Mind's Eye Theatre - Vampire The Requiem.pdf - RoseRed

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chapter two: character
Daeva
Other Kindred envy their beauty and grace, their ability to incite passion in mortals, the
ease with which they glide through the masses — and that envy is almost as potent a draught
to the Daeva as blood itself. These Kindred are consummate predators, and they would seem
to be the perfect vampires. Alas, most are too dead inside to enjoy it.
Called Succubi by other clans, the Daeva are experts at making their prey come to them,
practically offering themselves not merely as food but as playthings. No self-respecting Daeva
resorts to attacking transients in alleyways. Rather, these are the Kindred who accompany
a smitten young mortal back to her place, leaving her languid and sexually spent by morning
(if she’s fortunate) or an exsanguinated husk (if she’s not). Seducers and sensualists, the
Daeva could practically charm the unease off a Nosferatu. When the fancy strikes them, they
play politics like a fi nely tuned instrument. Even allies and coconspirators who know they
cannot trust a Succubus fi nd themselves lulled into doing just that,
caught up in the Daeva’s personal magnetism. Daeva become
Harpies more than Kindred of any other clan, and they wield
that power mercilessly. A stinging rebuke from a Daeva Harpy
can shred a vampire’s reputation faster than a denunciation
by the Prince himself.
Most Succubi are overtly sensual beings, drawn by beauty
and blood in equal measure, but it’s an artifi cial passion. Their
ability to feel true attachment to other people atrophies over
years of manipulating the love of mortals and the respect
of their fellow Kindred, until the Daeva can no longer
understand those emotions as anything other than tools
to be exploited and motions to imitate. For all their
apparent fervor, most Succubi are as dead spiritually
as they are physically. They claim to understand desire,
but all they truly know is need, and it is this deadening
of emotions that causes so many jaded Daeva to
become depraved in their efforts to feel again.
Daeva move through the circles of society in which
their lustful natures best serve them, whether among
high society or low culture. Drawn to beauty and congregations
of mortals, they often frequent theaters,
galleries, trendy clubs, whiskey dives, drug dens, brothels
and everything in between. Personal preferences
aside, the Succubi are found through all strata of
society. Their seductive natures allow these vampires
to fi nd willing vessels no matter where they go, and
this ability has enabled them to thrive, to become
arguably one of the most numerous clans. No
single social class has room for them all, so
newcomers and losers of political and social
games often fi nd themselves dwelling among