay. While Lestat was with the troupe he fell in love with the lead actress and the stage and he became certain that this was his escape from his family. However two days later, Lestat awoke to an empty inn, the troupe had been staying there and his brothers waiting to take him home once again. This time Lestat chose to stay locked in his room for days on end until his mother Gabrielle came to him and revealed that like Lestat she longed to escape from the family too, but she could not. Gabrielle was suffering from consumption, tuberculosis, and was more than likely going to die in a matter of years regardless. In order to give Lestat a purpose and a renewed sense in life she gave him two mastiff puppies that would quickly grow to be Lestat's new best friends. With the dogs at his side and a new rifle also purchased by his mother, she had a hidden stash of jewels from her dowry that she'd been saving, Lestat learned to hunt and thus became the bread winner of the family.
It was Lestat's role as bread winner that placed him in the eyes of a vampire named Magnus. Wolf's had been killing the villagers livestock and as the local aristocrat it was Lestat's job to find a way to get rid of them. Trusting his own skill and that of his dogs Lestat rode out into the snowy woods to find the wolves. He found and slaughtered the six wolves though the battle was bloody and cost him the lives of his dogs and his horse. During the battle Lestat almost lost his own life, and as Lestat was heading back to the village with the carcass of one of the wolves over his shoulder he felt as if a presence was watching him. It was Magnus that Lestat sensed. At that moment he caught the attention of the oldest known vampire of the time, and this vampire would become obsessed with the blonde haired, gray eyed aristocrat. It would be years later that the fateful night would come back to haunt Lestat when Magnus would claim Lestat as his own.
Though Lestat had escaped with his life and the praise of the village, he flew into a state of depression after the killing of the wolves. He saw death everywhere and there was almost nothing anyone could say to help him out of this deep depression. He could barely stand to look at his mother because all he could see was her imminent death. It wasn't till the villagers presented Lestat with a red cloak and boats lined with the fur of the wolves that Lestat had killed that he started to become more himself again. It was not however the tithe from the villagers that brought him back to his senses. It was a young violinist about his same age--Nicholas de Lefent. Nicholas was a man very similar to Lestat who had gone to Paris to get away from his family and play the violin. Lestat saw the same 'modern' spirit in Nicki, as he fondly calls him, and the two become fast friends. The pair would share everything together and when Gabrielle reveals that she will die soon, so she believes, and only wishes to see Lestat well and happy she begs her son to leave with Nicholas to Paris. The two do so and for a time, though they are both poor, they're happy. They both receive jobs at Renaud's Theater, a small peasant theater, where Lestat starts out helping the actors and actresses in and out of costumes and cleaning up afterwards. One fateful night, when their lead actor is absent, Renaud, the owner, as Lestat to fill in it isn't long after that Lestat has the lead role. Nicholas plays the violin in the orchestra of the theater and after awhile is even given his own solo.
Life however does not stay so sweet for the two comrades. Lestat starts seeing a pale white face in the audience each night he performs. This face looks almost as if it is just a mask and every time Lestat tries to get a better look the face always disappears. He tries to explain his fears to Nicholas but it only worries Nicholas that perhaps Lestat is losing his mind.
Magnus makes himself known to Lestat. He abducts Lestat from his single room apartment, that he shares with Nicholas, and takes Lestat to his tower far in the woods away from Paris. It is here that he makes Lestat a vampire and though Lestat does not wish to die he later says it was against his will. Giving Lestat few words of wisdom save for practical advice, the old vampire commits suicide by sending himself into the flames of a huge bonfire leaving Lestat alone in the world.
Lestat learns quickly and soon finds that Magnus left him with enough gold and coin to keep himself happy for many years. Lestat adapts quickly and learns how to best save and spend his money so that he wont ever run out. Lestat uses a human lawyer, who doesn't mind these late night visits, to make sound investments for himself and begins to spend his money on his friends and family though he doesn't tell them where the money has come from or that he is now a vampire.
While most are content to accept Lestat's money, that horrible night when Lestat was abducted has left such an impression on Nicholas that it's nearing madness. Nicholas alone is the only one who refuses to believe that suddenly Lestat is alright, and his attachment to Lestat will drag Nicholas into an unwilling situation.
Lestat in the meanwhile has been enjoying himself as a vampire. He's discovered the trick to going amid humans and not being seen as something different. He attends the most lavish parties. He 'dines', vampires can not eat or drink anything other than blood, at the most popular cafe's and attends the theater and enters churches at will. Lestat's actions are not however going unnoticed. In the underbelly of Paris a group of vampires called the Children of Darkness have noticed Lestat's blasphemous activity. The Children of Darkness have been around for centuries and believe that they are tools of Satan and can never enter the Places of Light, or those places where humans party and pray. Lestat is breaking all those rules and part of the Children's mission is to eliminate any vampires that act as Lestat would.
In the meantime, Lestat's mother has not passed yet but her condition has seriously deteriorated. She goes to Paris and Nicholas informs Lestat's lawyer that Lestat's mother is here. Lestat can not stop himself from seeing his mother one last time but the evening does not turn out quite as he planned. He turns Gabrielle into a vampire and together they leave her sick room via window and into the night leaving Nicki with yet another empty room and open window. For a time Gabrielle and Lestat wander together in Paris without a hitch but before long the Children of Darkness have had enough of Lestat and now Gabrielle's behavior. They attack the pair and in order to get Lestat and Gabrielle into their lair they abduct Nicholas.
