The Blood of Roses by Tanith Lee
"The Blood of Roses" is a complex fantasy novel by Tanith Lee that unfolds in five interwoven sections, exploring themes of sacrifice, resurrection, and the intersection of paganism and Christianity. The narrative begins with Mechail Kohrlen, a hunchbacked heir to a rural estate who, after enduring familial betrayal and a violent death, rises again as a vampire-like being. The story introduces key characters, including Anjelen, a warrior priest who harbors a dark secret, and Jasha, a mysterious girl who becomes intertwined with Mechail's fate.
As the plot progresses, the novel delves into the histories of its characters, including Mechail's mother, Anillia, who is resurrected after her bones are stolen, and Anjelen's own past as a sacrificial victim of forest gods. The narrative illustrates a decline from the opulence of the Christerium, once a stronghold of the Knights of God, to a haunting ruin, reflecting the collapse of their ideals and practices. The climax sees Jasha revealing her identity and confronting Anjelen, leading to a dramatic resolution where Mechail and his mother escape their cursed existences.
Ultimately, the story concludes with a cyclical return, as a transformed dwarf assumes Mechail's identity, perpetuating a legacy of human sacrifice. "The Blood of Roses" weaves together elements of horror, myth, and moral complexity, inviting readers to contemplate the nature of power, redemption, and the enduring impact of one's choices.
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The Blood of Roses
First published: 1990
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Fantasy—dystopia
Time of work: Undefined
Locale: An agrarian land divided into small kingdoms and church holdings
The Plot
Tanith Lee’s novel is a sprawling work in five sections. The first deals with Mechail Kohrlen, heir to a rural estate. He is hunchbacked and antisocial. His father dotes on Mechail’s handsome brother. Mechail completes a test of manhood—a human sacrifice to the forest gods—but his brother mocks him, later hiring soldiers from a rival estate to murder Mechail. Mechail rises from the dead, kills his brother, and flees to the forest.
Rumors of vampirism bring Anjelen, a warrior priest, to the area. He finds Mechail comatose and takes him to the Christerium, headquarters of the Knights of God. On the way, Jasha, a strange homeless girl, joins their ret-inue to care for Mechail. She feeds him gruel mixed with blood. At the Christerium, Jasha goes to the wom-en’s quarters and Mechail becomes Anjelen’s protégé. Mechail discovers that Anjelen is truly a vampire who has turned Mechail into a demon like himself. Jasha, meanwhile, is accused of witchcraft and burned at the stake. She is resurrected, and she and Mechail flee the Christerium and go separate ways.
The second section of the novel deals with Mechail’s mother. Anillia, the child of a city lord, was lost in the woods as a toddler. Anjelen found her and brainwashed her into being his servant. At the age of fifteen, she wed Kolris Kohrlen. She died after giving birth to Mechail. Anjelen steals her bones and resurrects his servant. After she rises, she vows that Anjelen will never possess her son.
The third section reveals Anjelen’s past. He was sacrificed to the forest gods as a boy, but the ritual was interrupted when Christians cut down the sacred tree where his body hung. The stump absorbed his spirit. He returned as the embodiment of the sacred pagan tree as well as Jesus Christ. The story then jumps to the present, where Anjelen has become head of the Knights of God. He introduces a blood-drinking rite, modeled on the Last Supper, to a select group of warrior priests. Word gets out when townspeople are found dead and bloodless, and the Knights are disbanded.
The fourth section finds the once-opulent Christerium a ruin. Only a handful of elderly Knights remain, and gypsies haunt the outer walls. A young priest, Eujasius, and a dwarf join the gypsies sheltering there. Anjelen appears to conduct his bloody sacrament, but Eujasius suddenly reveals himself as Jasha. She kills Anjelen, and the dwarf stays with the gypsies. Oddly, he grows tall; he was mute but becomes articulate. Mechail meets Jasha and his mother, and together they go to the woods. Mechail and Anillia shed their unwanted immortality and escape Anjelen forever as they worship another sacred tree. Jasha returns to her original home, the sea.
The fifth section brings the novel full circle. The dwarf transforms into a handsome, wealthy youth resembling Mechail. Calling himself Mechailus, he returns to the Kohrlen estate and takes control. The tradition of human sacrifice resumes. Mechailus (actually Mechail in a new body) is content and constantly renewed by a diet of human blood.