Author's Note: Okay so I know this chapter was delayed, but I failed to mention in my last author's note that I've taken up a job as a tutor for students who take summer classes. These classes are absolutely insane in that they pack 5 months into a single month, which has made my working hours soar through the roof. Not necessarily a bad thing seeing as how more hours means more money, but sadly my writing is going to stay on the back burner for a while. This is not only because of my job, but because college starts back for me in a month. I'll try to stay ahead, but I don't think anyone will blame me if I focus on my work & school rather than my recreational activities. Anyway, not a lot to say about this chapter other than it is longest yet and it might have a few errors due to how I rushed to get it out. It foreshadows future conflict, it reveals Valeska's true nature, and also explains a lot about her father's past, so enjoy!
Special Thanks: Thank you to for faving & following my story, and also to my reviewers who are Ambrii, RavynKlaine, Naruto Loves FemKyuubi, and aberdeenkev! I love you guys. =)
Responses: To Ambrii: Yeah I'm hoping to throw in more moments like that more often from here on out between those two. Also, the Elizabeth Dane is only mentioned right now because at the start of the game the main character can hear about it on the TV. It's only being mentioned at this point in time, but since the first section of the game (Santa Monica) spans over a few days, that's why I felt the need to announce it now. I'm not going to rush anything as Remy is going to be a lazy character who takes his time with the plot lol.
To RavynKlaine: Haha purple is my favorite color too. xP I'm glad you're liking my flirty moments between the Prince and his ghoul, and there will be more to come soon! Katrina is going to play a bigger part coming up here soon as well, though it might be a bit dark.
To Sasha: So pleased to hear that you enjoyed my chapter, and your joke, while over the top, was quite humorous to read. Thanks for the review as always!
To aberdeenkev: Dealing with LaCroix's mood swings will be difficult for Valeska, but I'm going to write her as a supportive companion, if not a little harsh in trying to knock him back down to reality.
Chapter 37 Surrendered Secrets
"You wish to know of how I met your father then? Very well," the Regent began as he steepled his hands together, his palms facing one another while only his fingertips touched. "Viktor Latimer and I happened upon one another in such a coincidental manner, that one might even go as far as to actually call it fate. You see, your father was a thief, and one who was not entirely ignorant to the world of Kindred."
"How is that possible?" Valeska enquired with a surprised expression, "I know there are always slip ups here and there, but I thought the Masquerade was supposed to keep mortals oblivious to vampires."
"Indeed it is, and when I caught your father in possession of one of our more powerful tomes, I demanded that exact same thing. He was content to remain silent, but his noticeably strong mind, defiant nature, and how he had somehow managed to get past my clan's magical barriers had me curious enough to not destroy him on the spot," the Tremere Primogen explained as the ghoul listened on with great interest.
"Heh, my dad kind of sounds like a badass, a bit stupid for trying to steal from the Tremere, but a badass nevertheless," she pointed out, feeling a bit proud of her father for his suicidal bravery, "Yet you mentioned he already knew about vampires. How? Did he outright tell you or what?"
"He did actually, for the first words he uttered when he turned to see me patiently watching him were: 'Keep your distance blood mage. I know all about your thaumaturgy discipline and can counter your spells if it comes to that'," Maximillian accurately recalled. "Naturally I was quite fascinated with your father, and though I could have extracted the desired information from his mind one way or another, I presented him with an alternative to his annihilation." He paused to glance at the ghoul, perhaps to study her facial expression or maybe to reassure himself that she was paying attention.
"Well don't stop there, what was this proposal you offered him?" the ghoul urged as she sat forward, feeling more and more engrossed in the story.
"That if he came out victorious in a duel against my person then he would be free to go, granted without my tome of course," Strauss responded with a slight wave of his hand that reminded the ghoul of her boss. "If however he failed, then he would be forced to answer my queries. Deception on any part would be compensated with physical injury."
"Sounds fair enough, but were you willing to really risk something like that? I know I should be defending him seeing as how he is, er…was my dad, but if he were to win your duel and walk free then that would have been a serious breach of Masquerade protocol," Valeska reminded him, before mentally face palming with just how much of a Camarilla goody two shoe she actually sounded like. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing seeing as how she worked for a Prince and all, but in a way her words mirrored a statement that her boss might say, not her. It worried her that these were the first steps to losing her identity too, and it made her wonder if it was yet another unofficial side effect of vampire blood. She doubted LaCroix would be honest about it if she confronted him with these concerns, but maybe now that she had signed his contract he might be more willing to part with that information.
"I applaud you for your dedication to the Masquerade, young one, but I was confident enough in my abilities to know that I would come out triumphant in our battle," he reassured, "At least I thought I was until I discovered your father actually had a surprising amount of spells at his disposal, most of which focused on draining me of my energy and preventing me from casting any sort of counter attack due to the lack of vitae in my veins."
"Wait hold up, so my dad was both a thief and a magic wielder?" the ghoul speculated with wide eyes as the Tremere vampire simply nodded, "Holy crap…that's like the equivalent of an arcane trickster! Do you even know what it takes to get that kind of a specialization?" The Regent stared at her blankly as if he had no clue what she was talking about. "You know…Dungeons and Dragons? Pen and paper role playing game that nerds and forty year old virgins everywhere lovingly adore?"
