Vampire: The Masquerade
Nights of Prophecy
Prologue
Disclaimer: I own all of the characters with the exception of any that have already been established in White Wolf products. The main ones (at this time) would be Cristof Romueld and DevNul, both from Redemption, the computer game. Ecaterina the Wise will also be featured, but not in as central a role. She is also from the computer game. So, with that said, any characters that White Wolf didn't create are mine.
AN: This first part is just giving an introduction for those of you who have never played Vampire: The Masquerade (and I have friends who will be reading this that haven't) because one thing is for sure about this story: You will be confused if you don't know the situation or the terms used. Also, for some reason, the link didn't work when I put it in last time, so to see descriptions of characters and pictures to go with them, go to the website that's linked in my profile. So, without further ado….
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
DevNul looked at the printouts in his hands. Some of them were what the Street Demon, Max Remore, had asked him to get, while the uppermost printout was something rather important. It had been intercepted from – apparently – a Ravnos computer. It was lucky, too, because the letter explained the workings of vampire society, and that was one thing that even the craziest Malkavians didn't want found out…just yet, at any rate. He put the sheets of paper that would go to Max aside, instead choosing to read the Ravnos letter instead.
From: RavenBlack
To: You know who
Subject: The secret you've been looking for
You don't want to know who I am. Even if you did, I wouldn't tell you. Don't try to return this e-mail, I'm deleting the account as soon as I send it. Just read, and do with the information herein what you will.
First off, let's get the most obvious shit out of the way first: Vampires exist. But you know that, don't you? That freaky gunfight you saw recently, with the guy in the red coat…you saw the fangs, didn't you? Don't bother denying it, just accept it once and for all and move on. So, now that we've got that out of the way, let's get the next bit out of the way: Vampires aren't exactly a small population. Sure, the number isn't mega-huge, but there's more of us than you think. Yes, us. Like I said before, friend, deal with it. Now, I'm going to do you a great, big favor. (And yes, I do expect it to be paid back, and if you don't I'll rip your fuckin' throat out.) I'm going to explain just how our society works. Or rather, they're society. But we'll get to that.
Alright, I'm screwing this up. Let me start over, and do it right.
Vampires have always walked among men. ALWAYS. Caine was the first. Yes, that Caine. He got punished for his murder of Abel by being sent into the Lands of Nod. Once there, he got cursed by the Almighty for his crime. He founded a city, called Enoch, and created childer. Those childer are called the First Generation. Why Caine isn't the First Generation, I don't fuckin' know. Anyway…oh, right, I need to explain Generation.
Basically, each time a vampire is created (sired) they take one more step away from Caine, therefore becoming less powerful than the Generation before. We're seeing 13th Generation freaks now, who can stand the sun, father children (it sucks to be undead and still need condoms, I'm told) can't make new vampires, and all that jazz. Personally, I consider them one step up from Ghuls…which would be humans that get fed vampire blood, and get a portion of the strengths of vampires in the process.
Back to what I was saying. The First Generation sired the Second, and the Second sired the Third. The Third Generation are called Antediluvians, because they survived that big ol' flood…and no, they didn't get the benefit of the goddamn ark. But the Antediluvians ate their sires, and that was pretty bad. There were 13 Antediluvians, and they created the 13 Great Clans.
While we're on the topic of the Antediluvians, let's get this out of the way: Gehenna. It's the vampiric concept of the end of the world. The Antediluvians are, literally, like Gods…but they're so old they can only live on the blood of vampires. Luckily for us, they're sleeping.
Unluckily for us, we think they're waking up. Here's a little fragment of a Gehenna prophecy, just to suitably creep you out.
And the world will turn cold
And unclean things will boil up from the ground
And great storms will roll, lightning will light
Fires, animals will fester and their bodies,
Twisted, will fall.
So, too, our Grandsires will rise
From the ground
They will break their fast on the
First part of us
They will consume us whole…
And you will know these last times by the
Time of Thin Blood, which will mark vampires
That cannot Beget,
You will know them by the Clanless,
Who will come to rule
You will know them by the Wild Ones,
Who will hunt us even in the strongest city
You will know them by the awakening
Of some of the eldest…
And those who eat heart's blood will flourish
And the Kindred will crowd each to his own,
And vitae will be as rare as diamonds…
Shine black the sun!
Shine blood the moon!
Gehenna is coming soon.
Freaky enough for you? 'Cause man, given that the Time of Thin Blood is happening all around us, it blood well gives me the goddamn heebee-jeebees. Words you probably don't know: Kindred = vampire. Vitae = vampire blood. Grandsires = Antediluvians. Clanless = explained later.
Alright, now on to the sects. There are two sects within vampire society, the Camarilla and the Sabbat. They were formed a while ago, when the Inquisition started. The Camarilla was created to hide the existence of vampires from the mortal populace, while the Sabbat was made up of the vampires that wanted to enslave the human race. They've been warring like hell ever since.
The Clans that make up the Camarilla are: The anarchic Brujah, the animalistic Gangrel, the 100% insane (yet prophetic) Malkavians, the ugly as hell Nosferatu, the poseur Toreador, the bloody fucking despicable Tremere (I hate the fucking mage wannabe bastards with a passion) and the stuck up, prissy leader types of the Ventrue.
The Sabbat is made up of rebels from all of the aforementioned Clans, as well as: The vain as hell Lasombra, and the sadistic shapeshifters of the Tzimisce.
Then there's us, the independents. We're out for the only thing that matters in this damned unlife: Ourselves. Now, that's not to say I'm lumping myself in with everybody, here. There's the first rate assassins (and traitorous sons of bitches) of the Assamites, who only work for Kindred vitae, the sneaky, intelligent, and wise Followers of Set (they know shit that even the Malkavians don't know) the incest-crazy, necromantic crime family Giovanni, and us, the top rate illusionists of the Ravnos. We are, of course, the only Clan worth giving a damn about…with the exception of the Setites and Malkavians, maybe…but hey, what can you do? So yeah, that's that then.
Diablerie is another big one. Diablerie is the sucking of the blood of an elder, but also the soul. By doing that, you can up your Generation, so young vampires sometimes try to do it to get more power. Unless they use a huuuuge fuggin buddy system set-up, they normally get toasted.
I'm not going to explain all the Kindred rules and Traditions to you, and I think I've done a pretty damn good job of explaining what needs to be explained. That and I'm out of time…the damn Nosferatu is regaining consciousness. So that's it. I'm done. Do with it what you will. Just remember…
We are here.