INTERLUDE
It is a little known fact among the Kindred that ghouls have created a unique social structure entirely for themselves.
No one can really say when it began, since no one knows when the first human was ever exposed to Kindred vitae. Some say it began when Caine gave of his blood to a favored retainer, creating the first ghoul. Caine soon saw how useful such a strong, capable, and above all devoted servant would be, so he made more, and allowed his childer to make more, and the ghouls began to interact with one another. However it began, it exists. It exists because ghouls have a great deal of difficulty living in the human world. Some feel a huge burden of guilt, knowing as they do that they serve monstrous masters who feed on human blood. This especially weighs on those ghouls whose masters make them bring them prey or dispose of bodies. Others, notably the retainer-families of the Tzimisce, feel that the ghoul is a creature apart from the human. If the vampire is a higher being, goes the reasoning, the ghoul must be too. Not much higher, but higher. These feelings were heightened in the Dark Ages, and led to several churches which preached ghouldom as a state closer to the Divine than mere humanity. Others feel that they have fallen from grace by making deals with monsters. They say that in drinking vampire blood to gain power, the ghoul effectively sells his soul. The Ghouls of the Magnificent Seven followed this last school of thought.
For whatever reason, ghouls generally prefer their own company. However, humans (and all their supernatural variants) are social creatures, and when they gather together, they inevitably create a group with its own rules, standards and hierarchy. The Ghoul society is based on a fluid hierarchy. It is unique in that what YOU do has little effect on your status; it is what your Domitor (Vampiric Master) does that determines your rank. This works well in Camarilla society, since all vampires have a clearly defined station, and ghouls have but one Domitor. However, many Sabbat packs have communal 'ownership' of ghouls, so status is determined by seniority. Any rank or precedence assigned by the Domitor is ignored once the orders have been carried out. In purely social circumstances, the oldest ghoul rules.
Ghoul society has no grand salons. Ghouls are essentially beasts of labor, and have little time to themselves. Generally, they congregate in bars which are generally closed to the 'Uninitiated'. In most cases, if you are eligible to enter the club, you already know where it is, or at least how to find it. Some low-status Kindred make a business out of providing 'supervision' to such gatherings, making sure that nothing gets too public or too out of hand. Ghoul society has produced no poets, no artists, and no innovators. Like their undead masters, ghouls have only a limited ability to create, and prefer to save those energies for their masters needs. One last curious feature of the ghoul world, is its scheduling. Between ghouls of different Domitors, all arrangements, all appointments, all alliances are purely temporary. If the Domitor tells his or her ghoul not to associate with the thralls of a rival, the ghoul will obey, and no one can take open offence at any inconvenience this may cause. After all, orders are orders.
Today the ghouls of the Magnificent Seven HAD no orders, aside from the usual not-to-onerous guard duty, and so they engaged in traditional ghoul past-time: trying to understand their masters. Ghouls are told virtually nothing about the world their masters move through. This is felt to be in the ghouls best interest, to prevent mental anguish and psychological damage. After all, the thinking goes, no need to burden them with things they couldn't possibly understand. However, as in most master-slave relationships, the masters come to view the slaves as objects, and don't bother about what the slave listens in on. Most ghoul gatherings consisted largely of sharing information, comparing notes, and swapping theories. There is one other topic that often comes up, but it is not a pleasant one.
Their masters had been very excited about the captive brought back by Master Tariq, and had argued right up to sunrise. Master Simon and Mistress Veronique had favored killing the prisoner, Masters Tariq and Jeff favored interrogation, while Master Bubba and Mistress Jessy advocated converting him. But as always, it would be Master Janus who decided. He simply had not decided yet.
The ghouls were eating breakfast. There were six (1) of them, and so they ate at a long table found in the slaughterhouse's old cafeteria. As usual Jasper Vines (age 49, ex-USMC, Purple Heart) was cooking, and hearing complaints on the coffee. All the ghouls marveled at how Jasper could cook anything else, yet still make coffee that tasted like industrial waste. The young-looking (since ghouls never appear to age), dark skinned man was used to it. That was not the same thing as liking it.
"Seriously, Jas, I could float a lid on this shit" griped a small Asian man. This was Sano Ichijo, formerly a captain in the Japanese Imperial Army. He was the most senior ghoul here, having tasted vitae over half a century ago in what is now Indonesia. He had been ghouled to Janus' sire, who had taught him English, but was now a 'pack ghoul'. "In my army, men committed seppuku if they produced anything THIS foul"
"Well" Jasper replied "I remember the one time you cooked dinner. We had to call the fire department, and lost most of the kitchen, not to mention pissing off the bosses. Don't recall you offering to commit sabookoo then."