"I have never been made aware of such a thing," the clan leader replied with unblinking eyes.
"Oh…well that's a shame, but I guess it makes sense. There's no need to pretend to shoot lightning from your fingertips when you can do it in real life like you can…" she rationalized sheepishly before changing topics. "So uhm…if my father wasn't an arcane trickster, then what was he?"
"Viktor was a mage and one whose Avatar was only recently awakened," the Regent answered in a way that made it seem like this was supposed to be common knowledge. When Valeska did nothing but frown in confusion, he continued. "An Avatar is the alter ego of a mage that provides them with a sort of energy source so that they might practice magic. Technically every mortal has such a being sleeping dormant within themselves, but only once it has been awakened through some special event can they command the living energy surrounding us all."
"Okay, so there are vampires, mages, and ghosts. If you tell me that there are werewolves and shape shifters out there my brain might just blow a gasket…" Valeska promised as she leaned back against the sofa. Just finding out about vampires had almost been enough to overwhelm the ghoul in the first place, but now it almost seemed like each night there was some new creature being added to her list of supernatural beings. Some might have considered it an exciting opportunity and she would have been flat out lying if she said it wasn't fascinating to learn about all these new creatures. However, once she put aside the scientific speculations of the situation, the only thing she was left with was the practicality of learning how to defend against these new species should the need ever arise.
"Then perhaps now would not be the most opportune moment to tell you that your list has barely scratched the surface of what else we share this world with," the Tremere Primogen began as Valeska glanced up in bewilderment.
"Oh you've got to be kidding me…" she murmured before increasing the volume of her voice slightly, "I can barely keep track of who's who in this damn city, not to even mention all the vampire clans and political sects! How am I supposed to remember all of this?" Her words came across as unintentionally hostile, but fortunately for her, the Regent appeared sympathetic.
"Each and every one of us at some point within our induction into the world of darkness experiences the same sensation of being overwhelmed, so have no fear, young one, these feelings are normal," Maximillian consoled, "After all, it is not a simple thing to have the veil of mortal existence lifted from one's eyes in order to reveal the hidden realm of complexity and mystery that lies underneath."
"Yeah I guess so…" Valeska agreed quietly as she gently massaged the left side of her temple, "I don't want to think about it right now though. Just tell me what happened between my father and you in the duel."
"That is understandable, and to heed your request, our battle went as I had ultimately predicted it would. Viktor was an undoubtedly strong individual, but in the end he could not compete against a centuries old vampire who had nearly mastered my clan's famed discipline. I won our duel, and as such he submitted honorably to my questions," Strauss revealed.
"That's an unusual trait for a thief…" the ghoul pointed out, taken back a bit with what she was hearing, "Most of my own run ins with thieves or pickpockets on the streets usually end with them lying their asses off or trying to stab me in the back." In a way she was talking about herself, since she was not above employing those exact tactics to undermine another when the occasion called for it. This was something she would of course want to keep hidden from the Regent, even though she doubted it mattered since she was probably being painted with the same brush as her father. Well, at least being compared to a magic wielding thief of badassery was pretty cool, as there were plenty of other things she could think of that wouldn't have been nearly as flattering.
"Ah, but your father was a highly unusual man as he remained truthful for the entirety of my interrogation," the clan leader established, "And after pressing the issue of how he attained knowledge of my kind, I discovered that he was the offspring of a woman who actually had ties to the Ravnos clan at some point in her life."
"Ravnos clan? The name sounds vaguely familiar, but I don't think Mercuri- uh, my mentor, has told me about them yet," Valeska commented, knowing that he probably had no idea who Mercurio was. "Who or what are they?"
"A foolish Kindred clan of misfits, tricksters and thieves who prey on others with petty illusions to obtain what they desire," he educated, his voice full of disgust. "The Ravnos are nothing more than leeches, moving from one place to the next with no sense of home or loyalty as their supposed code of honor is as hypocritical as the occasional bonds they rarely form with others." Valeska may not been acquaintances long with her current conversational partner, but each of her encounters made her think that Strauss was an unbiased individual who was fair in his views of the others around him. His facial expressions usually remained absent of any noticeable form of emotion as well, yet now it almost seemed like just saying the word Ravnos put a bad taste in his mouth.
"I see, so not really the kind of person you want to bring home for dinner," the ghoul joked before tilting her head thoughtfully, "You know this might sound like I'm stereotyping this group, but nomadic nature and thievery tendencies? Love for trickery and illusions? These guys sound a lot like gypsies…"
"Your intuition serves you well, Valeska, for most prospective fledglings embraced by the Ravnos are gypsies," the Regent clarified, "Viktor's mother, who supposedly had gypsy blood in her, was one such potential candidate. Yet something went wrong that resulted in the death of her husband, which soon lead to her fleeing her homeland of Russia with a newborn Viktor."