Lestat and Gabrielle allow themselves to be taken to the underground lair of the Children of Darkness and it is here that Lestat meets Armand for the first time. Armand is the leader of the Paris Coven and he tries to force his dogma on Lestat but the blond vampire will have none of it. He rips Armand's beliefs into shreds and in a short amount of time the Paris Coven is completely disbanded. Lestat was also lucky enough to get Nicki back at the cost of the mortal's sanity. Nicholas is also mortally hurt, and against Gabrielle's advice, he turns Nicki into a vampire. Each person excepts the dark gift differently and for Nicholas it only leads him into further madness, but he is not the only one suffering.
When Lestat initially gained his wealth he baught Renaud's theater and after the Children of Darkness started plaguing him he sent Renaud and the old cast away. Soon after the Paris Coven was disbanded Lestat meets four vampires from the coven. They tell Lestat that they have no where to go and that Armand has gone mad and it burning the other members of the coven. Lestat essentially tells them that it's their problem and he will not be their leader like they want. Instead he gives them Renaud's theater to do with as they wish. Armand is also attracted to the theater and after agreeing not to kill these remaining vampires helps manage the theater that will later be known as the Theatre des Vampires.
Gabrielle in the meanwhile has grown increasingly restless of Paris and longs to travel. While Lestat is drawn to the more human surroundings of Earth, Gabrielle longs to explore the forbidden wilderness where man has not tread. By this time however, Lestat has become aware of a vampire named Marius thanks to memories he saw in Armand's mind. Marius is one of the Children of the Millennium, a select group of Vampires that have lived through the millennium. He was Armand's creator and supposedly dead, but Lestat refuses to believe this. He wishes to find Marius, but there is the problem of Nicki who is in no condition to leave with them as his mind is going. Extracting a promise from Armand that he will not hurt Nicholas, Lestat leaves his friend with the Theater and heads out with Gabrielle across the world.
As the pair travels Lestat leaves messages for Marius--calling out to him. He mainly talks about his trip how he longs to find Marius and sometimes he simply writes Marius's name. This is Lestat's first steps at breaking Vampire tradition. It is an unspoken law among Vampires that none should write the names of another in places where human's might find it, but Lestat does not care. Each destination that Lestat and Gabrielle visits drives the two further and further apart. Lestat longs for his mother to remain with him in civilization, but Gabrielle wishes for Lestat to travel into the untouched parts of the world with her. While in Egypt the pair finally separates for good. She leaves Lestat not to be seen again for nearly two centuries. It is also in Egypt that Lestat learns of Nicki's suicide into the fire, and receives his violin. Oddly enough within all this grief it is in Egypt that Lestat finally meets Marius.
There are three ways a vampire can part from the world of the living. The first is to go into the earth, burying themselves deep down where the suns rays can not get to them and allowing their bodies to starve till they can no longer move. The second is to go into the light of the sun, and the third is to burn themselves in a fire and have their ashes scattered. In Egypt, grieving the loss of his mother and Nicki, Lestat goes into the earth for the first time. It is in response to Marius's call that Lestat pulls himself from the sandy ground and begins a short apprenticeship with Marius.
Marius takes Lestat to his own private island near Greece where Lestat learns of Those Who Must Be Kept. Lestat also learns that Marius was Armand's creature and he finds it hard to believe that this open-minded individual was the 'father' of Armand the leader of a backwards thinking coven. Marius explains what happened to Lestat and takes him to see Those Who Must Be Kept--The mother and father of the vampire race. Those Who Must Be Kept are also named Akasha and Enkil who were once King and Queen of Egypt. They must be kept because if any harm falls to them the entire vampire race could be exterminated. Over the millennium it seems as if the two have become incapable of taking care of themselves. They sit as still as marble on their thrones though Marius swears he was sometimes seen them move.
Lestat becomes entranced with these beings and partially horrified of them. Would this too be his fate if Lestat were to survive for that long? Lestat doesn't have the answer to this question but his curiosity greatly over rides his fear. Taking Nicki's violin he goes down to the chamber of Those Who Must Be Kept while Marius is away and plays for them. Partially awoken by Lestat's music, Akasha moves towards Lestat and allows the blond-haired vampire to take her vein much to the anger of Enkil. Enkil rips Lestat from Akasha and nearly kills him and would have if Marius hadn't returned in time to stop him. Sadly for Lestat this is the last he will see of Marius for a time as he is banished from the island for Lestat's safety.
Lestat continues to travel on his own for a short duration but during the French Revolution Lestat's brothers are killed leaving his father alone and blind in Lestat's childhood home. Though Lestat had never been particularly fond of or close to his father this knowledge does not sit well with Lestat. Lestat returns to his father's home to take care of him and decides that America, more specifically New Orleans, is the best place for them both.
