Path of the Vampire forum

The streets at night could be a dangerous place. For years, that had been true of unsuspecting mortals who might have found themselves an easily accessed meal for a hungry vampire. Then secrecy had ended, and in a flash, a way of life had completely changed. Vampires out and exposed to the world. Donors more than willing to give up their blood for a few seconds of Twilight inspired connection to eternal darkness. Then finally Longslade. The final piece in a puzzle which had turned things completely around. Now it was the undead who had to fear the night, and what kind of fucked up sense did that even make? Raeth was almost certain things were eventually going to go south. He had literally never met a vampire who did not, in some way, believe they were superior to humans, and the problem with master races was that they didn’t inherently bow and take the knee to beings they considered less than themselves.

Even if their superiority was hidden behind a charming facade.

It was true though, that while many people had taken to self-imposed curfew, there were still the young and the dumb, who felt like they could conquer the world and like they had nothing to fear. Those ones. They still lined the street at night, filling the urban heart with life blood. A guy just had to be careful he didn’t try to feed from the wrong person and end up with a bullet hole in his chest or head.

He had opted for casual wear, because he wanted to blend in. It was true that most people in Harper Rock seemed to know the old ‘mirror’ trick, by which a vampire could be identified by their lack of reflection. It was one of the few surefire methods to weed out their kind. But nobody ever thought to do that in a crowd. And Az was courting danger, because he needed a few very specific ingredients. The blood of a sorcerer. The blood of a paladin. They seemed to have grown bolder in light of recent events. He just wanted to spot one of them so he could lure them into the darkness and fill his amber apothecary bottles.

A group of young women rushed past him on their way down the street, towards what looked to be some kind of rally outside of some local business. And in doing so, they nearly ran right into a man going the opposite direction. As with all vampires, Raeth could sense the darkness which lived inside of this other guy. So he just sort of fell in line beside him, and began walking in step. “You have the right idea here. I’m not sure what’s going on back there, but I donnnnnn’t think I want to be going there.” Pause. “Hi, I’m Azraeth.” Hand extended. Because why not greet a total stranger?

And he was getting stared at.

Which wasn’t that uncommon. Even amongst humans, it was considered a little odd for someone to just walk up to a complete stranger and introduce themselves. Az, in life, had ironically been an extremely introverted individual, cast as the opposite side of the coin that was his twin brother Azariel. He had been night to the reigning golden glory of his sibling’s day, and had therefor existed in a shadow he hadn’t been able to escape until death had paid them both a visit. Yeah. He was still night, but he wasn’t just this pale (and sickly) imitation of a being with greater glory. He had become the haunting moon and the mystery of the endless sea of stars.

Or something like that.

Which was to say that he’d become more of a social butterfly after having had the bucket kicked for him.

To digress though, vampires were just like humans, but with amplified traits. Like if you took a human and compared them to a really well written script, when they became a vampire, it was the equivalent of taking out the subtlety of the plot, and just hitting the major points. Then if the script got the Michael Bay treatment, including massive explosions, a prey drive, super powers...anyway. Az had seen men and women with issues like mild social anxiety become crippled with fear of going out into the world. He’d seen the charming and kind turn into silver-tongued monsters. Vampirism was all about wearing the mask of humanity to hide the monster beneath the surface.

“Oh no, not in the slightest.” He answered, as he gave the hand a squeeze and a shake before letting it go. “So what’s got you headed this way?” He asked, gaze locking on the other man’s. His own eyes were classically Dragomir. While not all of his bloodline (that which flowed from his sire, Nikolae), had the slitted pupils colloquially referred to as ‘dragon eyes’, he and many others inherited the reptilian features. The Mystic’s own optics were ethereal bursts of blue, like a streak of darkness cutting through deep waters. They seemingly lacked human sclera.

Back when vampire secrecy had been a thing, they’d been a real pain the *** to deal with, because they were a dead giveaway for vampire hunters.

Well at least this guy was playing along with him. As far as vampires went, Az was generally a domestic feline amongst lions, tigers, and bears (oh my!). However, even the tamest cat toyed with its food. Which was to say that no matter what he did, he couldn’t quite shake the impression he gave to people that he was like an alligator beneath the surface of the still waters. Sure. A man looking down might see his own reflection. Until jaws came up to snap his head off.