"So I have both Russian and gypsy blood in me…? Cool!" the ghoul exclaimed, feeling happy by this self-discovery. The possibility of learning more about her family's history also should have excited her, but it sounded both depressing and vague; two frustrations that she had experienced more than enough lately to last her a life time. "I guess that means it's time for me to go buy a tarot deck and a crystal ball for scrying then." Strauss frowned, as her joke had either gone completely over his head, or had unintentionally insulted him. "Uhm, sorry... I tend to make light of conversations a lot as a sort of coping mechanism, so if I offended you it wasn't on purpose."
"Your ignorance does not offend me," the Tremere Primogen stated in a manner that made it so she was unsure whether he was forgiving or insulting her. "Now where was I…? Ah, yes, Viktor's mother came to this country and fit in easily with the rest of the foreign immigrants. However, your father spoke of the two never spending more than a few months in one specific area, something he did not feel the need to elaborate on."
"Well their constant moving can probably be explained by being literally driven out of an area. Lots of people don't like gypsies much since it's often assumed that they'll take anything that isn't nailed down or talk you out of giving them whatever is," the ghoul offered with a shrug. "It's also possible that if they were thieves or if they cheated a lot of people, then they would have migrated a lot to avoid prosecution."
"Perhaps, but either way she was an unstable woman who drove her son away when he began to show signs of paranormal sensitivity. Obsessed with anything spiritual, she pushed unsuccessfully for Viktor to awaken his Avatar earlier than what was intended. Her selfish reasoning for such actions remains unknown, but I assume it is because she lacked the talent herself that she worked so harshly with her son," Maximillian speculated thoughtfully. "As soon as Viktor was old enough to escape though, he did, deciding that the sacrifice of living alone on the streets as a thief was far more preferable to residing in his mother's company."
"Wow, that's pretty impressive for anyone to undertake, and at least now I know how he obtained his survival skills. I still kind of wish he could have told me about some of this stuff before he left, but I guess a kid wouldn't have understood it anyway…" Valeska admitted sadly as she put her elbows on her knees and rested her head in the palms of her hands. "Still, none of this explains why I never saw my dad using magic to start our fires or better yet, catch us dinner. I can recall more than once when those things would have really come in handy, and it's not like there was anyone around for miles to see us. Was he just being extra careful, or did you two meet after he had given me away?"
"Ah, well that also requires a bit of explanation, but I shall get to that momentarily. For now let us assume that his lack of spell casting came from practicing caution," Strauss replied as Valeska nodded in understanding, "Now then, when I caught your father I also requested why he had chosen to steal my tome, as there were several other easily accessible items that would have granted him a larger monetary gain. Initially I had believed that he had been working for a Sabbat vampire who had put him up to the task in the hopes of uncovering my clan's secrets, but how surprised I was then to learn that he had actually hoped to somehow teach himself Thaumaturgy."
"Did you really believe him?" she asked, knowing that she would have been more than a little skeptical if she had been in his shoes at the time. She hated that she was unintentionally bashing her father like she was, but while she would always respect the man, anyone with a brain would have been able to tell that he was probably lying to save his own skin.
"Seeing as how I had him holding a polished skull that would determine whether or not he was lying through its color, yes," he replied with a short nod. "He had heard bed time tales from his mother of my clan's rumored capabilities, and wished to master them himself. Obviously, I should have killed him."
"But I'm sitting here now so obviously you did not," the ghoul concluded as she straightened back out, "I thank you for that, but why'd you do it?"
"I…cannot say," the clan leader responded as his eyes fell almost in shame to the ground, "Loyalty to my clan should have naturally come first, but there was something about your father that warranted the belief that he would make an excellent addition to the Tremere someday. Exposing the secrets Viktor desired would have been viewed as treason by my superiors though, so instead I offered him the position of being my ghoul. At first he was not interested in such lowly heights, but when I promised him that his allegiance would eventually be rewarded with knowledge of my clan, he accepted without question."
"Soooo like father like daughter then…" she acknowledged slowly as this bit of information began to sink in. "You know the similarity that we were both ghouls at one point is eerie enough to make me wonder what other accidental things we might share. Like I know that a lot of my current skills were taught to me by my dad, but while I am a little spiritual or sensitive to some things, I don't think I've ever awakened my uh…Avatar or whatever it's called." For some reason Strauss didn't look at all surprised with what she had said, but the ghoul got the feeling that nothing ever startled the man. Still, it almost seemed like he had anticipated her words in advance, something that made her feel a bit uneasy as she began to fidget slightly and attempt to think of something else to say to the silent blood mage still studying her. "But uh, I guess that those things are irrelevant right now, so please continue."
"Of course. Viktor served me faithfully for several years while I fed his ravenous appetite with knowledge of the arcane mysteries. Nevertheless, he over time began to notice that he struggled with even the simplest of spells, as his Avatar was suffering greatly from the vitae that tainted his blood," the Regent divulged, "He began to worry of whether or not he would even be capable of magic within another month's time, and it was then that I decided to tell him that if he truly desired to learn Thaumaturgy for all that it had to offer, that he would have to become my apprentice as a full-fledged vampire."