"Why do you always bring that up?" This was from a red-haired , green eyed woman named Kristie Valence-formerly of the CIA's Black Ops team- who'd been ghouled a mere six years ago. Jessy had felt that a ghoul assistant would be useful, and gave Kristie those jobs she didn't have time to do herself. "I mean it was, what, a decade ago? Move ON!"
"We can't" replied Sylvester Tailor "You see, Sano's fire displeased the bosses SO much that they let Mistress Veronique kill a young associate of ours named Vince Del'Regia. Tortured him to death because he called the fire department and let outsiders into the lair."
"Yeah" countered was Daniel Kranz (ex-Green Beret, and proud bearer of the Congressional Medal of Honor) "and Sano didn't try to commit seppuku only because he had knocked himself unconscious when the fire started. Smashed his head against the wall when he jumped back. He DID try it later though"
The conversation had taken a decidedly unpleasant turn, and the mood was gloomy. So, Thomas McCrae (fomerly of the LAPD, and 26 years old)decided to lighten things up "So…who likes pie?"
The comment was sufficiently strange to get a small laugh, and the tension drained a bit. "okay Tom, point taken. We'll change the subject." Sano said, a laugh in his voice "what do we think they will do with the captive? I think they will kill him. He surrendered, so…"
"…he has no honor." Finished Sylvester "C'mon Sano, you know that isn't what Westerners believe. I think they'll try to convert him. Their Sabbat is some kinda religious army isn't it? If he's willing to convert, they've pretty much gotta let him"
"Besides" Jasper said as he set upt the grill to make breakfast "that attitude got your country into a whole lot of trouble as I recall. War crimes and such."
San scowled. He had been a true believer in the stated mission of the Japanese Greater Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere(2) and still tried to follow the ideals of Bushido. "A few abuses by garlic-eating barbarians(3) is no reason to abandon a code that stood firm for more than a thousand years"
"Yes. Well" Daniel said, trying to change the subject again "I doubt we are going to solve the East-West divide tonight. Now lets change to slightly more pressing matters. This is a very odd mission, isn't it? I mean, they usually tell us to do things like spy for them, or procure supplies. But this time we're being told to find this ONE man, this Caine. Why is that, I wonder?"
"I remember" Kristie said "back when we did that job in Dallas, I was talking to a ghoul belonging to the big vamps, and she said all the vamps think they're descended from the Cain(1) in the bible. Y'know, the one who offed his brother"
"Oh come on now!" Sylvester laughed "You can't believe that! Cain"
"Didn't say I believed it, said they did" Kristie said, a touch coolly.
"actually" Sano said a bit speculatively "that WOULD fit with what old Pyotr told me, back before he was killed. He said that vampirism was a curse that one of his ancestors had been placed under as punishment for some great misdeed"
"Yeah, well doesn't seem fair" said Jasper, as he scrambled a dozen eggs "Punishing them for what some guy did god alone knows how long ago"
"Why not?" Daniel said "they're blood sucking demons who're all going to hell. Let em suffer I say"
Sylvester glared at him "And what does that make us, Daniel?"
"Huh?"
"You know not all of them chose to become what they are. Not one of us, anywhere, can say the same. We walked into this with our eyes open. Moreover, we know that a lot of the time they lose control to something inside them, and that's when they do the really bad things. We are always at least somewhat in control. So if they're all demons destined for the Bad Fire, aren't we something even worse?"
Conversation died at that point. The ghouls went about their guard duties in silence.
As has been said earlier there is a second frequently broached topic in ghoul society, one that no ghoul likes to discuss. That is: What happens to a ghoul's soul when he or she dies? Or as it is often phrased these days: 'when you get up in front of that judgement throne, when you see all the human beings you led to the slaughter, and when the Almighty asks what the fuck you were thinking, what the hell are you gonna say?'
And no one likes to think about that.
End Interlude
A/n Just a little look into an oft overlooked segment of the World of Darkness. Personally, I think ghouls are at once pitiful and contemptible.
I know I said there were more before, but I just didn't want to deal with any more than 6. So I had to change it. This is not pleasant for me, because I normally hate it when authors can't keep their own continuity straight.
The 'official' name for the Japanese Empire carved out between 1901 and 1945. Officially based on a racial hierarchy referred to as 'proper place'. The theory went: if everyone's in their proper place, everyone will be a lot happier and more prosperous. Three guesses where the Japanese put themselves and the first two don't count. Look it up people, it was at least as bloody as the Reich, yet for some reason it isn't really taught in schools.
(3) common Japanese epithet for Koreans. Been in use since the 15th century.
(4)For some reason White Wolf spells it Caine while most versions of the bible spell it Cain. Go figure.