Here Lestat meets Louis de Point du Lac, a young creole who Lestat falls in love with mostly because Louis reminds Lestat of Nicki. He turns Louis into a vampire and the pair stay together for a century, not without some turbulence, with their 'daughter' Claudia. It is an irony that the family Lestat tried to make kills him or at least attempts to. The whole story is best told from Louis's point of view in Interview with the Vampire. The short of it is that Louis resents Lestat for turning him into a vampire and once their daughter Claudia is made she learns to resent him too as Lestat will not give either of them the answers to their questions about why they exist and who made them. They presume that Lestat doesn't know the answers either and that he is a liar for making it seem as if he is the only vampire who can tell them otherwise.
Claudia fed up with Lestat's lies and angry with him for turning her into an eternal doll poisons a pair of a boys with opium and laudanum and gives them to Lestat as a 'gift'. Lestat unknowingly accepts the gift and as the drugs start to take affect in his own body through the boys blood Claudia slices his throat bleeding him essentially dry. Louise and Claudia take Lestat's body out to the swamp and dump him into the brackish waters.
Had Lestat been a weaker vampire he may have died, but the blood in his veins was already too strong, and through his own strength of will and feeding on the creatures of the swamp he goes back to the apartment where he'd lived with Claudia and Louise. He only wishes to speak with the pair but he is a ghastly sight covered in scars and near skeletal. He's also angry and his words seem less then kind. In the struggle to escape Louis sets fire to the apartment and 'traps' Lestat inside while he and Claudia flee to travel Europe to find the answers to their own existence.
It is perhaps a miracle and Lestat's own luck that he survives the fire and follows Louis and Claudia to Europe and Paris. While in the French city Lestat meets Armand for the first time since he left Renaud's old theater to the older vampire. In the theater Armand has created another large coven of vampires though he claims he is not truly their leader.
Lestat asks for Armand's help but Armand is still angry with Lestat for breaking apart his faith. In the Vampire Lestat it is shown that Armand kills Claudia both in response to vampire law, no vampire may kill another, and his own selfish reasons. It is revealed later in Armand's own book that this wasn't the case, but as far as Lestat knows Claudia was killed because of his own doings. Armand meets Lestat in the tower where Lestat was staying and after revealing that Armand is in fact still mad at Lestat and refuses to further help Lestat by giving him his blood he pushes Lestat from the window wounding the blond even further.
The time in between Lestat's return to New Orleans and his revival are fuzzy because Lestat's memory isn't clear on all the events either. At some point Lestat returns to the earth for a second time as the modern world becomes too much for the blonde to bear.
It wasn't until the 1980s when a young just-starting rock group unknowingly awakens Lestat from his deep slumber. Once again using the creatures of the earth to slowly regain his strength he returns to the living. This time the modern world entrances Lestat. He rides around on Harleys wearing thick leather with metal studs listening to the classical artists blaring in his headphones.
Lestat soon returned to the band and revealed to them that he was the Vampire Lestat. They believe he's just pretending to be the character in a book titled Interview with the Vampire in which Louis tells his tale. The Vampire Lestat is a direct response to Louis's book so that Louis can learn the truth and to reveal himself to the world. He goes a step further and makes the young rock band which is made of three mortals, Alex, Larry and Tough Cookie, and turns them into true rock stars with the money he has had since he was first created. Once again Lestat was breaking the rules. He literally calls out the vampires of the world to come out and show themselves and in his music he even mentions Those Who Must Be Kept. The vampire community was enraged as in this modern time it was essential that they keep themselves hidden.
Prior to the concert Louis reveals himself to Lestat warning him that the other vampires plan to kill him. Louis tries to convince Lestat to forget the whole idea but to no avail. Lestat's plan works and on the night of their first major concert vampires attack Lestat and Louis as they're leaving the concert. Lestat urges his mortal companions to flee to his compound where they will be safe while he and Louis head towards their own car. The pair almost doesn't make it and though Lestat wishes to stay and fight Louis convinces him otherwise. Lestat's chauffeur drives the pair off only to reveal themselves as Gabrielle who has also come back to try and keep Lestat safe from his foolishness.
The whole time Lestat, Louis, and Gabrielle are fleeing Lestat is constantly throwing taunts out the car window at the pursing vampires. Their car is run off the road and though Lestat and Gabrielle jump from the car in time to safety Louis is still inside when the car hits the cliff side and bursts into flame. Lestat is now livid and turns back to slaughter the vampires who killed his Louis only to find that as he's advancing on them the pursing vampires burst into flames. He has no time to ponder this phenomena as he finds out that Louis is in fact alright if not a bit singed. With their urging the trio heads back to Lestat's compound. There's no time to truly discuss the nights events and Louis and Gabrielle head off into the woods to find a patch of earth to sleep in for the night. Lestat heads down to his hidden cellar where his coffin lies. He however never gets a chance to use it as he is abducted by an unseen force.
This marks the end of The Vampire Lestat and leads into The Queen of the Damned.
((Here is where the story loses focus on Lestat as The Queen of the Damned is meant to focus on the vampires back story as a whole and less on Lestat)).
