Waking to the Night (Vampire: The Masquerade)

[Imperial Overlord]

I am passing my hand over the camp fire, going closer and closer every time, and for a brief moment, the tiniest of instances, I think "what the fuck am I doing?" It's a jolt because everything makes sense now, I think, but old ways of thinking die hard. Fuck, I've only been undead a year and everything is happening so fast that it's hard to keep up. I'm always playing catch up. I take a deep breath, which is a habit since I don't need air anymore, and exhale slowly. My name is Simon Cooper. I was a human being, but that ended a year ago. I am a vampire.

My embrace is something much easier to understand with the benefit of hindsight and someone filling in all the details. I didn't get those for a while. I was mostly thinking "why me?" and "oh God save me." He didn't, of course, but now I understand "why me."

I wasn't anybody that special. I was smarter than most, but smart people are easy to find on a university campus. My family isn't rich, but it does alright. Dad's got his own little construction company and doesn't say it much, but he's as proud as hell that I won scholarships. Mom's the stay at home type and maybe drinks a little too much. Got a younger sister who is quiet and smart and a rambunctious little brother dumber than rocks. Nothing really special.

I was doing poli sci and history while angling for law school, aiming to add to the world's population of lawyer scumbags. I still had some idealism. I had no idea that I was being stalked and even if I had noticed Jessica tailing me, I wouldn't of been afraid of being followed by a smoking hot chick. Ignorance is bliss. I could have easily not known any of this shit and been happy, but that's not the straw I drew.

She sensed something about me, a sensitivity to spirits. I would have laughed her off back in my living days if she had told me that, that or nodded in agreement and try to get in her pants. I have deja vue occasionally and what I thought was an over active imagination. I see shadows moving with no wind and hear things, but its never enough to really believe its anything but my imagination in overdrive. Or I should say, it was like that. Now I see what is really there.

Anyway, my sensitivity didn't land me in a funny farm, but it did make me show up like a bright shiny light bulb when Jessica eyeballed me. After stalking me for a while she decided I was suitable. It was easy. Embarrassingly easy.

It was just after fall midterms and I was drinking at an off campus bar with a few of my friends and a smoking hot brunette slides over and hits on me. Did I go for it? Hell yes I did. I followed her right out the door and into her car. She took the scenic route.

I began to get nervous when she drove out into the woods, but then it was far, far too late. She looked me in the eye and told me to follow her and then got out of the car. I felt a really powerful urge to do just that, but I fought it down and ran for it instead.

She wasn't disappointed that Dominate hadn't worked on me or that I had possessed enough sense to run for the hills when my spider sense went off. That just confirmed she had made a good choice. I didn't get very far with my dash for freedom. About twenty feet all told.

She was on me like a flash, of course. I tried to fight her off, but she had a grip like iron. She sealed my lips together, literally. She just ran her hand over my mouth and that was it. I really started panicking then, but she was as strong as steel. She just threw me over her shoulder and started walking.

We got there pretty quick. There were a half dozen of the scariest motherfuckers I had ever seen gathered around a spot between a circle of trees. "Hey Jess," said this scary looking dude with an Iranian ayatollah class beard. "Got the sweet meat?"

At that point I was expecting to be in the supernatural equivalent of Deliverance meets the Texas Chainsaw Massacre and I was thrashing even harder. I accomplished nothing, of course. She tossed me down in the middle of them and pinned me with one hand. "Listen up," she said. "I'm going to fix your mouth. Don't bother screaming and don't bother running. Neither is going to do jack shit for you."

I laid very still, mostly out of terror. She ran her finger along and separated my lips, spending about half a minute making sure they came out right. Then she got up. A cadaverous dude who would have looked less freaky if he wore a leather face mask tossed down a shovel beside me. "Dig," she said.

"Oh God please," I said. They chuckled.

"God isn't here," Jessica said. "We are. There's a lot of ways it can go. Let me assure you we will enjoy all of them, but the one that will suck least for you means starting to dig that hole right fucking now."

Shaking, I got to my feet and began digging my own grave. I cried a little. That drew chuckles. Eventually, I got it deep enough for them and they told me to stop. I gripped the shovel, ready to strike a the first one to lunge. At the time I was thinking maybe, if I got really lucky, I could take out a couple and lose the rest in the woods. Better than just standing here and getting raped, tortured, and killed.

Jessica was on me before I could do anything. The shovel was gone and her fangs were in my neck and there was bliss like only those who have been bitten can know. I wasn't really thinking at that point, but I was able to recognize that she was a vampire. I was pretty blissed out, but everything was making some sense. Sort of. Then I passed out.

