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

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mortal society. Certainly, some particularly skilled Kindred provide other services, and a
Prince can offer territory or other special privileges, but infl uence is the currency with
which most Kindred barter. One elder with leverage at the local airport might agree
to smuggle something for another, if the other will use his own contacts to make sure
that the police don’t break up the fi rst’s drug-traffi cking operation. Without some
measure of infl uence in mortal society, most Kindred have little to trade.
So the young vampire discovers that she must develop mortal allies and contacts
if she wishes to cultivate Kindred allies. The more Kindred allies she has, however,
the more attention she draws. The enemies of her allies become her enemies. Other
Kindred who might have left her alone suddenly see her rising in power and decide
to cut her off at the knees before she becomes dangerous. Suddenly, her allies aren’t
suffi cient. She needs more connections, more infl uential sponsors. For that, she needs
to develop more contacts and infl uence in kine society.
Despite the amicable-sounding name they have chosen for themselves, the “Kindred”
don’t particularly see themselves as family unless they’re forced to do so. The bonds
of friendship are all but nonexistent among vampires, and those relationships that
do form against all odds rarely survive as long as those who enter into them. Kindred
who attempt to remain aloof, who try to avoid entangling themselves in mortal or
Kindred affairs, usually fi nd that society won’t permit them to sit the game out.
And so it goes, an endless loop making sure that few Kindred ever manage to haul
themselves out of the quagmire that is the modern city.
The bonds of clan, bloodline or covenant also provide ample ties to make common cause
between vampires. Kindred who dwell among a large population of their clanmates and covenant
members have an undeniable advantage over those who do not. Almost by defi nition, these
social bonds are found entirely within cities. Leaving them all behind might seem like a liberating
notion to young Kindred, as they wouldn’t have to worry about upsetting their brethren, angering
elders, hunting on the wrong ground or speaking to the wrong person. Too many Kindred
have found, however, that the inherent diffi culties of surviving away from population centers
are greater than expected, and they have no assistance on which to call.
LONELINESS
One of the most ingrained reasons to remain in cities is loneliness. Kindred are no longer
mortal, but the transition is relatively recent for most. Not even the eldest can fully shake
the last lingering traces of what they used to be. Predators tend toward solitude by nature,
but people are gregarious in the extreme, and the Kindred’s waning sense of community,
of belonging, helps tie them to their remaining Humanity. Vampires certainly feel lonely as
often or as easily as mortals do (if not more so), and some who remain apart from the masses
too long discover they can no longer blend in when they attempt to return.
Some young Kindred have recently attempted to survive in the wild as coteries, rather than
as individuals. Doing so goes a long way toward alleviating the loneliness of such isolation, but
many of these coteries run into diffi culties fi nding enough sustenance upon which to feed.
It’s hard enough for a lone Kindred to feed herself on animals and the occasional hitchhiker.
For a group, the task is extremely challenging in the long run.
ELYSIUM
One of the most ancient and honored surviving Kindred customs, and one whose importance
many modern neonates drastically underestimate, is that of Elysium. In essence,
a Prince may declare specifi c locations of his city to be Elysium, places free of violence, safe
for all Kindred. Most offi cial Kindred business takes place in Elysium. The Prince’s court
is most frequently held in one such location, and most young vampires who need to speak
with a leader or elder come to Elysium to seek them out. Politics and intrigue are as common
chapter one: society of the damned