"Welcome to the Endless Night, vampire..."
This existence you have been born into, it is not a friendly one. You are one of the undead now, your human life forfeit. Whether this is the beginning of your unlife, or a journey embarked upon long ago, I do not know; that is up to you. Regardless, on this page you will find all you need to know about your kind. Let us begin.The Dark Embrace ~ Ah, what better point to begin at than the dark embrace? It is the moment of your first death; the beginning of your second life. When a vampire drains a human of blood to the point of near-death, and then feeds them some of their own vampiric blood, the human will turn into one of our kind. The change is painful, but does not take long. A couple of minutes, and the human will have been reborn into a fledgling vampire.
I have heard of other methods to turn a human; most similar, but different. I cannot verify these of course, but since the main concept remains the same they are possible. Perhaps you know more of this than I do.
Vitae, Life-essence, The Crimson Elixir…..Blood ~It is the source of your existence. Without it, you are nothing. In fact, without it, you face Final Death. It is our ambrosia, our raison d’etre. You must have noticed it by now. The food you once loved now repulses you, and you puke upon consuming it. Likewise, drinking anything but blood has become a self-inflicted torture. Even your libido is no longer what it was; you have appetite only for the sanguine solution.
It’s not all bad of course. As long as you keep yourself well-fed on blood, you will be a powerful creature of the night. With age, the potency of your blood will grow as well. Besides, is imbibing the crimson not sweeter a sensation than anything you had ever tasted in your mortal life? I am sure you will find that when drinking from a human with proper pedigree, you too find the taste most agreeable.
Oh, but hear me prattle on and on. I need to instruct you, not bore you to tears. If you still long for…intimacy, you should know that the ‘deed’ is still possible. It’s a little different though. When two kindred love each other very much, they drink each other’s blood. I have…heard…that this sensation is quite similar to mortal love.
I have also heard tales of vampires who were still able to drink and eat as humans can, and some that were even able to engage in coetus with humans. However, even if you are one of these, do not forget your true nature, child. You belong not with the living; you would do well to remember this.
The Dark Gift ~It is not so bad to be among the ranks of the undead as one might think. For one, your second life gives you a chance for immortality, if you play your cards right. But that is not all. There is always the Dark Gift. Upon your birth into the world of the endless night, into your second life, or unlife if you prefer, you become more than a man. The exact nature of the gifts it brings is different to each of us.
Whatever your Dark Gift is, it is sure to help you through the nights, and perhaps keep you safe from the dangers they hold. And dangers are plentiful here.
Weaknesses ~You wish to know our weaknesses? I hope you’re not intent upon testing your limits, child. It is dangerous to do so. Very well, I shall instruct you then. Weaknesses among vampires vary; though most vampires are immune to traditional weaknesses such as crucifixes, running water, silver and garlic, there are always those who exhibit such traits.
There are a few weaknesses however, that we all share, with only whispers of exceptions to the rule.
First is the sun.
Sunlight kills us. Most of meet our Final Death near-instantly when burnt by the sun’s light. Some burn slower, a fabled few are weakened only. But the day is our enemy, and so we are forced to retreat into the night and the shelter of darkness and shadows. Such is our curse. What is that you say? Yes, yes, there are stories of vampires who can live in the daylight. I too have heard about it. Whether there is truth to it, I do not know. Please, do tell me if you ever meet such a kindred. I would love to make their acquaintance.
But I continue. Second is
fire. While fire does not destroy us outright, it does negate our regenerative powers, and slowly kills us. All of us share an instinctive fear of flames, and with good reason. I have not heard of an exception to this rule, and there most likely is none.
Third and last is decapitation. Our regenerative powers can only do so much. When our head is damaged, we may become paralyzed until the damage has healed, but recovering from decapitation is simply impossible. The fabled ancestor vampires are said to be able to recover from this, but this I doubt strongly.
Bullets are of little effect on us. They may bring some amount of pain, and slow us down, but only a
well-placed headshot could pose a true threat, paralyzing us and bringing us to the mercy of our foes. Blunt weapons are useless against us. Some vampires fight with their fists, but this can only be dangerous to us if they are preternaturally strong and skilled, which many of us are. It is a sad thing when kindred fight amongst each other, don’t you think?