"I see…so what does it even mean for a mage to become Kindred?" the ghoul inquired as she frowned slightly, not enjoying the fact that she was completely clueless yet again, "They get to keep their powers and all right?"
"Unfortunately they do not, for once a mage is embraced their Avatar ceases to be forever. Such an event is always devastating for a mage as it has been described as losing a part of yourself in the worst possible way. Imagine then if you will, having your hands lopped off at the wrists or your vision stolen away in a single night, and you will understand how it feels to lose an Avatar," the Tremere Primogen answered, looking very troubled as he spoke. "Any spells they once knew of are rendered incapable of being cast, and any psychic abilities they might have possessed are also either lost entirely or muted."
"That doesn't make any sense though. The Tremere can cast magical spells, and I've heard that some of the other clans have magical talents too," Valeska pointed out, still wearing her confused frown.
"That is an entirely different topic that I have no wish to discuss right now. Simply know that the price for immortality was not cheap for my clan, and that our vitae has been manipulated over the length of our existence to serve our arcane needs," Maximillian explained, "Thaumaturgy is one such discipline that was developed by my clan for that exact purpose."
"Well alright…" she submitted in a disappointed tone. She wasn't exactly happy that her question hadn't been answered to its full extent, but it was still better than nothing. "So when you offered my dad the choice of becoming your apprentice, I can't think that he was too excited. Sure learning blood magic would probably be pretty cool, but if losing an Avatar really is as painful as you described then I can't picture any mage in their right mind willingly undergoing the process to join the ranks of the undead. That is, unless of course you lied to him about the risks." After saying her last sentence, she was certain that it hadn't been worded as well as it could have been, but it didn't really matter. Her current facial expression was enough all on its own to challenge the Regent in letting him know that he had better be cautious in answering her.
"On the contrary, Valeska, your father was quite excited for the opportunity," Strauss countered, "It is forbidden to harbor secrets from one another within my clan, so even when I was honest with him about his Avatar ceasing to exist, he did not care so long as the possibility of casting spells remained."
"But you literally just got done telling me not even two minutes ago that it was a horrible and painful experience for mages to go through. Did he just not understand or what?" Valeska demanded in disbelief.
"Viktor knew the risks, but he wholeheartedly believed that following the Kindred path would be far more rewarding than that of being a mortal. After all, it was immortality that he ultimately wanted all along, and he knew that as a mage the most he could ever hope to achieve someday after discovering the right ritual, would be to swap bodies or slow down the aging process," he shared. "The secrets of Thaumaturgy were also what he yearned for more than anything else in the world, and he understood that only with vitae of his own would he ever learn the discipline."
"I don't know…that still seems like a heavy price for any one person to pay. To sacrifice a part of who you are for immortality? That's just doesn't sound like it would be worth it to me," the ghoul muttered quietly, trying to deny the attraction that living forever actually had on her. Mortality was something she had pondered about often, and such thoughts often put her in a state of depression. It was not easy to come to terms with the fact that she and everyone she knew would eventually die someday, and it was even worse when not even twenty four hours ago she had experienced firsthand just how fragile mortal existence really was. Learning that there were so many stories about the fountain of youth wasn't so surprising then, as being young forever and avoiding a painful death all together was certainly appealing.
"Your father thought differently, and who was I to deny him? He had served me well, had the mindset of a true warlock, and put the needs of the Tremere before his own. Viktor was quite literally in every sense of the statement, the perfect person to be embraced as a Tremere apprentice," the clan leader described as the nostalgic expression she had seen earlier returned to his face. He fell silent for a moment as he stared off into his fireplace, and it made the ghoul wonder just what kind of bond the two had once shared. In a way it seemed like her father had almost been a dear friend, a cherished son, or even a beloved brother to the Regent, yet she could not be sure of which one it was.
"Clearly he was important to you…do you think that bond is what blinded you to his ambition?" Valeska asked as the Primogen's eyes tore away from the fire and met hers. His expression as always was unreadable, but it seemed like he was studying her more intensely than ever before with what must have been curiosity, or perhaps even surprise that she had enquired about such a possibility.
"Not at all, and I was well aware of what he would be capable of should he surpass me. Yet the Tremere clan has, how shall I say it…certain rituals that Neonates go through to prevent betrayal," the Regent shared as he wrapped his spider like fingers around his chin in a display often correlated with that of assumed intelligence.
"None of which you can talk about, I get it," she guessed with minor irritation in order to save him the time of rejecting another one of her Tremere clan related questions. "Now I understand why my dad might not have been throwing fireballs left and right since he didn't have his Avatar, but there's still something I don't get. When did I come into the picture? I'm assuming it had to be waaaay before you turned him into a vampire, because logically everyone knows that your kind can't have children. However if that is the case then there is no good reason for why he wouldn't have been using magic."
"Your deduction skills are impressive, young one, but please allow me to clarify the situation. When the time came to embrace your father, something that has no explanation occurred. His Avatar naturally perished when his vital organs did, but rather than emerge as a Kindred immediately after the embrace, he awoke several hours later as a thin blood," the Tremere Primogen declared.
