View source for Vampirism: Predator, Prey, & Supplication

There is no fanfare in this book's presentation. The title is printed plainly, in block letters, on the front. The author's name written underneath in an equal lack of exposition. 

The book is bound well, to last the ages, like most of its kind on the Island.

[all text in this book is written in plain ink, with a quill, in a script so consistent it could have been done by a machine. Blocked letters and perfect spacing admit a distinct lack of personality in the handwriting]

=== Introduction & About the Author ===
By Anastasia Severyna
<br>AR 176

This volume will explore the mindsets and manners of the vampire predator, and the living prey they sustain upon. I'll be drawing the examples from my own experiences, and from what I know of the other vampires I am aware of.

In following with my previous works I will continue to invent and ascribe new words to further expand and explain the condition of vampirism and how it relates to the mortal world. This lexicon, over the years, has generally been met with understanding without any explanation whatsoever - and those who hear them are well able to grasp and quickly understand my meaning.

I am a vampire in my twelfth year of death, turned against my will, smuggled in a box from the mainland into Andunor mere months after my animation, and left to 'figure it out myself' in the din of the Underdark.

       Day 14, Month 8 (Elasias (Highsun)), 176 AR
<br>       Anastasia        

=== Predator - The Noble Killer ===
There can be no doubt that the prevailing notion of vampires is that we are dangerous predators that steal the essence of life to support our immortal existence. 

True. This volume will not obscure the plain facts that the accursed ought to be given the caution we are due, and most importantly that my words here do not speak for all of my kind. There are some of us I would caution to avoid at all cost, some I would prefer to see destroyed, but the majority I interact with without any great contention.

Nevertheless it is not often considered that, if we are to be called predators, which I will not dispute, the definition of 'predator' is not exclusively a bad or unwelcome thing when the greater context of a predator's role is taken into account.

Among the wide range of predators in our world stands the Noble Lion and the Alpha Wolf. Dangerous to the extreme, champions of violence, but the protectors of their pack or pride. The Lion, just like the Wolf, is supported by the rest of the pack that he may stand at its head as their most dangerous protector without worry of lesser needs such as hunger and comfort. The Noble Killer is satisfied by its subordinates so that its full attention lies on what is most important for the pack.

In such cases as this, of which there are many, predator and protector are synonymous. The Lion and the Alpha Wolf benefit from the pack's collective attention, in that the majority of the food or resources are put towards their elected Noble Killer, and thus all are secured by the trials of the world.

In practice, in keeping to this path, in the city of Andunor in which I am forced to exist, I have often successfully sustained by giving my protection or service - my interest in the continuity of the life of my willing prey - and receiving from them the vital essence I need to continue myself. Symbiosis.

       Day 6, Month 8 (Elasias (Highsun)), 176 AR
<br>       Anastasia        

=== Predator - The Savage Killer ===
Even as I may write of the Noble Killer, and that I try to be so, there needs to be the confession that, just like all noble things, it is not a status that comes without effort.

With all things we wish to be, when we fight our base nature, lies the simple fact that we cannot be them all the time. At least not without extraordinary effort. 

Contrary to popular opinion, not unearned by those of my kind that barely qualify as sentient, we are made up of divergent personalities and complicated personas not unlike what we possessed when we yet lived.

Thus at the center of every vampire lies the true expression of the Savage Killer. When all is stripped away, or when we are given to starvation, this is what is to be found lurking within. Lock two men in a cage, give them nothing, and time alone will arbitrate who consumes the other.

While the Noble Killer is dutiful, dispassionate, collected, and aware; the Savage Killer is less given to such notions but that of its own immediate want. It is the raw, selfish instinct, to draw upon the living.

Many such examples of the Savage Killer are scattered around the island and its nearby planes, but the pinnacle of example ought to be the infamous Manor of Mourn.

The Savage Killer, enumerated just above, is within all of us. I have given into its grip more than once, most often when in the company of prey that exaggerates the quality of being prey, but the purpose of this chapter is not to specifically cast the Savage Killer into the fire. It is to quantify it as a natural process, perhaps a sinful delight, that ought to be measured with care not unlike the moderation of one's recreation.

I believe, in theory, that our inner Savage may serve a purpose all its own; for as the Lion may be Noble to his pride, it may be that to the hyena he must show himself as the Savage.

       Day 6, Month 8 (Elasias (Highsun)), 176 AR
<br>       Anastasia        

=== Prey - The Willing ===
I have found few ways to reference those who find themselves on the living end of a vampire's needs, and so it is that I believe 'prey' remains as the best way to communicate this role to the wider world.

Unfortunately the mere invocation of the word 'prey' comes with a girth of preconceptions. Many of which may be true, but others a falsehood.

