by Amy Symilton
Several weeks after discovering the existence of the Siren behind the myth, Alice receives a letter from Phoenix under the care of Roy Kivan. Opening the letter, Roy told her of how he found a forgotten dusty old book in a basement written in a language that he couldn't understand and sent the book in a bag brought by the Phoenix to her hoping that she could understand the language and its writing style. With curious intent, Alice took the book and open it. Shocked by the language and format that she has never seen before, she takes a closer look at the title of the book spelled Vathek. Vathek is a novel written by William Beckford and the second gothic novel of the 18th century after Walpole's Castle of Otranto that mark the beginning of the distinguishable classic gothic genre which became the inspiration of the present gothic story. This story was written under Alice's exploration along with Vine of what happened within the story as she tried to save Vathek from his envisioned path of damnation.