"Thin blood…so he was like a vampire, but only weaker, right?" the ghoul enquired as she tried to recall what her mentor had taught her. Honestly it hadn't been very much at all, since for the most part all of the shared information had been based on rumors from the beach bums Mercurio knew down at the Santa Monica pier. Perhaps then, when she next had time off she would go visit with their small group in order to expand her mind on the topic.
"Indeed. Thin bloods are essentially like any other Kindred, but with a few glaring differences. They cannot form blood bonds with others, most embraces are typically unsuccessful, they can only master the basics of vampiric disciplines, and some of them can occasionally digest mortal food, awake during the day more easily, or even tolerate sunlight to some degree," Maximillian educated. "Their kind is too weak to be considered an actual threat, but despite this they are still usually not tolerated well by some of the more paranoid Kindred due to the superstition surrounding them. It is unfortunate, but not uncommon then for them to be pushed out of a city or even exterminated." Valeska cringed slightly as his usage of the word 'exterminated' gave her the unappealing image of her father being hunted and put down like an animal.
"This is all really interesting, but I need to know if that's what happened to my dad…" Valeska insisted, shifting uncomfortably in her seat. "Was he driven away? Exactly what happened after he was turned into a thin blood?" The possibility that her father had been kicked out of LA and other cities as well explained why the two of them did a lot of moving around, but there was still something missing. Vampires obviously couldn't have children, so the only possibility besides adoption (something she doubted) was that Valeska had been born before he had gone on to become Maximillian's apprentice. Considering this was immensely painful though, because it meant that the only reason her father would have had to abandon his daughter was a selfish one that centered on gaining power. Yet if he had been so obsessed with focusing his magical talents, why hadn't he used them more often around her in order to gain additional experience? Was it to keep her safe or to keep her in the dark?
"I protected your father to the best of my abilities, but with the combination of him losing his Avatar and the learned fact that he would never be able to master any discipline beyond its most basic level, he was devastated," he addressed, a bit of professionally masked sorrow mixed with guilt present in his voice, "For quite some time after that, he simply carried out his previous tasks while reassuring me that he was fine and would find a way to counter his curse. I knew it was impossible, and part of me believes he did too, for one night he seemingly vanished into thin air. For months I searched for Viktor, but his previous experience of covering his tracks made it so I was faced with coming to the conclusion that he had taken his own life."
"But he didn't die, did he?" Valeska asked quietly.
"No," was all the clan leader said as he stood up from his seat and ventured towards his fireplace. He remained silent for a moment longer, and maybe that was because he was waiting for Valeska to speak again, but it was more obvious to her that he simply didn't want to continue the conversation. He looked disturbed or perhaps worried, and for a guy whose stoic expressions could rival the Sheriff's, that was more than a little unnerving for her.
"You look like you're holding back from saying something important, Maximillian" she disclosed. The Regent looked over his shoulder to examine the patiently waiting ghoul, yet instead of addressing her observation, he outright ignored her by returning his attention back to the fireplace. Crossing her arms in mild irritation, she spoke up again. "Look, you've already told me more about my history than anyone else has ever offered, so what's the problem? I mean don't get me wrong here, I really appreciate that you're telling me about my dad and all, but something just isn't adding up. There's a missing puzzle piece that is making this situation way too vague, and before I leave tonight I would like to have solved it." The Regent exhaled deeply as he turned back around, his hands resting comfortably at his sides.
"There is no fallacy present in your current train of thought, as there is indeed a missing piece. You see, when I explained to you some of the differences that thin bloods had from normal Kindred, I purposefully left out the key detail that some of them…have been rumored to have reproduced," the Regent implied, his eyes drilling into hers as the realization of his words started to settle in.
"I'm going to assume you're telling me this because it relates to my father, and you're not just trying to scare the shit out of me," she speculated, hoping that all of this really was some kind of big joke. At any point the Prince would pop out from behind the curtains with his Sheriff, they would all yell surprise, eat some tasty cake that everyone knew was a lie, and then her boss would scold her for not returning to her apartment. Obviously she knew that this possibility was the most unlikely to ever occur, but it didn't stop her from wishing that she had simply torn up the Regent's invite and carried out LaCroix's orders when she had the chance. It was too late now though, and she had the feeling that she was about to hear something that she really wouldn't like.
"This is no joke, young one, and to better relate the connection I am assuming at some point after Viktor's disappearance he met your mother and impregnated her," the Tremere Primogen bluntly presented as Valeska felt a wave of uneasiness pass through her. Once again his usage of a word, which this time around was 'impregnate', just sounded wrong coming from the Regent and it had her imagining her dad as some kind of alien laying eggs in a woman's chest cavity. That thought alone was more disturbing than not, but if her father had been a vampire, and he conceived a child with a mortal woman…
"What…what does that make me then?" Valeska asked softly, her voice barely registering above a whisper. She began to wring her hands anxiously, a useless attempt to combat her upset stomach that had knotted up due to nerves. "I'm still human…right?" Strauss stood staring down at her, his face having returned to its empty blank slate while the flames dancing behind him give him the impression of a demon of sorts.
