The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide (29 page)

T
he Denali coven was originally founded by Sasha, who was responsible for transforming Tanya, Kate, and Irina into vampires. They considered Sasha their mother and one another sisters. After Sasha was executed by the Volturi for creating an immortal child, Vasilii, Tanya assumed leadership of the coven. The sisters often amused themselves by romancing local human men. Such trysts usually ended in a meal; their lovers never survived long. After a few centuries, the sisters began to regret their actions. They felt real affection for some of these men, and losing them was depressing. They tried to spare the men they associated with while hunting other humans, but this didn’t work; the human blood was too hard to resist in such close proximity,
and eventually they would slip up. The longer one of them spent with a man, the more devastating it was when the man died. Finally Tanya devised a plan to give up human blood altogether. She had a similar experience in the woods as Carlisle did with his first vampire meal: She realized that unappetizing animal blood could quench her thirst. Her sisters decided to follow her example, and after many years of practice, they developed self-control to rival Carlisle’s.

“D
ENALI WAS WHERE THE ONE OTHER BAND OF UNIQUE VAMPIRES
—
GOOD ONES LIKE THE
C
ULLENS
—
LIVED
.”

—Bella (
New Moon
, Chapter 3)

Around the time that Tanya and her sisters became comfortably settled into their “vegetarian” lifestyle, they met Carmen and Eleazar. The newcomers were very taken with the Denali coven’s compassionate choice. Tanya invited them to stay and try out the “vegetarian” life. Both parties enjoyed one another’s company so much that they made the situation permanent.

The coven was devastated by Irina’s execution—again at the hands of the Volturi. At this difficult time they were joined by the nomad Garrett, who had formed an attachment with Kate.

C
ARMEN

They adopted the sisters’ philosophy and were welcomed into the coven.

When Carmen fell in love with Eleazar, he was a member of the Volturi. Carmen had no talent to interest the Volturi, so she was not invited to join. For a while Eleazar worked for the Volturi while living with Carmen, but he felt the strain between his two worlds. Carmen was troubled by the violence of Eleazar’s everyday life. Eventually he asked for and was granted permission to leave. Carmen and Eleazar spent several years traveling together and living as traditional vampires. But they sought a more peaceful existence and were pleased to meet the Denali sisters, who lived a “vegetarian” lifestyle. They adopted the sisters’ philosophy and were welcomed into the coven.

E
LEAZAR

Eleazar was once a member of the Volturi guard. A gentle person by nature, he wasn’t entirely happy with their methods, but he felt he was serving the greater good by working with those who would uphold the laws he respected.

After Eleazar fell in love with Carmen, he asked Aro’s permission to leave the Volturi, knowing that Carmen was not happy with his involvement. Aro didn’t like the idea but nonetheless gave his blessing. He felt there was a good chance that Eleazar would come back to the Volturi if needed, and he did not want to destroy a talent that he had no backup for. The Volturi were not actively recruiting as they had before the acquisition of the twins, but the
future was never certain, and Aro might need Eleazar again.

Following his departure from the Volturi guard, Eleazar, together with Carmen, sought a more compassionate lifestyle. They were elated upon discovering the Denali sisters and readily adopted the “vegetarian” philosophy.

G
ARRETT

Garrett was transformed during the American Revolutionary War. A hotheaded patriot who willingly fought for the colonies’ right to self-govern, he was a true believer in the American dream. His transformation occurred by accident in the aftermath of a battle.

Local vampires took advantage of the war’s massive death toll to feast frequently. Garrett was with an isolated group of ten soldiers when a vampire attacked them, knocking Garrett unconscious at the beginning of the attack. The vampire drained the other nine soldiers. By the time he came to Garrett, he was so sated that he didn’t drink much of Garrett’s blood. Given the blow to Garrett’s head, the vampire didn’t expect the soldier to survive. Creating another vampire was not his intent.

After the transformation was complete, Garrett’s quest to understand what had happened to him turned into a permanent characteristic. He is always curious and willing to investigate a mystery.