[OOC] Vampire the Masquerade - Chronicles of the Ivory Tower (work in progress)

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The Ivory Tower (Forever Shall She Stand)
A Tale of the Masquerade

Why is it human nature to fear the darkness? What horrors lurk in the deepest shadows of the night? For many years I asked myself this question, until one night I discovered the terrible truth. Incidentally, it was my final night alive. For you see, there is an entire society of beings operating in the shadows of our world. They pull strings invisible to the human eye, maneuvering and manipulating so that their prey will never become the wiser to their presence. It is a grand dance known as the Masquerade, the prized charade of the Camarilla. And who are these enigmatic figures who keep the wool placed firmly over the eyes of humanity? Well…

A vampire is a dark creature of the night, cursed with undeath and gifted with incredible powers that make them frighteningly adept predators of humanity. But what makes a vampire a vampire? What qualities to they share?

- An intolerance for fire and sunlight. That is a mild way of putting it. A vampire's greatest fears are for fire and sunlight, and indeed the presence of either is sufficient to make all but the bravest of them flee in terror. Direct exposure to either will reduce a vampire to ash in mere moments, though some vampires are hardier than others. For them death does not come quite so quickly, but it will still come.

- A monster that dwells inside them. Within the soul of every vampire lurks an inner demon, a Beast that drives their predatory instincts and cares nothing for the trapping of humanity. It is a constant struggle for a vampire to keep their Beast at bay, for it cannot be allowed to run free. A vampire in complete thrall to their Beast is no better than an animal, caring only for survival. Civilized concerns such as the Masquerade mean naught, and thus such vampires are hunted and slain by their higher-minded kin.

- Sleeping during the day. The sun is anathema to the vampires in more ways that just its light. When it rises into the sky, the undead are forced into slumber until it has set once more. While vampires who are more in-touch with their humanity are able to remain awake for a short while in daytime, those that have been surrendering themselves to their inner Beast find it far more difficult to do so.

- A thirst for blood. Blood is everything to a vampire. It is their sustenance. It is their greatest pleasure. It is a mark and measure of their power. It is what fuels their supernatural gifts, and it is what makes them rise every night from their death-like slumber.

- A lack of vital signs. A vampire is dead, and their bodies show it. Their skin is pale and deathly cold. Their hearts do not beat. They do not breathe. Their internal organs are dried, useless husks that no longer serve a true purpose. It is with great effort that they feign life amongst their prey, using the power in their blood to force a pulse, to warm their skin, to breathe. But even so, few vampires are able to consume food as a human does. Those that cannot find such cuisine turning to ash in their mouths.

- An Embrace into the darkness. The creation of a vampire is a delicate procedure. First, the vampire who is to be the sire must drain all of the blood from a mortal victim, the childe-to-be. Then, the sire feeds the exsanguinated human a trace of vampire blood. If all goes well, the mortal becomes an immortal, and awakens as a fledgling vampire. If all does not go well, the mortal merely perishes a mortal and becomes nothing more significant than that.

The Camarilla--also known as the Ivory Tower--is a nearly-global society of vampires with their own laws, customs, and lexicon. It is a rigid structure where the eldest vampires reign supreme and the younger vampires struggle to rise above their place at the bottom of the totem pole. Tradition is fundamental to the Tower, and indeed the laws of the Camarilla are referred to as the Traditions.

The First Tradition:
The Masquerade

Thou shall not reveal thy true nature to those not of the Blood. Doing such shall renounce thy claims of Blood.

The First Tradition is the most important of all, and one breaks this law at the risk of death. The Masquerade is a simple concept: simply keeping one's vampiric nature to themselves when around non-vampires. You do not speak of it. You do not use obvious supernatural abilities. You seek to remove evidence of supernatural activity when you find it, lest the mortals discover that the world isn't what they believe it to be.

The Second Tradition:
The Domain

Thy domain is thine own concern. All others owe thee respect while in it. None may challenge thy word while in thy domain.

The Second Tradition speaks of the concept of "my house, my rules." It largely benefits the single ruler of any given Camarilla city, who is referred to as a Prince regardless of the gender of that ruler. The Prince is to be treated with the greatest respect, since every vampire in his/her Domain is living on what is essentially the Prince's land.

The Third Tradition:
The Progeny

Thou shall only Sire another with the permission of thin Elder. If thou createst another without thine Elder's leave, both thou and thy Progeny shall be slain.

The Third Tradition stems in part from the Second. A vampire is not permitted to sire a childe in a Prince's Domain without the permission of that Prince. Doing so means death for both sire and childe if the crime is discovered.

The Fourth Tradition:
The Accounting

Those thou create are thine own children. Until thy Progeny shall be Released, thou shall command them in all things. Their sins are thine to endure.

The Fourth Tradition continues from the Third, dictating how new childer are seen by society. They are not considered to be their own person, but instead are under the direct supervision of their sires. Their mistakes are considered mistakes of their sire, so it is understandable that many sires keep their childe out of the public eye and on a close leash until such time as they prove they can handle themselves with necessary decorum. Once that time comes, a sire Releases their childe from the Accounting, and the childe is considered a true member of the Camarilla, albeit a mere neonate.

The Fifth Tradition:
Hospitality

Honor one another's domain. When thou comest to a foreign city, thou shall present thyself to the one who ruleth there. Without the word of acceptance, thou art nothing.

The Fifth Tradition is a simple one in concept. If a vampire is to visit another's Domain, they need to introduce themselves and seek permission to reside there, even briefly. It's only polite, after all.

The Sixth Tradition:
Destruction

Thou art forbidden to destroy another of thy kind. The right of destruction belongeth only to thine Elder. Only the Eldest among thee shall call the Blood Hunt.

The Sixth Tradition is appropriately the final one of the list, given that it pertains to the ending of a vampire's life. It is generally not permitted for a vampire to take the life of another, but all bets are off if the Prince has declared the life of a vampire in his/her Domain to be forfeit. All in a city are expected to answer the call of a Blood Hunt, though such hunts are an extreme measure reserved for truly despicable criminals.
[OOC] Vampire the Masquerade - Chronicles of the Ivory Tower (work in progress)

Bad Wolf

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