"I apologize, Valeska, but you are not. You were born a dhampir, and have been one every day thereafter," Maximillian announced as Valeska stood up. She wasn't sure why she did it or even what she would do next, but it simply felt like the right thing to do.
"I don't believe you," was the first thing that fell out of the ghoul's mouth. She only had a general idea as to what a dhampir was, but she was assuming by the title and what Maximillian had told her that it was a hybrid of some kind. Whatever it actually was though, to her it was total bullshit. She was a human, not some chick with a freaky thin blooded vampire mage dad. Maybe that had happened to someone else, but not her as up until she started working for the Prince, she had lead a normal life as a normal college student with normal friends. This was a scam or a bad joke being made at her expense, not something that could be tied into her idea of reality.
"And why not?" Strauss returned simply. His question was not a challenge, but rather instead it was a genuine query.
"Because it's impossible! Kindred can't breed because their bodily processes have ceased to function, it's as simple as that," the ghoul argued, hoping her statement sounded more rational rather than emotional. "
"Perhaps, but then answer me this: Did your mother die during child birth?" he enquired simply, his hands now clasped behind his back.
"Well yes, but that was just an accident. It happens every day all over the world," Valeska disputed before quickly adding, "And it sure as hell isn't my fault either." She knew she was being intentionally hostile now, but in a way she felt like he was blaming her for the unfortunate incident. After all, bringing up the death of her mother never failed to have her defensive side following closely behind, as though she knew it wasn't her fault, she could not deny the guilt she still suffered from every once in a while. It wasn't like there had been anyone that had directly targeted her as being her mom's murderer either, but the ghoul would always think of the woman as her first victim on her ever increasing list of assassinations.
"And I suppose you've never once felt in your entire life that there was something different about you?" the clan leader continued, his eerily calm voice never rising above a single octave.
"Once again that's hardly unusual. Everyone gets that feeling at some point in their life because it's a part of growing up and finding out who you are," she retorted, "Just because I get the feeling often doesn't mean anything."
"Alright, so then what other reason would your father have for placing you in the care of your grandmother?" the Regent asked as he continued to bombard her with what seemed like a million questions. If she hadn't been so frustrated with the situation, she might have asked how he knew about her grandmother too. However, the combination of her anger and the need to rationalize his question had her assuming that he could probably obtain any information he wanted at any time just like her boss.
"To keep me safe of course! We did a lot of moving around when I was a kid, and I assumed he wanted better for his daughter than to live the life of a dirty homeless thief!" Valeska snapped, the volume of her voice steadily rising due to her irritation.
"Naturally, but you cannot deny that your father was on the run," the Tremere Primogen stated as he calmly returned to his seat and crossed his legs.
"Well didn't you say before that thin bloods are discriminated against by other vampires? Once again, giving me to my grandma was to keep me safe from living a life of constantly being on the run," the ghoul repeated.
"Of course, but it is your nature that forced his hand, as the learned possibility of a dhampir existing would have thrown the community into an even worse state of disarray than any one thin blood could ever do on their own," Maximillian clarified, "Viktor placed you in the care of your grandmother to keep you safe yes, but that was because if anyone had discovered what you were, then they might have wished to kill you. Some might have even worshiped you as a sign from god that we were finally being forgiven for our sins, but either way, he felt that being raised as a mortal would have been better for both your mental health and physical safety."
"Your sins…right…listen if you don't have any kind of solid evidence then I don't think I can take you seriously," she said, refusing to sit down when he gestured her towards the sofa again.
"Why do fight so hard to believe something you know is true? You've always known what you are, Valeska, and the more you struggle, the more you're going to realize that the only person you're trying to fool is yourself," Strauss informed the ghoul, his knowing eyes shining brightly in the light of the fire. His words hit closer to home than she hoped she let on, but she knew he was right to some degree. Whenever she reacted so strongly in denial like she was now, that usually meant she was running away from the truth, even if she didn't quite know it yet. It was like she intuitively knew the answer to everything, but coming to grips now with the fact that she wasn't human, that she had never been human, was not a simple thing to do.
Growing up she had never fit in with the other kids, but she had always assumed it was just because she had the unfortunate luck of being the painted bull's-eye that others her age just loved to target. There were logical reasons of course for just about every abnormality that popped up in her life, but when she really thought about it, all of those reasons were just excuses she had developed to deny the facts that had been right in front of her all along. Her ability to outrun the schoolyard bullies? Not a big deal, she liked running and had simply gotten better at it with hours of practice. Her strength that was slightly superior than what was considered normal for her age? Well it wasn't that spectacular, and besides, it came from helping her grandmother transport the heavy mop bucket around the house when they cleaned it. Why her wounds, even very severe ones, seemed to heal so quickly? Naturally because she ate her vegetables, another reason she was no doubt a bit faster and stronger than the guys her age. However, all of these reasons were exactly why she avoided playing sports in the first place, as the last thing she wanted was to stick out in school even more than she already had at the time.