Bladed weapons can pose a significant danger, especially to those of us with a weaker regenerative process. Some of us cannot recover lost limbs, organs and other body parts. Damage of this nature can be frightening to us, due to its finality.
And finally,
the stake. Worry not, child, a stake to the heart does not slay you. It merely paralyzes you, for it halts the stream of blood that moves through your veins. Why it still flows, I do not know, as the heart itself no longer does the pumping. Yet another of our vampire mysteries, hm?
Vampire Society ~Let’s move on to a more civilized topic, shall we? I grow tired speaking of pain, suffering and final death. Vampire society. You should know that there is no such thing as a singular vampire society; instead, we are divided, though most of us are bound by a code of sorts, the masquerade. I’ll get to that shortly, child. Have patience.
The
Crimson Court would have you believe otherwise. They believe all vampires are bound to their rules, and should follow their laws. The Crimson Court is a rather large organization of vampires which finds its origin in European nobility. Are you familiar with the Illuminati those humans speak of? This is most likely the closest thing in reality to such a thing. The Court, though authoritative and controlling, does look out for its members. Using their influence in the world of mortals, by pulling strings, they cover up the ‘deaths’ of newly embraced kindred, hide events that could reveal the existence of vampires and clean up after those who break laws that endanger us.
The Court considers following the rules of the masquerade to be law, punishable by final death.
The Masquerade is simple: Make sure humans remain unaware of our existence, and do nothing that works against this goal. The rules are a little more specific, and the Courtiers have added their own rules to the list, but for all intents and purposes the masquerade is as such. I won’t delve too deep into Crimson Court politics, for if I did then the night would pass far too slowly, and I would be talking far past the dawn.
Then there’s the
Anarchs. Don’t be mistaken, though they are an anarchistic bunch who believe that no vampire should be bound by common rule, even these rebels and loners believe in the ideals of the Masquerade. None are foolish enough to wish to see us exposed. Most anarchs are young vampires who like to rebel against the large organization of the Court, but some are older and more experienced vampires that actually hold some power in the political world; both mortal and kindred politics.
Then there’s the
Val Argus, a curious bunch. These vampires live an isolated existence in their strongholds, of which I believe there are three spread across the world. Large cities in which they co-exist with humans, blatantly disregarding the Masquerade. Their isolation however, has assured that the secrets of the kindred have remained safe, and they too follow the Masquerade to a certain extent, as they have done for hundreds, and according to them, thousands of years.
I do not know much of these folk, except that most of them are well-trained in combat, and only come out of isolation to travel to other strongholds, or to serve as bodyguards for Crimson Court Elders. I believe this latter tradition was meant to bridge some of the differences their clan has often had with the Court.
So far, the societies I have spoken of are relatively benevolent. And when I say relatively, I mean compared to some other, smaller groups out there that would work against the Masquerade willingly.
I have heard whispers of organizations of vampires that wish to conquer the world and dominate mankind, others that believe we are demons, and intended to kill and destroy as much as we can, and give in to the Beast within. I shudder at the thought of these miscreants, and hope you will never cross paths with any of them, for your sake.
But it seems I have unintentionally broached a subject I had skipped over earlier. The Beast within.
The Beast within ~You see, your craving for blood isn’t only physiological. It lies deeper than that, finding its roots in the very essence of our curse, or blessing, whichever description you prefer. It is the Beast within, the monster inside all of us that wants us to relinquish every shred of our human life, and feast upon the blood of humans with wild abandon.
Resist, if you will, but know that the Beast is always there, waiting to gnaw its way through your mind’s defenses and turn you into a monster, a true creature of the night without pity, remorse, or anything remotely human. Think carefully before giving in to the Beast, for once you have, there will be no return.
If you wish to keep your humanity, heed my instructions. Try not to drain a human fully when feeding, keep yourself well-fed at all times to keep the hunger at bay, and try to remind yourself of your humanity, or whatever is left of it, whenever you can. In the end, the choice is yours.
I wish you well, vampire. May your nights be pleasant.
Sun Jul 01, 2012 7:47 am by Nikolai Pavlov
