Armand was born during the early 15th century in a village on the Russian steppes. When he was about 10 years old, Armand was abducted by the Tartars ("the Horsemen") and sold in a slave market in Constantinople to a Venetian brothel owner. The auburn-haired child spent miserable years (months?) in the brothel, at times refusing to eat. One day, a pale-faced man in red velvet buys Armand and takes him away from the misery. The man is Marius.
Marius is at the time living among humans as a Renaissance painter. Armand enjoys his beloved master's love and longs to understand his master's secret. They live 2, 3 years in such happiness (during which time the legendary piece The Temptation of Amadeo is painted), when finally, weakened by his love, Marius takes Armand into Darkness. Their peace does not last long, for not 6 months after, the Roman coven of the Children of Darkness attack Marius and the manor, hungry to obtain the knowledge about Those Who Must Be Kept. The last Armand sees before being whisked away by the Children of Darkness is the vision of Marius engulfed in flames.
Armand quickly adapts to his new 'family,' learning the rules from Santino, coven leader. He believes Marius to be dead, even though he has dreams of Marius escaping the fire alive, and quietly represses all hope and thoughts of his beloved master. As the dark and empty years pass, Armand's powers gradually increase until he perfects the art of drawing to him only those humans who truly desire to die, so that he may feed upon them. During these years, Armand makes it a point not to create a single fledgling.
Then, one day in the 18th century, a young vampire by the name of Lestat de Lioncourt and his mother/daughter Gabrielle appears before Armand. Armand, by that time an established leader of the Paris coven of the Children of Darkness (very possibly the last one in existence), is overcome with fear: Lestat reminds him of Marius from 4 centuries past. Just as he was attacked by the Children of Darkness 400 years ago, this time Armand leads his coven into battle with Lestat.
Lestat, however, does not capitulate to Armand. Somewhere deep down in Armand, there was a child waiting to be taken by the hand and lead to a brighter world, just as Marius had done so long ago. Perhaps because of this, after being defeated by Lestat, Armand looks to him as a new teacher. Lestat, however, will have none of him, a rejection which deeply wounds Armand's pride.
At a loss for direction, Armand allows himself to be convinced by Gabrielle and Lestat to start a new life in Paris, this time as coven leader of the Theatre des vampires. Nicki is thrown into the bargain, and Armand is left to watch over the mad violinist that Lestat loves.
Another century passes, when Louis de Pointe du Lac and Claudia arrive in Paris. Deeply intrigued by the melancholic Louis, Armand invites the pair to the theater, secretly vowing to make Louis his lover. The attraction is mutual, as each seek from the other knowledge which they crave. Claudia, however, becomes the obstacle. As luck would have it, a wounded and weak Lestat reappears before Armand, not aware that his fledglings are in town, and tells Armand of what had befallen him in New Orleans. Lestat insists that Claudia is solely to blame, which proves to be very convenient for Armand, for it provides the vampires of the theater the perfect excuse to inflict punishment upon one of the 'outlaws' whom they dislike and mistrust. Although making sure that no harm would come to Louis, Armand does nothing to stop the coven vampires from executing Claudia and the unfortunate Madeleine.
Armand claims that he was powerless to stop the vampires. Louis is not taken in by Armand's lies, but even in his rage and pain, he still drawn to Armand and so he tells the coven leader to stay away from the theater. Understanding the warning, Armand this time stands back and lets Louis exact his revenge on the theater vampires. Before the two of them then leave Paris to go on a journey through Europe, Armand has one more matter to take care of: Lestat. He takes the broken Lestat and shoves him off of Magnus's tower, thereby completing his revenge on the vampire who would not love him.
Armand and Louis eventually cross the Atlantic and arrive in New Orleans. Louis goes to see Lestat, but upon returning from the visit, tells Armand that he no longer feels anything towards Lestat, not even anger or hate. Disillusioned by the self-professed 'emotionless' Louis, Armand leaves.
Yet another century passes. Armand encounters Daniel Molloy, the interviewer from Interview with the Vampire, and decides that he is the perfect one from whom to learn about the present age. After playing cat and mouse with poor Daniel, Armand finally works the Dark Trick on the exhausted interviewer because he is suddenly afraid for Daniel's life with the awakening of Akasha.
1985 is a big year for Armand in that he also is reunited, after 500 years, with his beloved master, Marius. The meeting is quiet but emotionally charged, filled with love and sadness that neither of them could put into words. The meeting has an overall tinge of resignment.
After Akasha's death, the remaining vampires gather for a while on Armand's Night Island in Miami. The vampires need a quiet resting period for a while after the entire fiasco, and Armand is seen peacefully playing chess with Khayman.
...And on to Memnoch... (I can't even remember whether Armand appeared in TOBD...--I've been informed that he does not appear, although he is mentioned. Thanks)
rmand's Tale