Granted there were other odd things about her too such as the fact that she sometimes was able to hear or smell things others couldn't. She also avoided the sun due to the way her pale skin always burned so easily, and maybe it was because of the previous reason, but she also seemed to prefer the night a lot more so long as it didn't interfere with her schooling. It all made sense, and yet none of it did, because becoming a ghoul should have done more than change her social life. Yet the only thing she had really experienced with herself that could be considered physically different was a mild increase in her senses and an even quicker ability to heal, as well as the developing feelings she had for the Prince. Drinking vampire blood for any normal person would have augmented their physical strength and speed, but this was barely the case for Valeska until she frenzied. No matter how hard she tried though, she couldn't keep denying her nature for very much longer. She was a dhampir, but only now after several years of burying these intuitive beliefs of her strangeness was she actually able to begin walking down the path towards accepting it.
"Let's say I believe you, and I really am a dhampir…what does that mean for me?" she asked softly, "Just what am I exactly?"
"You are a being that belongs to both the mortal world and the Kindred community, yet at the same time, neither one of them. You can tolerate the things we cannot with only mild difficulty if any, and are also granted a few of our strengths. Some of which you have probably already discovered on your own," he explained with a knowing expression as though he was reading her mind. Damn blood mages…
"Yeah I guess…even before I was made into a ghoul I was a little stronger and faster than other people," Valeska shrugged, avoiding his eyes, "The sun doesn't seem to like me much either, and as such I've always felt more comfortable during the night." She looked up from the ground with hopeful eyes. "Are you…sure that I'm a dhampir? I mean there's always the possibility that this is a mistake or that my dad…" Her voice trailed off as the Regent gave her a small, yet comforting smile.
"I am positive, but if you would like I might perform a slight…test," the clan leader offered as the ghoul raised a single eyebrow.
"A test huh? What kind of test?" she inquired with a slight frown of suspicion.
"My clan in the past has often erected magical barriers or wards throughout our Chantries to protect our secrets. Depending on which ones are put in place then, these barriers have our enemies experiencing the painful sensation of their flesh being peeled away, while others will outright have themselves burst into flames," the Regent shared as he rose for a second time from his sofa. "If I acquire just a single drop of blood from you, we can test if vitae runs through your veins with a modified, smaller version of this ritual."
"But I'm a ghoul, so wouldn't that pick up on the Prince's vitae?" Valeska pointed out.
"Normally yes, but these barriers can be quite specific in which species they target. As such, I possess ones that can be filtered for kine, ghouls, Kindred, and even lycanthropes," the Tremere Primogen specified as the ghoul frowned in confusion.
"Lycanthropes?" she asked in puzzlement.
"Werewolves," Maximillian clarified.
"Oh…" the ghoul murmured. Not ever having been a fan of werewolves herself, she had hoped that of all things, they at least weren't real. Unfortunate that they were, but so long as she never had to encounter one than she would be fine. "Well will it hurt?"
"Not at all," Strauss reassured as he took a step towards her. "All I need is a single drop. May I?"
"You may," Valeska allowed. Almost as if he predicted she would give him permission, he pulled a petri dish seemingly out of nowhere, took up her left hand, and pricked her index finger with a small needle she hadn't realized he had been in possession of. A sharp sensation came from her index finger as she permitted Strauss to squeeze what was more than one drop of blood from her. She didn't mind this though, and once he released her, she licked the remaining droplets of blood from her finger and followed him to the center of the room where the coffee table was.
Watching as he placed the dish on the table, the Regent sat on the sofa, closed his eyes, and began to mummer a few words that seemed incomprehensible to her. More than likely he was conjuring up the supposed ward, and after a few minutes this turned out to be the case because a burst of what looked like a small circle of purple flames erupted on the table next to the dish of blood. Reopening his eyes, the Tremere vampire stared down at the circle and waited until the brilliant light had faded entirely. Peeling off one of his gloves, he put it on the table and looked back at the ghoul who had reseated herself on the sofa.
"I believe we can both agree that the blood that runs through my veins is undoubtedly Kindred in nature," he presumed as the ghoul nodded in agreement. "Very well, then observe what happens to my hand when it passes through a generalized ward targeted towards a Kindred belonging to any clan." With his hand hovering flat in front of himself, he leisurely brought it through the invisible barrier, and inhaled sharply when his skin began to melt away. As if this pain was barely bothering him, he used the same sluggish pace to retract his hand while his face showed no sign of discomfort. However, it was clear that there had been a substantial amount of pain involved with the ritual, as the end result had left his hand displaying pockets of blisters that burst and oozed out with his blood. It was not a pretty scene, and Valeska actually found her stomach feeling queasy.
"Not to be rude or anything, but oh my god is that disgusting!" she found herself exclaiming as she instinctively pressed her back into the couch to get away from his bloody hand. "Your hand looks like a burnt and bloody piece of meat patty or something…how the hell did you not scream in pain?"
