Sareena (16th century; barmaid at the Broken Mast; Zarathon character)

Identity/Class: Human (see comments);
16^th century;
citizen of unidentifed nation (possibly the kingdom formerly ruled by Jarand, and possibly later by Zarathon)

Base of Operations: Unrevealed (she presumably -- barring supernatural circumstances -- perished within at least several decades of her encounter with Zarathon);
last seen active within the Broken Mast, in the seaside town of Krindrel

Powers/Abilities: Sareena was an attractive young woman, experienced as a bartender in serving drinks, providing conversation, and listening to those who visited the Broken Mast tavern.

She learned a lot by listening the stories of most who passed through the her seaside town.

Height: Unrevealed (approximately 5'6"; she seemed at least average height compared to Zarathon; people were an inch or two smaller on average in the 16th century )
Weight: Unrevealed (approximately 130 lbs.)
Eyes: Unrevealed (black and white comic)
Hair: Blonde

History:
sareena-16thc-broken_mast-zarathon

(Vampire Tales I#10 (fb) - BTS / Vampires: The Marvel Undead: Vampires Unabridged Appendix) - Circa the 16^th century, Sareena, was the barmaid at the Broken Mast tavern, and she spoke with every "man who ever put a foot to heaving plank" at one point or another, and she traded secrets with them all, including those of the House of Denied Pleasure. She heard that the house held more than denied delights, and that it held death by pleasure so intense it sucked a man dry.

Jarand Vosburg, king of the unidentified land presumably including Krindrel (see comments), was driven by lust to enter the House of Denied Pleasure, where he was imprisoned and slowly drained of blood by the vampiresses who dwelled there.

(Vampire Tales I#10 - BTS) - Suspecting his father's fate (see comments), Jarand's son, Zarathon, sought out the House. sareena-16thc-broken_mast-dismayed

When Zarathon approached the Broken Mast and questioned the horsekeeper on the House of Denied Pleasure, he advised Zarathon to ask Sareena, as she was the one to soothe his curiosity.

(Vampire Tales I#10) - As Zarathon entered, Sareena enthusiastically greeted him, noting that a new face was always welcome in the Broken Mast. She asked what he would have, and he replied, "Lager...and information." She correctly surmised that he was asking about the House.

Sareena warned Zarathon that one he entered the House he would never emerge. When he expressed skepticism, Sareena assured him that she had seen it, and she told him that the house held more than denied delights: It held death by pleasure so intense it sucked a man dry, and no one had ever returned.

Questioning whether these people had been unable to return or rather that, in the midst of such glorious pleasure, they felt no compulsion to depart, Zarathon told Sareena that he had hoped to thank her for her help as well as her time, but resolved that he would have to find out for himself. Sareena sadly assured Zarathon that this was goodbye.

(Vampire Tales I#10 - BTS) - Zarathon eventually destroyed the resident vampiresses, and the House's creator, the demon-vampire-sorceress Nostranda. With Nostranda's apparent destruction, the crumbling House collapsed into the abyss, after which the ground sealed over it.

Zarathon escaped the crumbling house, but was apparently maddened by his experiences.

As Zarathon returned to the Broken Mast tavern, he apparently did not respond to the horsekeeper as he noted that Zarathon must have chosen to forego his night at the House of Denied Delights.

(Vampire Tales I#10) - Entering the tavern, Zarathon called to Sareena, "Come, wench....Sit and have a drink...with your king."
Spilling his drink, he laughed wtih the croak of a man who bordered on madness...

Jarand and Zarathon Vosburg's last names was first revealed in the Vampires Appendix section of Vampires: The Marvel Undead, specifically the Unabridged Appendix. This was an obvious homage to penciler Mike Vosburg. Nostranda's name was revealed in the same entry, obviously an homage to inker Howard Nostrand. That same source confirmed the time period of the story to be the 16th century.

    The horsekeeper who tethered horses for the Broken Mast's customers, noted that Sareena spoke with every sailor coming through the porat at one point or another, and that she heard secrets from those foolish -- or damned -- enough to have entered the House of Denied Pleasure; however, Sareena later noted no one who had entered the House had ever returned. This statement was supported by the omniscient narrative text...
    I'm guessing that Sareena's firsthand information was more accurate, and she had likely heard tales from associates who knew someone who had entered the House and never returned; and that the horsekeeper had just made mistaken assumptions from secondhand information.
    It's also possible that Sareena seemed attacted to Zarathon on some level, perhaps she just wanted to keep him from going there. Then again, bartenders often flirt to get tips, etc., so maybe that's all it was.

It is unrevealed whether Sareena was the owner of the Broken Mast, the daughter of the owner, an employee, or...maybe something weird and unusual...something we've never heard of...but probably not...

Not that it matters at all, but while the dialog seems to indicate that Zarathon entered the tavern and immediately asked Sareena to sit and drink with him, the art shows a finished plate and an overturned chalice (or something), presumably indicating he called to her upon entering, was seated, ate his meal, and drank himself into a sorry state...so maybe he wasn't completely maddened by the experience but rather was just traumatized over it. Maybe he got over things and went on to become a good and wise king of...wherever he would have been king of...

We don't know anything about the king of the land of which Jarand was king, nor do we know how far/long he traveled to get to the House, which was adjacent to the seaside town of Krindrel. Sareena did not recognize Zarathon, despite his being prince under Jarand. However, with no social media, television, or printing press, it is quite likely most people would have never seen their king (although he could have been on coins or in portraits that may have traveled the land), let alone his son.
Regardless, with Jarand's passing, Zarathon would have become king...assuming he retained his sanity.

Krindrel sounds German (as does Jarand), while Zarathon looks like a fancy Solomon Kane, who is English, but spent time in Germany. However, it is unrevealed of what land Jarand was king.

From what I can find, Jarand is of Germanic origin and is found mostly in the Nordic countries, particularly Norway.

And while we're on the subject of naming characters after comics creators, Vosburg and Nostrand are both Dutch and Moench is also Germanic
--David Zuckerman

The outfits are very in the style of the Hammer Horror movies, specifically the ones set somewhere undefined in Europe circa the 1600/1700s.

Those tended to be vaguely "somewhere in Europe, slightly to the eastern side." Per this map of Europe in 1700, I'd say no further west than the Holy Roman Empire boundaries, no further east than the edge of Russia, no further south than the upper edge of the Ottoman Empire.

And given we're told Krindrel is a seaside town, the regions I've just marked in purple in the map in the comments section of King Jarand's profile would seem the best options.
--Loki

Appearances:
Vampire Tales I#10/2 (April, 1975) - "House of Pleasure, House of Pain" - Doug Moench (writer), Mike Vosburg (penciler), Howard Nostrand (inker), David Kraft (assistant editor), Don McGregor (associate editor), Len Wein (consulting editor), Marv Wolfman (editor)
Vampires: The Marvel Undead (December, 2011) - Jeff Christiansen, Mike O'Sullivan, and Stuart Vandal (head writers/coordinators); Markus Raymond & Mike Fichera (assistant coordinators); Ronald Byrd (writer)

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