In this book it is revealed that Lestat's abductor is in fact Akasha. Lestat's music has awoken her yet again and she has risen, killing Enkil, and nearly killing Maurius as she escaped. She is now the only connection the vampires have to remaining on this world and if anything were to happen to her all would perish. She is also the one who made the vampires that had been pursuing Lestat burst into flames as well as other vampires around the world. It is Akasha's personal plan to take over the world and become Queen yet again.
She takes Lestat with her around the world to various places where she urges the women there to kill the men that have oppressed them though this is not always the truth, and it seems Akasha has some control over human minds as well at least as far as influence goes. Lestat is horrified by this needless bloodshed as he still believes strongly in humanity. There is nothing he can say however and eventually the pair make their way back to California.
Other vampires that are already known to Lestat, Marius, Louis, Armand, and Gabrielle, are waiting with Maharet one of the very first opposers to Akasha's brand of evil. Akasha is killed and her heart and brain are eaten by Maharet's twin Mekare who now becomes the knew Queen of the Damned so that the vampire race may live on.
This is essentially the end of The Queen of the Damned.
In The Tale of the Body Thief Lestat has become depressed because of his vampiric nature. He's tried to limit his drinking to only criminals but occasionally he still takes the blood of an 'innocent' unable to help himself. He also starts to suffer nightmares concerning Claudia's death as if he's being haunted by her.
The vampires that were there for Akasha's death had formed a temporary coven, but as is the vampire nature the coven broke up leaving Lestat alone and lonely yet again. Lestat's only real friend is an aging gentleman by the name of David Talbot who is the head of the Talamasca, an organization that keeps track of supernatural beings. Lestat has constantly tried to get David to accept the Dark Gift of vampirism but to no avail. As Lestat grows increasingly more depressed he attempts suicide by flying to the Gobi Desert at dawn when he wont be able to escape. Surprisingly enough Lestat doesn't die though he is severely hurt. Lestat heads to David's home in England to recuperate after his attempt at suicide.
After Lestat has healed he hears from a man by the name of Raglan James. This man claims to have the ability to switch bodies and for a certain sum offers to switch bodies with Lestat but only for a day, so that Lestat can cure his depression and remember what it was like to be human. Lestat readily agrees to this against the better advice from David. Sadly for Lestat, James has no intention of giving Lestat's body back to him.
On the first night that Lestat is left alone as a human he relearns how hard it is to be mortal. He no longer has access to his money which is now in the hands of James. He wanders around the city hoping to find food and is even mistaken for a beggar. Lestat has also forgotten how to take care of his body and in the cold winter he catches pneumonia and nearly dies. A young nun named Gretchen rescues Lestat and nurses him back to health. Lestat tries to explain to Gretchen who he is and what has happened to him but Gretchen only things he's delirious and never truly believes him. Against the odds the two fall in love and even have a short mortal love affair before Gretchen convinces Lestat that they must both move on. With a heavy heart Lestat does so and goes in search of his body and the body thief James.
Along the way Lestat tries to garner help from his vampire friends but he is turned away by all of them. Marius is furious with him and both Louis and Armand can not understand why he would want to return to being a vampire. In all his previous writing Lestat has mentioned his love of humanity and how he himself misses it at times and now he has the chance to do it all again. The only person Lestat can turn to is David Talbot.
Together the two find out more about the Body Thief. They find that James was once part of the Talamasca but his criminal nature had him kicked out. While James was in prison he performed his first body switch and essentially escaped. Unluckily for James and luckily for Lestat and David, James has a stealing problem and it soon becomes easy to follow the trail that James is leaving behind. James boards an ocean liner and makes of show of draining victims of their blood where ever the ship goes including on the ship itself.
It is on the ship that Lestat is able to regain his body with David's help but it's nearing dawn and Lestat has no choice but to flee. When he awakens he finds that both James and David have disappeared. Lestat finds David in Florida and is surprised to find that David suddenly wants the Dark Gift. This helps Lestat realize what has really happened and his kills 'David' effectively killing James as well by crushing 'David's' skull so that James would not be able to escape.
Though the book initially gives a false ending where David lives happily to old age in his new body and Lestat accepts his vampirism with open arms this is not truly the case. Lestat reveals that he has come to terms with his evil side and turns David into a vampire against his will. After this David disappears only to forge an alliance with Louis who is now once again angry with Lestat. The two have realized that neither really needs Lestat, though David says he's not mad at him, and this once again leaves Lestat alone and depressed having lost his chance for redemption.
As a final blow to Lestat's pride, he goes to South America where Gretchen has started life as a missionary. He had promised Gretchen that once he regained his true body he would visit her again and he keeps his promise. Things don't go as planned however and once Gretchen see's Lestat's true nature she goes a little mad. She runs down the pews of the small church and collapses to her knees suddenly bleeding from her hands with the stigmata. She becomes a martyr and Lestat never visits her again.
In the book Lestat adopts a dog named Mojo who becomes the only loyal friend that Lestat ever has.