The primary falsehood with which to contend is precisely the subject itself: that one can choose to be prey, and thus stand at odds to the most immediate assumption the word invokes. 

In my home of Andunor it is mantra that trade is king, and so it is that I have found a trade of my own over the course of years. Most often I sell protection, ranging services, materials, or information - in exchange I form a contract with the buyer on how much I will draw from them in return. When a contract is broken, and I am to collect my due by force, I cannot be held responsible as a 'vampire on the loose'. It is civilized, indisputable, and effective.

The Noble Killer and the Willing Prey are suited to one another. Just like the pack gives to its Alpha Wolf, and in turn receives its protection, some parties in Andunor are willing to be sustained upon in exchange for goods and services. It is, after all, a currency they have in ample supply.

But this is not all ways in which the living may offer themselves as prey to be sustained upon. I will list here a few other circumstances I have seen.

Relief: To be prey as a form of relief is, for now, exclusive to the dark elves. Drow society is rife with danger and deceit and to drop their guard even for a moment may spell their immediate demise. Nobody knows what a drow wants, but everybody knows what a vampire wants. Thus there is relief in the simplicity of dealing with our kind. So it is that with the right vampire, who by our own self-interest seek not to kill 'easy prey,' a drow may lift their perpetual guard and relax in the company of a vampire. For a price.

Surrender: The world is unkind, and beset upon by perpetual horror and calamity. Some wish this to weigh less upon them, and choose to give themselves as supplicant. The vampire may do with them as they wish - everything from a total severance of their prey's will, or a mere softening of the worst parts of the mortal coil. It is only natural that the vampire will take as much from them as they want.

Power: Not fully unlike those who Surrender, there are those who seek power. Some may trade their essence to a vampire not just for protection, but for the overt action and powers of the vampire to be wielded upon another. Others may surrender their will to a vampire, supplicating themselves, for the promise that one day the vampire will deliver them into undeath.

Novelty: If you are reading this book then you too are a curious inquirer of at least some variety. Vampires are so surrounded by folklore and rumor that even in the years after my death I struggled to figure out the exact nature of my condition. Thus it comes as less surprise that those in the mortal realm also find themselves curious, or naive in some respects, and give themselves to a vampire merely for the experience alone.

Duty: There are cases when it is one's duty, to stand in for another, towards the satisfaction of a resident vampire. Maybe it is important that the true benefactor of the vampire's presence remains hale and hearty at all times, or it is viewed as a noble undertaking to step forward for the greater benefit of their companions, but nevertheless can a willing prey be made up of someone attentive to the greater good of their companions. 

       Day 6, Month 8 (Elasias (Highsun)), 176 AR
<br>       Anastasia        

=== Prey - The Unwilling ===
Now we come to the root of it all, and the reason why Holy Men and Knightly Orders endlessly pursue our destruction: Those whom vampires consume either with violence, intrigue, or guile.

I have earlier compared the way of the Savage Killer to that of an intoxicating pastime, or uncontrollable urge, and it is this inner temptation within all of us that is most guilty of sustaining upon unwilling prey, or victims some might say.

While in many cases it is a simple matter of naked aggression, as anyone walking into Manor Mourn can attest to, I will instead focus on the more subtle aspects of this form of vampirism.

Threat: It may ultimately depend upon one's territory, but in my home of Andunor there comes the occasional time in which a vampire must threaten others. Just like a rattlesnake might vibrate its impending attack to ward against a wayward foot, so it remains suitable a vampire might warn another that their path may very well make them into prey to be drained. For some this may be shocking, but for those who populate the dark it is not so abnormal.

Accident: In the second chapter on the Savage Killer I alluded to 'prey that exaggerates the quality of prey' and in such cases can accidents happen. In the natural world there are times in which a predator has minimal intention to kill yet will do so if a prey animal does something like turn its back to run. Then, in such times, the predator is unable to resist the chase.

Fun: I'm sure there might be a small amount of holy men who might scoff at the idea, but it is not so far from the knight that finds satisfaction in purging the undead, or an adventurer the heart-pounding rush of clearing out a nest of kobolds, or the relationship between the leopard and the gazelle. The exact manner in which it plays out is different for all of us, but in the end there are few true 'thrills' I can feel but that of the hunt - especially if it resists or runs.

Ease: Some vampires who may find the hunt too difficult, or their services of a quality that does not draw enough interest, may turn to 'easy pickings' of the living and sustain upon the weak or even slaves and other individuals who have lesser chance of resisting. I do not consider thralls and supplicants to fall into this category, despite themselves being easily sustained upon, because the act of taking and maintaining them is an undertaking that requires some amount of effort in the first place.

