Twelve Months to Midnight

Pervasive Vampire Myth #4: They cannot cross running water. This is not true. They can cross running water, and can actually do it so fast they don’t sink. The origin of this myth is complicated, but it comes down to their territorial nature. Their very territorial nature. There is no collective noun for a group of vampires, but ‘Bloodbath’ is the top-runner for the post. They are fiercely individualistic and have very strictly defined territories. Historically, these territories have been marked by rivers, so if you were being pursued by a vampire, crossing a river might take you into another’s territory, if you were lucky. The relationships between different vampires are governed by a very old and very strict set of protocols. No vampire who does not want to start a war will enter another’s territory without an invitation from their counterpart. A misunderstanding based on this protocol has spawned Pervasive Vampire Myth #2, which is also very very not true. Park Life Sunday, March ...

And so things went for almost a century. Sir Arthur ran the Dublin Office of Special Investigators, allegedly under the auspices and jurisdiction of the Crown, but was independent in all practical terms. He was fair in his judgments and efficient in his operations and most importantly discreet, so the powers-that-be were happy to let him run things in his own way. During this time, locals that knew of the department’s existence often referred to it as “The Fifth Court”. The matter of Irish Independence caused some trepidation among everyone involved. The British government at the time was hesitant to lose such a long-serving public servant, but unsure of the consequences of recalling him to London, while the newly-formed Irish government was reluctant to leave someone they considered an English aristocrat in charge of such a secretive department in the heart of the city; especially a government department that was not mentioned anywhere in their newly-written constitution. In December...