Carpe Jugulum
Chapters - Terry Pratchett
Section: The Naming Invitation
The Nac Mac Feegle, a clan of tiny blue-skinned warriors, are driven from their homeland by vampires and arrive in Lancre. A coach carrying the vampire family de Magpyr rattles across the moors towards the kingdom. King Verence II has invited the vampires to the naming ceremony of his and Magrat's new baby daughter, having sent invitations to all neighbouring rulers as a diplomatic gesture. The Quite Reverend Mightily Oats, a young and deeply uncertain priest of Om, arrives in Lancre to perform the ceremony. Oats is plagued by doubt, carrying a holy book full of contradictions and a faith built more on anxiety than conviction. He struggles to find his way in the mountain kingdom. Meanwhile, Granny Weatherwax is conspicuous by her absence - she was not invited to the naming, a slight that cuts deep. Nanny Ogg and Agnes Nitt prepare for the ceremony while worrying about Granny.
On page: Esmerelda Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg, Magrat Garlick, Agnes Nitt, Verence II, Hodgesaargh, Shawn Ogg, Casanunda, Mightily Oats, Count de Magpyr, The Countess de Magpyr, Lacrimosa de Magpyr
Section: The Vampires Take Lancre
The de Magpyr family arrives at the castle for the naming ceremony: the Count, his wife the Countess, their son Vlad, and their daughter Lacrimosa. These are modern vampires who have trained themselves to overcome the traditional weaknesses - they can tolerate garlic, holy symbols, sunlight, and even the sight of religious icons. The Count considers the old-fashioned vampires with their coffins and aversions to be embarrassing relics. At the naming ceremony, the Count takes control of the minds of most of Lancre's population through mass hypnosis. Granny Weatherwax arrives uninvited but is apparently bitten by Vlad and falls under the vampires' power. Nanny Ogg is horrified. Agnes Nitt, protected by her dual personality - Perdita resists the vampiric influence while Agnes succumbs - escapes with Nanny and Oats. The vampires take over Lancre castle and the kingdom.
On page: Esmerelda Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg, Agnes Nitt, Hodgesaargh, Shawn Ogg, Mightily Oats, Count de Magpyr, The Countess de Magpyr, Vlad de Magpyr, Lacrimosa de Magpyr, Esmerelda Margaret Note-Spelling of Lancre
Section: Flight Into the Mountains
Nanny Ogg, Agnes, and Oats flee into the mountains to regroup. The vampires hunt them. Vlad de Magpyr is particularly interested in Agnes, finding her dual personality fascinating. Nanny realises that Granny Weatherwax's apparent defeat may not be what it seems - Granny has been bitten, but she is also the most strong-willed person Nanny has ever known. Agnes and Oats argue about faith and belief; Oats's uncertainty about Om mirrors Agnes's own divided nature. They encounter the Nac Mac Feegle, the tiny blue warriors who are immune to vampire influence (being too drunk and violent to hypnotise). Igor, the de Magpyrs' servant, quietly undermines his masters - he disapproves of the new-style vampires and misses the old ways. Magrat, trapped in the castle with her baby, begins planning her own resistance.
On page: Esmerelda Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg, Magrat Garlick, Agnes Nitt, Magpyrs' Igor, Mightily Oats, Count de Magpyr, The Countess de Magpyr, Vlad de Magpyr, Lacrimosa de Magpyr, Esmerelda Margaret Note-Spelling of Lancre
Section: Granny Bites Back
Granny Weatherwax, apparently under vampire control, behaves strangely - she helps the vampires but makes odd comments and small, seemingly insignificant gestures. Oats travels with Granny through the mountains, realising that something is not right about her vampiric transformation. The truth begins to emerge: when the vampire bit Granny, she bit back. Not physically, but mentally - she has been feeding her own blood, her own identity, her own iron will, into the vampire connection. She is not becoming a vampire; the vampires are becoming a little bit Granny Weatherwax. Meanwhile, the traditional weaknesses that the de Magpyrs trained themselves to overcome begin reasserting themselves - the garlic starts to sting again, the holy symbols begin to burn. Magrat escapes the castle with her baby, showing the same warrior-queen determination she displayed against the elves.
On page: Esmerelda Weatherwax, Magrat Garlick, Mightily Oats, Count de Magpyr, The Countess de Magpyr, Vlad de Magpyr, Lacrimosa de Magpyr, Esmerelda Margaret Note-Spelling of Lancre
Section: Oats Finds His Faith
The climax approaches. Granny Weatherwax fully reveals her gambit: she allowed herself to be bitten because she knew her will was stronger than any vampire's hunger. Through the blood connection, she has been systematically destroying the de Magpyrs' carefully trained resistances. The Count, who prided himself on overcoming every traditional vampire weakness, finds them all flooding back at once. Garlic burns. Holy water scalds. Sunlight threatens. Oats, forced to confront his own faith by Granny's unflinching certainty, discovers genuine belief in the furnace of crisis. He holds up his holy turtle symbol and, for the first time in his life, truly believes in what it represents - and the symbol blazes with real divine light, burning the vampires. The Nac Mac Feegle charge into battle with characteristic ferocity.
On page: Esmerelda Weatherwax, Hodgesaargh, Shawn Ogg, Mightily Oats, Count de Magpyr, The Countess de Magpyr, Vlad de Magpyr, Lacrimosa de Magpyr, Esmerelda Margaret Note-Spelling of Lancre
Section: Driven Back to Uberwald
The de Magpyr family is defeated. The Count and his family flee back to their castle in Uberwald, where the old-fashioned vampire traditions they so despised turn out to be their salvation - Igor has kept the old coffins and the traditional protections in place. They will survive, but diminished, their modern pretensions stripped away. Granny Weatherwax recovers from the ordeal, weakened but triumphant. The experience has cost her - she came closer to losing herself than she will ever admit. Oats departs Lancre with a genuine faith forged in fire, intending to do missionary work in the darkest parts of the Disc. The coven is complete again: Granny, Nanny, and Agnes. The baby is properly named. Igor quietly transfers his loyalty to more deserving employers. The kingdom of Lancre settles back to normal, its witches watchful as ever.
On page: Esmerelda Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg, Agnes Nitt, Magpyrs' Igor, Hodgesaargh, Shawn Ogg, Mightily Oats, Count de Magpyr, The Countess de Magpyr, Vlad de Magpyr, Lacrimosa de Magpyr, The Old Count Magpyr, Esmerelda Margaret Note-Spelling of Lancre