Then fire got poured down my throat. It was sort of like whiskey, but way stronger. I gulped it down. It made me feel like a fucking demigod, like I could kick the ass of the entire football team and then fuck all the cheerleaders. Pure, raw euphoria and power. That's when they hit me in the back of the head with the shovel.

They probably cracked my skull, which was now a fairly survivable injury, but it also laid me out. They chucked me in the grave and then started piling dirt on top of me. By the time my wetware was working properly I was buried alive.

To say that I panicked was an understatement. I clawed and the dirt and hyperventilated for about a minute before I realized that I didn't need to breath. By then I was beginning to hallucinate. At least I hope I was hallucinating. I could hear big worms coming for me, through the earth. I could hear mouths full of fangs rasp against each other. I started digging really, really fast.

I don't know how long it took me to get out, although it couldn't have been more than a few hours. I was still in a haze and it was hard going with almost no room to move my arms. I could hear things squirming towards me through the earth and I was so hungry. I craved more of Jessica's blood with every fiber of my blood. I needed it in the worst way possible. I Hungered.

They never reached me and so I can't say for sure if they were real or not. Probably not. I was pretty light headed when I hit the surface. Whooping laughter greeted me when I broke out. Strong hands pulled me up and a silver chalice was pressed to my lips. The aroma coming from it was heavenly. I drank deeply.

It was the best stuff imaginable, a mix of a half dozen similar but distinct flavors. It sated my hunger and gave strength to my limbs. The fuzziness went away and I was aware, aware like I had never been in my life. I could see easily in the darkness and hear the heart beats of nearby animals, I could smell the loam of the earth and the musk of a nearby raccoon.

The biker with the beard slapped me on the back. "Welcome to the Sabbat boy, and the Sons of Kings."

Jessica smiled at me. "Your old life is dead. Your unlife awaits. Drink up, the next couple of nights are going to be busy."

[LadyTevar]

Oh yay, he's a ShovelHead.
Possibly Malkavian.

[Imperial Overlord]

Possibly Malkavian.

I'm sorry. The lady does not win a prize.

[LadyTevar]

Possibly Malkavian.

I'm sorry. The lady does not win a prize.

Give me more clues, then.

[rhoenix]

I'm tentatively guessing Tzimizce, but it'd only be a guess at this point.

Interesting stuff - I was actually half-tempted to write my character out this way before the game came along. Good work.

EDIT: clarity

[Mark S]

Sews his lips shut with a pass of the hand... I'd say Tzimizce.

[rhoenix]

Sews his lips shut with a pass of the hand... I'd say Tzimizce.

Though it's too early to say for sure, I think - Kindred in the Dabbat do share knowledge.

[Imperial Overlord]

I finished off the rest of the blood in the chalice, completing my first participation in the Vaulderie and so binding me to my pack mates."So, I'm a vampire now?" were the first words out of my mouth when I finished.

"Yeah," said the big bad biker dude. "I'm Willy, the Nosferatu freak show over there is Harvey, the moody guy in the leather jacket with the cigarette is Jean Paul, the chick you can't see is Wild Thing, blondey is Heather, and you've already met the lovely Jessica. Jess to a liking to you and now you're one of us. Capice?

"Yeah."

"Good. Jess and the rest of us will show you the ropes, but you have to prove your worth. There's no room for pussies who can't pull their own weight or throw down with his brothers and sisters. But that shit comes latter. Dawn's coming soon and we all need to be in doors." Willy reached into his pocket and threw a plastic square at me. It unfolded into one of those Glad garbage bags. "Put in a couple shovel fulls of dirt."

"Like fucking Dracula?"

Willy smiled. "Exactly like fucking Dracula. Go to it." So I shovelled some dirt and got back into Jessica's car. It was an unnerving experience. She drove back into town and we parked by this sedate little house at the end of the block.

"Take your dirt," she said as she got out. It was a pretty normal place inside and we took the stairs to the basement. There were no windows and the place was sliced up into a bunch of bed spaces.

"You get the couch," said Jessica. "Make sure the dirt is near you." I was beginning to feel, well, not quite drowsy, but as if there was weight on me, pushing me towards sleep. It wasn't quite like anything I had felt before. I was pretty much out by the time I hit the couch.

I didn't really dream that night and I didn't really get much rest. I was out and then I was up again, sort of. Jessica slapped my face. "Get up," she said. I felt weak and clumsy, but managed to do it. "Go catch a shower and then we'll grab you some clothes."