Through out his mortal life Lestat would try and break away from his family. He feels stifled in his parent's castle and he often feels like the outcast in his family. Once when Lestat had gone to a monastery to learn to read he had enjoyed the experience so much that he decided he wanted to become a priest. His family didn't have the money to send Lestat to a proper school to become a priest, preferably someone in a position of power since that was all that would be fitting for a noble. Lestat's father was furious and his brothers had to literally drag Lestat from the monastery and bring him home. The second time Lestat tried to escape his family he ran away with a troupe of actors that had come to the town he lived in. Lestat loved their face paint, their costumes, and above all their carefree nature. After spending many knights talking with the troupe he decided to sneak out of the village with them. The troupe found him when they were already a days ride out from town and seeing as how Lestat seemed generally ready and willing to learn the ways of the actor they allowed him to stay. While Lestat was with the troupe he fell in love with the lead actress and the stage and he became certain that this was his escape from his family. However two days later, Lestat awoke to an empty inn, the troupe had been staying there and his brothers waiting to take him home once again. This time Lestat chose to stay locked in his room for days on end until his mother Gabrielle came to him and revealed that like Lestat she longed to escape from the family too, but she could not. Gabrielle was suffering from consumption, tuberculosis, and was more than likely going to die in a matter of years regardless. In order to give Lestat a purpose and a renewed sense in life she gave him two mastiff puppies that would quickly grow to be Lestat's new best friends. With the dogs at his side and a new rifle also purchased by his mother, she had a hidden stash of jewels from her dowry that she'd been saving, Lestat learned to hunt and thus became the bread winner of the family.
It was Lestat's role as bread winner that placed him in the eyes of a vampire named Magnus. Wolf's had been killing the villagers livestock and as the local aristocrat it was Lestat's job to find a way to get rid of them. Trusting his own skill and that of his dogs Lestat rode out into the snowy woods to find the wolves. He found and slaughtered the six wolves though the battle was bloody and cost him the lives of his dogs and his horse. During the battle Lestat almost lost his own life, and as Lestat was heading back to the village with the carcass of one of the wolves over his shoulder he felt as if a presence was watching him. It was Magnus that Lestat sensed. At that moment he caught the attention of the oldest known vampire of the time, and this vampire would become obsessed with the blonde haired, gray eyed aristocrat. It would be years later that the fateful night would come back to haunt Lestat when Magnus would claim Lestat as his own.
Though Lestat had escaped with his life and the praise of the village, he flew into a state of depression after the killing of the wolves. He saw death everywhere and there was almost nothing anyone could say to help him out of this deep depression. He could barely stand to look at his mother because all he could see was her imminent death. It wasn't till the villagers presented Lestat with a red cloak and boats lined with the fur of the wolves that Lestat had killed that he started to become more himself again. It was not however the tithe from the villagers that brought him back to his senses. It was a young violinist about his same age--Nicholas de Lefent. Nicholas was a man very similar to Lestat who had gone to Paris to get away from his family and play the violin. Lestat saw the same 'modern' spirit in Nicki, as he fondly calls him, and the two become fast friends. The pair would share everything together and when Gabrielle reveals that she will die soon, so she believes, and only wishes to see Lestat well and happy she begs her son to leave with Nicholas to Paris. The two do so and for a time, though they are both poor, they're happy. They both receive jobs at Renaud's Theater, a small peasant theater, where Lestat starts out helping the actors and actresses in and out of costumes and cleaning up afterwards. One fateful night, when their lead actor is absent, Renaud, the owner, as Lestat to fill in it isn't long after that Lestat has the lead role. Nicholas plays the violin in the orchestra of the theater and after awhile is even given his own solo.
Life however does not stay so sweet for the two comrades. Lestat starts seeing a pale white face in the audience each night he performs. This face looks almost as if it is just a mask and every time Lestat tries to get a better look the face always disappears. He tries to explain his fears to Nicholas but it only worries Nicholas that perhaps Lestat is losing his mind.
Magnus makes himself known to Lestat. He abducts Lestat from his single room apartment, that he shares with Nicholas, and takes Lestat to his tower far in the woods away from Paris. It is here that he makes Lestat a vampire and though Lestat does not wish to die he later says it was against his will. Giving Lestat few words of wisdom save for practical advice, the old vampire commits suicide by sending himself into the flames of a huge bonfire leaving Lestat alone in the world.
Lestat learns quickly and soon finds that Magnus left him with enough gold and coin to keep himself happy for many years. Lestat adapts quickly and learns how to best save and spend his money so that he wont ever run out. Lestat uses a human lawyer, who doesn't mind these late night visits, to make sound investments for himself and begins to spend his money on his friends and family though he doesn't tell them where the money has come from or that he is now a vampire.
While most are content to accept Lestat's money, that horrible night when Lestat was abducted has left such an impression on Nicholas that it's nearing madness. Nicholas alone is the only one who refuses to believe that suddenly Lestat is alright, and his attachment to Lestat will drag Nicholas into an unwilling situation.
Lestat in the meanwhile has been enjoying himself as a vampire. He's discovered the trick to going amid humans and not being seen as something different. He attends the most lavish parties. He 'dines', vampires can not eat or drink anything other than blood, at the most popular cafe's and attends the theater and enters churches at will. Lestat's actions are not however going unnoticed. In the underbelly of Paris a group of vampires called the Children of Darkness have noticed Lestat's blasphemous activity. The Children of Darkness have been around for centuries and believe that they are tools of Satan and can never enter the Places of Light, or those places where humans party and pray. Lestat is breaking all those rules and part of the Children's mission is to eliminate any vampires that act as Lestat would.
