VII - RoseRed

energy that they give off, a resonance that colors any
feelings a sensitive mortal or vampire receives from
the site. As such, Wyrm’s Nests aspected toward violence,
blood or anger are the easiest for vampires to
stumble across unaided. Some such Nests even trigger
a sensation similar to the Predator’s Taint. By
contrast, Nests that give off feelings of life, vibrancy
or other benign feelings tend to slip below the Ordo’s
notice. This is just as well, for the Dragons can make
little use of such places.
✴❀✺✻✰✪★✳✂✬✿✻✹★✷✶✳★✻✰✶✵
Skilled geomancers of the Ordo Dracul can make educated
guesses as to how ley lines and Wyrm’s Nests have
shifted over the years. This is in fact the primary
method by which the covenant narrows the areas to
search. Different Kindred have different styles of research.
Some use paper charts that incorporate astrological
movements, some study mortal demographics
(if a great number of people of a given persuasion suddenly
leave an area, for instance), some use carto- or
geomancy. In any case, this kind of study rarely pinpoints
an exact location of a new Wyrm’s Nest, but
instead shows probable locations where existing ones
might have moved. Since these locations move so
slowly, this kind of extrapolation isn’t usually attempted
more than once or twice a decade.
At least, that used to be the case. The
world has changed so much so quickly in
the past century that the Ordo Dracul
is often amazed by how far a given
Nest has shifted from its original location
and how much the energies
it gives off have changed.
Newer researchers have
compensated by using
computers to plot ley line
movement, but this integration
of technology
and mysticism is
hardly seamless.
✴✶✹✻★✳
✬❀✬✺
Dragons keep a
sharp lookout for
mortals who are
sensitive to the
supernatural
and use
them as
“bloodhounds”
to find Wyrm’s
Nests. They prefer
to do this without
calling the
unlife in the ordo dracul
mortal’s attention to the Ordo Dracul’s true desires and
status as vampires, as this breaches the Masquerade and
may require the Dragons to either kill the mortal or make
her into a ghoul. Often, the Ordo Dracul sends ghouls
posing as researchers to the mortal, asking her questions
about her sensitivity, what she believes it to be, what triggers
her feelings, and so on. After this, the ghouls bring
her to several locations, most mundane, but one a known
Wyrm’s Nest. This is done after dark so that a Dragon can
witness the test, but the vampire remains a safe distance
away so as not to taint the experiment. If the mortal is
able to identify the Wyrm’s Nest as supernatural, she is
subject to further “tests” as the Ordo Dracul refines her
sensitivity, and eventually finds herself being taken on a
tour of the area, pointing out any location that she notes
as supernaturally significant.
The Ordo Dracul customizes its approach as necessary,
of course. Some mortals respond better to ghouls
claiming to represent agents of the mortal’s religion,
be it the Catholic Church or a local Wiccan coven.
Others are sensitive enough to detect even the ghouls
approaching them. Such mortals
may be abducted and
tested under far harsher
conditions than
their more cooperative
peers.
41
chapter two
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