My balance was pretty shitty and I almost fell in the shower. My clothes were pretty dirty, naturally, and I was dropped off to pick some clothes at my dorm. I packed a dufflebag and hustled back down.

"He looks like shit," said Jean Paul.

"He needs to hunt," said Wild Thing. She was a scary woman, wearing flannel, jeans, and leather. She had ragged nails, wild hair, and scary eyes.

"Fill him up and he'll be fine," said Willy. "Nothing to it."

"I don't think junior's up for it," said Jean Paul. "I think our Jessica has made a mistake."

Jessica walked over and placed her hands on my head. She examined me closely. "Maybe. Maybe not. Heather, go grab some take out."

The blonde pouted. "Fuck that. I'm not hunting for a fucking shovel head."

Jessica turned and showed fang. "You're hunting for me bitch. Do it!" Heather jumped to and I got driven back to the woods to wait. No one was talking to me. They were talking, but not to me.

Heather came by with a skinny dude and brought him over. His eyes were glazed over pretty good. "Hurry up and drink him down," she said grouchily.

I was feeling thirsty, but is was something I could deny. That wasn't what bothered me. I didn't want to kill this guy, but the expressions on the faces of my new friends told me what would happen if I declined. I didn't want to kill, but I didn't want to die even more.

I sank my fangs into his neck. It was bliss. You really can't describe it to someone who doesn't do it. I drank him down rapidly. He shuddered and went limp in my grasp and I sucked out the last drops.

I was full, but I wasn't much better. "He still looks like shit," said Willy. "Maybe he has something."

"Then we should put him down," said Jean Paul. Fuck me.

"Shut up," said Jessica. She walked over to me, looked at me closely. "Maybe he's sick, maybe not. We'll see how this shit works out tomorrow morning."

"If he isn't better?"

"Then I make a call and we move his ass. Then we'll know in a day or two."

"Why are we carrying his ass?" grumbled Jean Paul.

"Because I said so," said Jessica. "Anytime you feel like being ductas, you know where to find me. Want to step up to the plate?" She showed fang. Jean Paul put up his hands to signal the negative. "Alright, let's get his ass home."

[rhoenix]

Getting more interesting now.

And yup, Tzimizce.

[Imperial Overlord]

I was in even a worse state the next night. I could stand, but I could barely manage to open a door. Heather took one look at me and turned around and back to the next room. "He's in pretty fucking rough shape," she said. "Either do your voodoo or plant him Jess."

Great. She turned me into a monster and now they're about to kill me. Jess walked in and eyeballed me. "You're worse," she said.

I thought about trying to bullshit my way out of this, saying no, I think I'm get better; but she wouldn't believe it. "Yeah," I croaked.

She nodded. "We're going to go on a trip. Get you fixed up." I wanted to believe her and I have way did. It's not like the others were being shy about talking about killing me. She wouldn't bother lying to me if she wanted me dead, right? Yeah, pretty damn weak, but I was scared and I wanted to live.

"Put on your shoes and coat. We're going for a ride." I managed to finish dressing myself and reached the car. Only Jess was there. "Get in the front seat," she said.

"Just the two of us?" I asked.

"Yeah. We've got things to do down here. Besides, this is clan business."

"Clan? As in Scottish?"

"As in Tzimisce. Your clan. Doesn't matter what you were born, the blood of the Ancient runs through your veins. Get in and buckle up." I did.

"So that's our vampire bloodline?" I asked. "Hierarchy running to the founder and that shit?"

"No," she said pulling away. "Wrong on a bunch of points. Bloodlines are smaller than clans. There's thirteen clans. We're Sabbat, which is I guess a political organization. A vampire nation. Back in the old days things used to get run as top down hierarchies, eldest ones calling the shots. About six hundred years ago things came to a head. Some of us rebelled. Things got nasty. We're the rebels and the descendants of rebels. Things are run by merit. We're a brotherhood protecting each other and resisting tyranny."

"Didn't seen much that way to me," I said. I was feeling a little reckless. Either way she had already made the decision to kill me or save me.

"It's a dangerous world and you were looking like you were just going to be a burden. It would have been a mercy. Does eternity as a helpless cripple appeal to you?" She was moving out into the busier streets now. I didn't know where she was going.

"No."

"Right. Besides, you hadn't proven yourself yet. A brother isn't a brother until he's acted like one. Laid his life on the line to fight for his siblings."