In the meantime, Lestat's mother has not passed yet but her condition has seriously deteriorated. She goes to Paris and Nicholas informs Lestat's lawyer that Lestat's mother is here. Lestat can not stop himself from seeing his mother one last time but the evening does not turn out quite as he planned. He turns Gabrielle into a vampire and together they leave her sick room via window and into the night leaving Nicki with yet another empty room and open window. For a time Gabrielle and Lestat wander together in Paris without a hitch but before long the Children of Darkness have had enough of Lestat and now Gabrielle's behavior. They attack the pair and in order to get Lestat and Gabrielle into their lair they abduct Nicholas.
Lestat and Gabrielle allow themselves to be taken to the underground lair of the Children of Darkness and it is here that Lestat meets Armand for the first time. Armand is the leader of the Paris Coven and he tries to force his dogma on Lestat but the blond vampire will have none of it. He rips Armand's beliefs into shreds and in a short amount of time the Paris Coven is completely disbanded. Lestat was also lucky enough to get Nicki back at the cost of the mortal's sanity. Nicholas is also mortally hurt, and against Gabrielle's advice, he turns Nicki into a vampire. Each person excepts the dark gift differently and for Nicholas it only leads him into further madness, but he is not the only one suffering.
When Lestat initially gained his wealth he baught Renaud's theater and after the Children of Darkness started plaguing him he sent Renaud and the old cast away. Soon after the Paris Coven was disbanded Lestat meets four vampires from the coven. They tell Lestat that they have no where to go and that Armand has gone mad and it burning the other members of the coven. Lestat essentially tells them that it's their problem and he will not be their leader like they want. Instead he gives them Renaud's theater to do with as they wish. Armand is also attracted to the theater and after agreeing not to kill these remaining vampires helps manage the theater that will later be known as the Theatre des Vampires.
Gabrielle in the meanwhile has grown increasingly restless of Paris and longs to travel. While Lestat is drawn to the more human surroundings of Earth, Gabrielle longs to explore the forbidden wilderness where man has not tread. By this time however, Lestat has become aware of a vampire named Marius thanks to memories he saw in Armand's mind. Marius is one of the Children of the Millennium, a select group of Vampires that have lived through the millennium. He was Armand's creator and supposedly dead, but Lestat refuses to believe this. He wishes to find Marius, but there is the problem of Nicki who is in no condition to leave with them as his mind is going. Extracting a promise from Armand that he will not hurt Nicholas, Lestat leaves his friend with the Theater and heads out with Gabrielle across the world.
As the pair travels Lestat leaves messages for Marius--calling out to him. He mainly talks about his trip how he longs to find Marius and sometimes he simply writes Marius's name. This is Lestat's first steps at breaking Vampire tradition. It is an unspoken law among Vampires that none should write the names of another in places where human's might find it, but Lestat does not care. Each destination that Lestat and Gabrielle visits drives the two further and further apart. Lestat longs for his mother to remain with him in civilization, but Gabrielle wishes for Lestat to travel into the untouched parts of the world with her. While in Egypt the pair finally separates for good. She leaves Lestat not to be seen again for nearly two centuries. It is also in Egypt that Lestat learns of Nicki's suicide into the fire, and receives his violin. Oddly enough within all this grief it is in Egypt that Lestat finally meets Marius.
There are three ways a vampire can part from the world of the living. The first is to go into the earth, burying themselves deep down where the suns rays can not get to them and allowing their bodies to starve till they can no longer move. The second is to go into the light of the sun, and the third is to burn themselves in a fire and have their ashes scattered. In Egypt, grieving the loss of his mother and Nicki, Lestat goes into the earth for the first time. It is in response to Marius's call that Lestat pulls himself from the sandy ground and begins a short apprenticeship with Marius.
Marius takes Lestat to his own private island near Greece where Lestat learns of Those Who Must Be Kept. Lestat also learns that Marius was Armand's creature and he finds it hard to believe that this open-minded individual was the 'father' of Armand the leader of a backwards thinking coven. Marius explains what happened to Lestat and takes him to see Those Who Must Be Kept--The mother and father of the vampire race. Those Who Must Be Kept are also named Akasha and Enkil who were once King and Queen of Egypt. They must be kept because if any harm falls to them the entire vampire race could be exterminated. Over the millennium it seems as if the two have become incapable of taking care of themselves. They sit as still as marble on their thrones though Marius swears he was sometimes seen them move.
Lestat becomes entranced with these beings and partially horrified of them. Would this too be his fate if Lestat were to survive for that long? Lestat doesn't have the answer to this question but his curiosity greatly over rides his fear. Taking Nicki's violin he goes down to the chamber of Those Who Must Be Kept while Marius is away and plays for them. Partially awoken by Lestat's music, Akasha moves towards Lestat and allows the blond-haired vampire to take her vein much to the anger of Enkil. Enkil rips Lestat from Akasha and nearly kills him and would have if Marius hadn't returned in time to stop him. Sadly for Lestat this is the last he will see of Marius for a time as he is banished from the island for Lestat's safety.