"The process was uncomfortable, but not life threatening," the clan leader waved off. If it had been anyone else the ghoul would have been suspicious, but she knew that he wasn't intentionally trying to boast about his high pain threshold. "Now observe what happens to your blood when I move it into the ward." Without another word, the Regent pushed the petri dish into the invisible circle. Valeska then watched with wide, awestricken eyes as her blood began to boil away as though it had been placed over a hot stove. A few large bubbles began to form and as they popped rather loudly, a speck of warm blood shot out from the dish and splattered right under the ghoul's right eye. Wiping furiously at her cheek in case it had become acid or something else equally harmful, she watched as Strauss removed the dish from the ward and uttered a few more words that sounded similar to the ones he had previously spoken; the ghoul assumed then that he must have been lowering the barrier.
"Well that was…bracing…" Valeska confessed with relief as she let out the breath she hadn't realized she had been holding in, "I felt like I was watching a scene out of The Thing there for a second, and that my blood was going to jump out and kill us or something." Strauss chuckled softly as he cleaned up the table, something that made the ghoul happy with the fact that someone had finally understood one of her random references. "I guess there's no way around denying the fact that I'm a dhampir now though… Is there anything that I need to know about being one?"
"Dhampirs are still relatively new to this world, seeing as how thin blooded vampires of an even higher generation have only come into existence within the past few decades," the Regent explained, "However, there are still a few things I know that might interest you. The first is that as a dhampir, you will physically age more slowly compared to the average person."
"Well I've always had a baby face, so least I know why," the ghoul shrugged, "What else?"
"As a dhampir, you also have a Beast of your own that you possess within yourself," the Tremere Primogen stated as he watched her carefully, "Furthermore, your first encounter with this darker half will halt the aging process entirely and place at you at the same risk other Kindred have with frenzying." Valeska averted her eyes, not wanting to give away the fact that she had already frenzied, but knowing that her unconscious fidgeting had probably already done that for her. "You have already frenzied before, haven't you, Valeska?"
"I uhm….yeah," she confessed, looking into his eyes with her own shame filled ones, "It happened for the first time quite recently actually, but I figured that was because I was a ghoul. Does that mean I'm going to live forever now? Or do I have to start drinking human blood like all Kindred do?"
"I cannot say without further evidence, as like I stated before, there is very little information on your kind," Maximillian responded, "There is much we could learn if we were to say, experiment with your blood in a series of tests, but I would never do such a thing without your permission." Valeska remained silent for a moment as she contemplated his offer. There were so many questions she had for the Regent, but all of them would probably be returned with the same answer: there was no information to be had.
Giving him her blood to experiment on didn't settle too well with her though, but perhaps that was because everyone had told her that the Tremere were not to be trusted. If she put aside these biases though, did they seem like people she could place her faith in? Well no, but she rarely trusted anyone anyway. If this man was to be believed however, then he had at one point been a good friend to her father, someone she still felt had somehow gone through all the trouble of warning her through a dream about the Prince, but not the Regent. Her dad had also been the one who had influenced her thoughts to see Strauss in the first place, but perhaps there was something going on behind the scenes that she was missing. The Tremere were supposed to be capable of immensely powerful spells and rituals, so what if they also had the ability to enter a sleeping person's mind? Posing as her father and directing her to see the Regent would have been an easy way to win her trust, and the timing of her dream had been a little too perfect in her eyes to be considered as only pure coincidence.
Something just wasn't right here, and she was beginning to think that the only reason he wanted her blood was so that he might control her through some weird ass voodoo ritual. That of course raised the question of why he would go through such extreme measures to influence someone who was so seemingly unimportant in the Kindred community, but then again, she was LaCroix's ghoul. That gave her direct access to LA's Prince almost any day of the week she wanted, and what better way was there to take down an authority figure than to corrupt one of his pawns that was completely unaware of the schemes that went on in the shadows? Strauss served the Camarilla as LA's Tremere Primogen, but who was to say that he wasn't vying for the Prince's throne? She honestly had no clue, and there was no way for her to be sure of the Regent's reputation without asking for a second opinion from a neutral party. But who did she know in LA that was both knowledgeable and who wouldn't rat her out the first chance they got? This question took her a little under five seconds for her to answer, because almost immediately she knew who she could go to: Mercurio.
Author's Note: Alright, now before some of the more really loyal fans to WoD go crazy, I may have bent the rules a little when it comes to the Tremere. Yes their rituals such as the wards usually take a lot longer than a few minutes, but it was a smaller version so neh. =P Also, there truly isn't that much information out there on WoD dhampirs, so I might have added in a few more weaknesses or traits to Valeska that might not be true for all dhampirs. For example, in the WoD universe they are meant to be just like any other human at first glance, and even their blood has few if any differences when compared to a mortal. For story purposes though, I've decided to make things a bit more difficult for Val that will be announced later on, but if anyone would like more information on dhampirs then please PM me! I can provide you with tons of sites in which I found most of my information, but the rest comes from my WoD books that you would have to buy on your own naturally. There will be more secrets to be uncovered in the next chapter and even more later on in the future, but for now I hope this answered a lot of questions that some of you may have had. If not, let me know through a review and I'll do my best to answer them for you! I hope that you enjoyed this chapter, but if not, please let me know how I can improve. I'm also kind of a n00b when it comes to mages in the WoD, so if I made a mistake anywhere let me know about that too so that I can fix my errors. Thanks everyone. =)