"So I'm on vampire probation?"

"Close enough," she said as she pulled onto the freeway exit. "Anyway, most of the Tzimisce Clan is part of the Sabbat, which is our nation. Certain traits are passed through the blood. Clans also tend to pick people with certain traits. Leads to certain stereotypes and commonalities among the clans."

"Like the way the mafia is all made up of Italian scumbags?"

"Yeah," she said. "Except were a bunch of flesh warping freaks. We're an old clan, with traditions of scholarship and sorcery that go back before recorded history. No one has a better understanding of the vampiric state than we do and we have focused on how to develop and change it."

"So you're taking me to a Tzimisce brainy type to see if he knows how to cure me?"

"Not quite," she said. "I'm pretty sure I know what's wrong with you. One of the things Tzimisce is an affinity with the land. Even our sorcery is a fusion of blood magic and drawing upon the spirits of the land. I picked you because you had a strong affinity for spirits, that you might make a koldun. There's a rare condition among the Tzimisce, especially among sensitives, where the land of their birth or death won't work for them. Only the land from the Old Country."

"You mean fucking Transylvania?"

"I mean fucking Transylvania. Which means I'm going to an old bastard from Transylvania and will try to score from dirt from him."

"You'll think that will work?"

"Yeah. Then I'm going to dump you on him."

"What?"

"I'm no koldun. The practice has been fading for centuries. I can't teach you. He can."

"So you made me a vampire so you could give an apprentice to a vampire blood sorcerer."

"Yes. Now mind you manners. These are matters of weight and importance and the old ones place a lot of importance on proper etiquette. Our clan is also known as Fiends for our vengefulness. Forget your smart twenty-first century mouth and remember some old fashion manners or your will end up screaming your apologies for longer than you thought possible."

[Imperial Overlord]

We had to stop and find a place to rest before dawn. Jessica checked us into a motel and we spent the day inside. I dreamed of dark things in the earth, great fanged serpents that rose up and writhed over me. They whispered things to me in a language that I couldn't understand.

I woke up around the same time as Jessica. I wasn't much more worse off than the night before, which meant I was pretty fucked up. Jess hustled me into the car and we left.

I lost track of time as we drove. I could almost hear the serpents, whispering in my ears, slipping thoughts into my brain. I was dreaming while awake.

"We're almost there," said Jessica, waking my from my revere. She was driving down a forest lined road.

"Where are we?"

"Small town. Owned by us, or more precisely, by our servants. Or more precisely, Janos's servants." She took an unpaved turnoff and the car cruised slowly down the dirt road. The road curved to the right. Jessica slid ahead and they passed a screen of foliage to see a large manor house. Lights glowed in the second and third stories.

Jessica drove up to the front door and killed the engine. "Best behavior," she warned. Then she pulled on the bell rope. "He's a little old fashion. Most of the twentieth passed him buy without him paying much attention."

The door opened, revealing a dimly lit entrance way. A tall man with grey hair opened the door. He was about six five, wore a dark suit, and was lean almost to the point of being cadaverous. He bowed slightly. "What is your business with the house of Janos Karoly?"

"I am Jessica of the Sabbat, priest and ductus of the Remorseless Blades. I know the mighty zhupan of old and wish the call upon the koldun's wisdom."

"Please follow me," said the servant. He lead them to a dark sitting room and flicked on the light switch. The room was very nineteenth century, decorated in dark colours and possessing bookshelves covering two walls. "I will inform my lord of your presence." The servant turned and departed. I slumped on a couch.

A minute later they heard footfalls on the stairs. A tall being entered the room. "He" was androgynous, a being of perfectly sculpted beauty. His six fingered hands possessed an extra joint and hairless oval skull possessed perfect symmetry. His eyes were luminous and golden. He wore a scarlet robe with golden dragons embroidered on it.

"Ahh, Jessica," Janos purred. "I am pleased to see you again."

She bowed. "Mighty zhupan, I am honoured by your attention."

Janos inclined his head. "Your friend seems unwell."

"He is mighty zhupan. I had hoped to enlist your aid in this matter."

Janos stepped towards me. He bent down and looked at me closely. "He is a sensitive. Newly reborn. You suspect he needs earth from the Old Country?"

"Yes, mighty zhupan."

Janos straightened. "You are probably correct. I shall, of course, see to the comfort of both of my guests."

"It need not be said," she said. "Your hospitality is always excellent."

"Should he recover, what are your plans?" Janos asked.

