"When Vancha March met with his end at the ripe old age of 837, killed by a pair of tigers (but only after he'd killed four other tigers in their pack), this world lost its bravest, strongest, fastest, smartest and handsomest Vampire Prince. Even in death may his hair gleam triumphantly greenly!!!"

That obituary for Sire March was written BY Vancha March, one night late in the halls of Vampire Mountain, after a few too many mugs of ale, when he was imagining how he might go. He scribbled it on a slate, after much trial and error (it's hard to hold a slate straight when your head is spinning as much as his was), and having spent a lot of time mulling over whether or not to also add "the humblest" to his description of himself, ultimately deciding, even in his sluggish stupor, that THAT might be pushing things a bit too far. :-)

Accompanying the obituary, which won't be discovered for another few thousand years (it was brought to my attention today by Mr Tiny, for whom the millennia are nothing but an amusing charade), were four drawings, accredited by Sire March to The Vancha March Fan Club. Did such a club of Vancha admirers truly exist, or did the green-haired Prince pay young human artists to sketch him at his finest, to bolster his high opinion of himself? Being a neutral scholar, it's not my job to speculate, merely to present both possibilities and leave it to your good selves to decide.

Luckily for posterity, Vancha also jotted down the names of the artists (perhaps so that we didn't think that he had drawn them himself). The first is by An. The second (in black and white, with a note on the back stating "Buff Vancha! This is how EVERY painting of me should look!") is by Renee. The third is by Rororou. And the fourth, in which the artist imagines a scene where Vancha saves his brother Gannen Harst's life, is by Cal. To paraphrase the sage Sire March -- Even in death may they all sketch triumphantly!!!

p.s. As well as recommending these drawings, Sire March also recommends the September issue of the Shanville Monthly newsletter, for all the latest and greatest Darren Shan news items and updates! :-) https://darrenshan.com/news/shanville-monthly