Lestat continues to travel on his own for a short duration but during the French Revolution Lestat's brothers are killed leaving his father alone and blind in Lestat's childhood home. Though Lestat had never been particularly fond of or close to his father this knowledge does not sit well with Lestat. Lestat returns to his father's home to take care of him and decides that America, more specifically New Orleans, is the best place for them both.
Here Lestat meets Louis de Point du Lac, a young creole who Lestat falls in love with mostly because Louis reminds Lestat of Nicki. He turns Louis into a vampire and the pair stay together for a century, not without some turbulence, with their 'daughter' Claudia. It is an irony that the family Lestat tried to make kills him or at least attempts to. The whole story is best told from Louis's point of view in Interview with the Vampire. The short of it is that Louis resents Lestat for turning him into a vampire and once their daughter Claudia is made she learns to resent him too as Lestat will not give either of them the answers to their questions about why they exist and who made them. They presume that Lestat doesn't know the answers either and that he is a liar for making it seem as if he is the only vampire who can tell them otherwise.
Claudia fed up with Lestat's lies and angry with him for turning her into an eternal doll poisons a pair of a boys with opium and laudanum and gives them to Lestat as a 'gift'. Lestat unknowingly accepts the gift and as the drugs start to take affect in his own body through the boys blood Claudia slices his throat bleeding him essentially dry. Louise and Claudia take Lestat's body out to the swamp and dump him into the brackish waters.
Had Lestat been a weaker vampire he may have died, but the blood in his veins was already too strong, and through his own strength of will and feeding on the creatures of the swamp he goes back to the apartment where he'd lived with Claudia and Louise. He only wishes to speak with the pair but he is a ghastly sight covered in scars and near skeletal. He's also angry and his words seem less then kind. In the struggle to escape Louis sets fire to the apartment and 'traps' Lestat inside while he and Claudia flee to travel Europe to find the answers to their own existence.
It is perhaps a miracle and Lestat's own luck that he survives the fire and follows Louis and Claudia to Europe and Paris. While in the French city Lestat meets Armand for the first time since he left Renaud's old theater to the older vampire. In the theater Armand has created another large coven of vampires though he claims he is not truly their leader.
Lestat asks for Armand's help but Armand is still angry with Lestat for breaking apart his faith. In the Vampire Lestat it is shown that Armand kills Claudia both in response to vampire law, no vampire may kill another, and his own selfish reasons. It is revealed later in Armand's own book that this wasn't the case, but as far as Lestat knows Claudia was killed because of his own doings. Armand meets Lestat in the tower where Lestat was staying and after revealing that Armand is in fact still mad at Lestat and refuses to further help Lestat by giving him his blood he pushes Lestat from the window wounding the blond even further.
The time in between Lestat's return to New Orleans and his revival are fuzzy because Lestat's memory isn't clear on all the events either. At some point Lestat returns to the earth for a second time as the modern world becomes too much for the blonde to bear.
It wasn't until the 1980s when a young just-starting rock group unknowingly awakens Lestat from his deep slumber. Once again using the creatures of the earth to slowly regain his strength he returns to the living. This time the modern world entrances Lestat. He rides around on Harleys wearing thick leather with metal studs listening to the classical artists blaring in his headphones.
Lestat soon returned to the band and revealed to them that he was the Vampire Lestat. They believe he's just pretending to be the character in a book titled Interview with the Vampire in which Louis tells his tale. The Vampire Lestat is a direct response to Louis's book so that Louis can learn the truth and to reveal himself to the world. He goes a step further and makes the young rock band which is made of three mortals, Alex, Larry and Tough Cookie, and turns them into true rock stars with the money he has had since he was first created. Once again Lestat was breaking the rules. He literally calls out the vampires of the world to come out and show themselves and in his music he even mentions Those Who Must Be Kept. The vampire community was enraged as in this modern time it was essential that they keep themselves hidden.
Prior to the concert Louis reveals himself to Lestat warning him that the other vampires plan to kill him. Louis tries to convince Lestat to forget the whole idea but to no avail. Lestat's plan works and on the night of their first major concert vampires attack Lestat and Louis as they're leaving the concert. Lestat urges his mortal companions to flee to his compound where they will be safe while he and Louis head towards their own car. The pair almost doesn't make it and though Lestat wishes to stay and fight Louis convinces him otherwise. Lestat's chauffeur drives the pair off only to reveal themselves as Gabrielle who has also come back to try and keep Lestat safe from his foolishness.
The whole time Lestat, Louis, and Gabrielle are fleeing Lestat is constantly throwing taunts out the car window at the pursing vampires. Their car is run off the road and though Lestat and Gabrielle jump from the car in time to safety Louis is still inside when the car hits the cliff side and bursts into flame. Lestat is now livid and turns back to slaughter the vampires who killed his Louis only to find that as he's advancing on them the pursing vampires burst into flames. He has no time to ponder this phenomena as he finds out that Louis is in fact alright if not a bit singed. With their urging the trio heads back to Lestat's compound. There's no time to truly discuss the nights events and Louis and Gabrielle head off into the woods to find a patch of earth to sleep in for the night. Lestat heads down to his hidden cellar where his coffin lies. He however never gets a chance to use it as he is abducted by an unseen force.