"He has the makings of a koldun. I would see him trained by one who knows the old ways."

"There are few of us left anymore. The blood-magic of the renegade Tremere has enjoyed more popularity in the last few centuries."

"That is true," she said, "but all the Tremere antitribu in the Sabbat are dust. Outside of Montreal, their are few practitioners and even fewer masters left. The old ways are becoming more popular among those with any talent for blood magic. Some believe that the spirits are choosing new kolduns so that the decline of the art may be reversed."

"So I have heard. And this one, this one they watch. I will take him on as an apprentice. To fulfill my obligations to the Sabbat and to the art."

"Thank you, mighty zhupan." And just like that Jessica scored a whole bunch of points with the Tzimisce and the Sabbat and I became Janos's property.

[Imperial Overlord]

I slept that day in an old fashioned four poster bed with several handfuls of dark earth next to me. I slept easily and peacefully and arose the next night strong and full of vigor. A petite pale blonde woman in a dress of black lace lead me to a sitting room. Janos was there, waiting.

"I see you are refreshed," he said. "That is good. Our kind has taken strength from the land since the time of myth. It is our weakness and our strength. It is your heritage now. Embrace it and its strengths."

That was the beginning of his instruction. Janos was learned, wise, and completely alien. I wasn't completely human anymore, I wasn't really sure what being a vampire really meant. Janos taught me.

"You are a wolf now. You cannot live as a sheep. You must discard all but appearances, and then only keep those when you wish to walk among them unnoticed. You are a vampire now and other vampires of the Sabbat will be your brothers and sisters, once you have proved yourself to them. Beyond that it falls to you to be the best vampire you can be. Some things can be taught, others you must figure out for yourself. There are many paths that can be walked. You must learn them, embrace your true nature, and choose. But we get ahead of ourselves."

He lead me out of his manse and into the woods. "All of that is latter. First you must build a foundation, master the essentials of existence. You must learn to hunt and feed." I followed in his wake. He continued.

"You must awaken the gifts of your blood. You must attune your senses to the world around. Knowledge is the first step to mastery. You already see more than most humans. You must extend your physical and psychic senses so that nothing escapes.

"You must touch the inner Beast within yourself, animals, and even humans. Master the Beast, make it your slave, and dominion over yourself and others will be yours. The beasts of the city and the forest will come and obey, humans will submit meekly like cattle. Fury will be your servant, not your master.

"Beyond the Beast, you must master the flesh in which it resides. Mold skin and muscle and reshape bone to suit your will. Disfigure or cripple your enemies at will, remake your servants as they need. Most of all, adapt your flesh to whatever the situation demands. Beauty for seductions, blades and armour for war, the face of your enemy's beloved for infiltration. Master the flesh and awaken the power of the zulo shape to destroy your enemies utterly.

"Lastly comes the spirits. Your psychic senses will allow you perceive them. Cajole them, bargain with, and bind them to use their powers over all things. Such abilities are not easy to learn or cheap to employ, but their power is great. The spirits of earth and fire, wind and water, wield powers over all aspects of existence. When you can bind them, so shall you.

"Beyond that lie aptitudes and powers common to vampires in general and the abilities of other clans. Learn what you can. The night is not kind to the weak and the Sabbat has no use for the feeble."

And so I began the path which took me here. I'll spare you the details, but I spent the last six month honing my skills and developing my powers. I have ventured as far as nearby towns to hunt and while I have taken blood from humans, I haven't killed yet. Janos thinks I'm squeamish and he doesn't bother to hide his disdain for it. He is, however, pleased with my progress in other areas.

Jessica and her pack are going to pick me up next time they are in the area. Then I'll be given the chance to prove myself in battle against the enemies of the Sabbat and if I do, a place among that vampire brotherhood. I'm not sure how I feel about that. There's still so much to take in.

Well, I'm young yet. There's a lot for me to learn still. I have time to figure the rest of this out, supposing I survive.

So I stand up and stretch out my arms to the fire pit in front of me. I invoke the spirits and my eyes glow orange. I draw power up from the blood of the earth. Lava rises from the depths of the earth, glowing and hissing in the cold hearth. It's like standing next to a furnace. I take a step back, releasing my hold. The molten rock begins to cool slowly in the night air.

I still have much to learn, but I have taken the first steps. I am young, but I am a koldun now and my power is nothing to be taken lightly. The night is dangerous, but I am not helpless. I'm not sure what path I'll follow, but I think I'll have time to figure it out. I hope so. I guess I'll find out for myself soon enough.