But Az wasn’t inherently motivated purely by his hunger. “Well if I’m being honest.” He said as he let his arms slide behind his back, folding together so he could grasp either elbow in a palm. This caused his back to arch just a little bit as he glanced in the direction the new guy was going. New guy. That was it. What he’d picked up on. This man wasn’t an aged or seasoned vampire was he? Of course, the Mystic wasn’t going to ask because. Well. Rude.

“I am only out here to look for magically enchanted people so I can saw them open and drain their blood into these little glass vials.” He glanced sidelong and grinned. He noted that this guy didn’t seem to look like he was about to rip into a fresh co-ed. So he probably wasn’t out feeding? The mystery continued.

His head tilted very slowly on its side as he watched the vampire, gaze narrowing a fraction, as serpentine pupils dilated. The stare perhaps seemed quizzical, and Az found himself repeating in his head what he’d said. Whoever this guy was, the impetuous quip left the Mystic wondering if perhaps his initial assumption was correct. If that were the case, then did that mean the undead had been left to his own devices? There were any number of their kind running around who had never been offered guidance, just had the darkness plunged into their being along with the hunger. Or maybe he had not yet shaken off all of his mortality. He certainly didn’t seem over-burdened by a heavy conscience. But really. How did one figure that out based on a few exchanged words? Whatever the case, the chance at a little playful badinage had its appeal.

“If I’m Vlad, does that make you Nosferatu? Tell me you didn’t get turned to be the next Cullen.” He commented before righting himself, arms folding behind his back, one wrist dragging across the hidden sheath of his ritual dagger. “Though sadly no. I wouldn’t describe it as fun necessarily. Don’t let my levity fool you. I much prefer to spend a Saturday curled up with my partner, indulging in a horror binge. No. This, my friend, is work.”

And then he leaned back, his weight resting on one foot, the other tipped upwards from the heel, which rested against the ground. He looked like he might fall over, though he seemed carefully balanced. “I’m a ritualist, you see. Which, now that I’m saying it, totally doesn’t make me seem less crazy. Okay. So I have to ask. How new are you to this whole thing?” One hand slid from behind his back to sort of vaguely gesture at...everything all at once.

There it was again, another attempt at denial. Not that Az was particularly surprised. In a place like Harper Rock, where your next ‘meal’ could turn out to be someone with a concealed weapon, ready to take your fangs. Well. Secrecy was just the sort of thing that kept a person alive. Of course that was much easier said than done. Vampires on the whole generally had the ability to sense each other. In fact, some vampires could even tell when someone shared the same bloodline to their own. Az himself could certainly tell when someone was a Dragomir even without the telltale slitted pupils. There were some humans who could tell as well. Paladins, for example, seemed to have this uncanny knack for picking up on the undead. And then there was the general populace. With the fall of secrecy, there were several secrets about the undead which had come out. One of those was their lack of reflection. Dead giveaway. It was why several people carried compact mirrors on them, if they were not particularly trusting of blood suckers.

Which made Az think he was just interrupting something. Admittedly, he was pretty good at that. One of those ’Hey, get a clue!’ moments. This assumption was only aided by the caution he could hear in the other guy’s tone. ”Well that’s very generous of you.” He decided before he pulled away from the mysterious vampire. He could always read the guy’s memories later. If he had a sire Az recognized, the Mystic might check in with them to make sure everything was alright. But he was picking up some pretty definitive ‘Do not want to be here’ vibes. Like when a person got caught red-handed doing something they totally weren’t supposed to.

”Good talk! Stay safe - like I said. These streets can be pretty mean. Hopefully I’ll catch you again in the future. Have fun with whatever you were just up to!” He offered before he reached for what appeared to be a bone, possibly human, which was inscribed with very dark ink and had the sheen of resin on it. The language seemed indecipherable most likely. The truth was that Az’s trail had run cold anyway, and actually using a ritual to find what he was looking for was way more likely to gain him the results he wanted anyway.