This marks the end of The Vampire Lestat and leads into The Queen of the Damned.
((Here is where the story loses focus on Lestat as The Queen of the Damned is meant to focus on the vampires back story as a whole and less on Lestat)).
In this book it is revealed that Lestat's abductor is in fact Akasha. Lestat's music has awoken her yet again and she has risen, killing Enkil, and nearly killing Maurius as she escaped. She is now the only connection the vampires have to remaining on this world and if anything were to happen to her all would perish. She is also the one who made the vampires that had been pursuing Lestat burst into flames as well as other vampires around the world. It is Akasha's personal plan to take over the world and become Queen yet again.
She takes Lestat with her around the world to various places where she urges the women there to kill the men that have oppressed them though this is not always the truth, and it seems Akasha has some control over human minds as well at least as far as influence goes. Lestat is horrified by this needless bloodshed as he still believes strongly in humanity. There is nothing he can say however and eventually the pair make their way back to California.
Other vampires that are already known to Lestat, Marius, Louis, Armand, and Gabrielle, are waiting with Maharet one of the very first opposers to Akasha's brand of evil. Akasha is killed and her heart and brain are eaten by Maharet's twin Mekare who now becomes the knew Queen of the Damned so that the vampire race may live on.
This is essentially the end of The Queen of the Damned.
In The Tale of the Body Thief Lestat has become depressed because of his vampiric nature. He's tried to limit his drinking to only criminals but occasionally he still takes the blood of an 'innocent' unable to help himself. He also starts to suffer nightmares concerning Claudia's death as if he's being haunted by her.
The vampires that were there for Akasha's death had formed a temporary coven, but as is the vampire nature the coven broke up leaving Lestat alone and lonely yet again. Lestat's only real friend is an aging gentleman by the name of David Talbot who is the head of the Talamasca, an organization that keeps track of supernatural beings. Lestat has constantly tried to get David to accept the Dark Gift of vampirism but to no avail. As Lestat grows increasingly more depressed he attempts suicide by flying to the Gobi Desert at dawn when he wont be able to escape. Surprisingly enough Lestat doesn't die though he is severely hurt. Lestat heads to David's home in England to recuperate after his attempt at suicide.
After Lestat has healed he hears from a man by the name of Raglan James. This man claims to have the ability to switch bodies and for a certain sum offers to switch bodies with Lestat but only for a day, so that Lestat can cure his depression and remember what it was like to be human. Lestat readily agrees to this against the better advice from David. Sadly for Lestat, James has no intention of giving Lestat's body back to him.
On the first night that Lestat is left alone as a human he relearns how hard it is to be mortal. He no longer has access to his money which is now in the hands of James. He wanders around the city hoping to find food and is even mistaken for a beggar. Lestat has also forgotten how to take care of his body and in the cold winter he catches pneumonia and nearly dies. A young nun named Gretchen rescues Lestat and nurses him back to health. Lestat tries to explain to Gretchen who he is and what has happened to him but Gretchen only things he's delirious and never truly believes him. Against the odds the two fall in love and even have a short mortal love affair before Gretchen convinces Lestat that they must both move on. With a heavy heart Lestat does so and goes in search of his body and the body thief James.
Along the way Lestat tries to garner help from his vampire friends but he is turned away by all of them. Marius is furious with him and both Louis and Armand can not understand why he would want to return to being a vampire. In all his previous writing Lestat has mentioned his love of humanity and how he himself misses it at times and now he has the chance to do it all again. The only person Lestat can turn to is David Talbot.
Together the two find out more about the Body Thief. They find that James was once part of the Talamasca but his criminal nature had him kicked out. While James was in prison he performed his first body switch and essentially escaped. Unluckily for James and luckily for Lestat and David, James has a stealing problem and it soon becomes easy to follow the trail that James is leaving behind. James boards an ocean liner and makes of show of draining victims of their blood where ever the ship goes including on the ship itself.
It is on the ship that Lestat is able to regain his body with David's help but it's nearing dawn and Lestat has no choice but to flee. When he awakens he finds that both James and David have disappeared. Lestat finds David in Florida and is surprised to find that David suddenly wants the Dark Gift. This helps Lestat realize what has really happened and his kills 'David' effectively killing James as well by crushing 'David's' skull so that James would not be able to escape.
Though the book initially gives a false ending where David lives happily to old age in his new body and Lestat accepts his vampirism with open arms this is not truly the case. Lestat reveals that he has come to terms with his evil side and turns David into a vampire against his will. After this David disappears only to forge an alliance with Louis who is now once again angry with Lestat. The two have realized that neither really needs Lestat, though David says he's not mad at him, and this once again leaves Lestat alone and depressed having lost his chance for redemption.
As a final blow to Lestat's pride, he goes to South America where Gretchen has started life as a missionary. He had promised Gretchen that once he regained his true body he would visit her again and he keeps his promise. Things don't go as planned however and once Gretchen see's Lestat's true nature she goes a little mad. She runs down the pews of the small church and collapses to her knees suddenly bleeding from her hands with the stigmata. She becomes a martyr and Lestat never visits her again.
In the book Lestat adopts a dog named Mojo who becomes the only loyal friend that Lestat ever has.