       Day 6, Month 8 (Elasias (Highsun)), 176 AR
<br>       Anastasia        

=== The Thrall vs The Supplicant ===
This chapter will make a critical distinction between two facets of the same condition: Thralldom; or those who have lost their will by drinking vampire blood - coming into said vampire's power.

So the question may be: Why make this distinction?

As vampirism is on a slow but steady rise on Arelith, and as I learn more about it myself, I find that the understanding of the condition across the island is often so narrow it becomes difficult to communicate. This is especially difficult when trying to coexist with the living.

Therefore establishing a 'vampire lexicon' is not only important to the philosophy of undeath, but to my own business practice. The red trade is easier when the buyer knows more about the merchant.

Before we carve distinction between Thrall and Supplicant we will explore the basic facts of what it is to drink a vampire's blood.

<nowiki>----------------</nowiki>
==== The Covenant ====
<nowiki>----------------</nowiki>

There are a host of facets within this topic, and the more nuanced results of this act are greatly predicted by the personality of the vampire, the personality of the mortal consumer, and the relationship they share between them. If any. Therefore I will enumerate only the most basic facts.

The act of drinking vampire blood shall be known as Taking the Covenant, Establishing the Covenant, Renewing the Covenant or, generally, The Covenant.

The drinker of vampire blood gains a portion of the vampire's power, and it can manifest in physical, emotional, and spiritual enhancements.

Physical: Virility, strength, and health.

Emotional: Happiness, contentedness, and love.

Spiritual: Purpose, drive, confidence, and focus.

However there are well-known side effects, and withdrawals, if not supported by continued Renewal of the Covenant.

Physical: Insomnia, lethargy, and sickness.

Emotional: Desperation, need, and mood swings.

Spiritual: Depression, loss, and apathy.

<nowiki>----------------</nowiki>
==== Thrall ====
<nowiki>----------------</nowiki>

Most people have a basic understanding of what it might be to be a thrall. The word is near enough to its condition, after all, and there is little to expand upon in its meaning.

Thralldom will be known as the unwilling domination of a mortal mind established by Covenant. While the word 'Covenant' carries with it the implicit willingness of a bargain, and in this case may not apply initially, once a thrall is taken by force or guile they are made willing either by power or desperation and thus take to subsequent renewal with 'agreement.'

Some may argue that this then turns the Thrall into a Supplicant, however the distinction between the two must also carry with it the manner in which the Vampire has also behaved in the establishment. If a Thrall is taken by force, and a Supplicant by their own will, it is very likely that they will be treated and used very differently by their master.

<nowiki>----------------</nowiki>
==== Supplicant ====
<nowiki>----------------</nowiki>

There are circumstances in which a mortal, of their own accord, seeks 'thralldom' to a vampire. They want to Take the Covenant, surrender some or all of their free will, and live at the behest of the vampire's whims.

Thrall and Supplicant are the same in all ways, but they are made distinct by the intention of the Supplicant and the Vampire that took them.

Murder is always murder, but through intent does it become self defense, heroism, or virtue. Thus it is that Supplication, while being Thralldom, stands well enough apart to be distinct and tangible on its own.

Taking a thrall is unsubtle, blunt, and does not need much elaboration. 

Supplication, on the other hand, bears with it a wide variety of intentions, needs, and motives similar to those outlined in Chapter I of The Prey.

<nowiki>----------------</nowiki>
==== The Vampire's Motive ====
<nowiki>----------------</nowiki>

If a vampire can get close enough to prey to take them as either Thrall or Supplicant - why bother with the extra steps, the maintenance, and the risk of unforseen consequences?

I've outlined personality traits of the accursed in my volume on Vampire Society, and such motives are easy enough to connect between personality and intent, but there are less noumenal purposes involved in the taking of will that I can expand on here.

Dominion

Many vampires are territorial, and extending their dominion over people and the land is often both natural and pleasurable. This is most often a reason why a vampire may take a thrall, or even a large number of them.

The Connection

It will be different for every vampire, up to and including not having any connection whatsoever, so it is impossible to accurately describe in the widest sense. I will speak on my own behalf and on the limited knowledge I have of others.

When the Covenant is made, and the vampire takes their due thereafter, there is more than just the transfer of life we are so commonly known for. Whether you want to think of it as a the transfer of spirit, personality, or memory - I am uncertain just as well.

Be that as it may, however, while sustaining upon or even merely holding others within one's dominion, there is a flicker of a bond that alights. It is difficult to put into words, near to an emotion, but it is too fleeting and intangible to grasp. Nevertheless it can often be interpreted as a certain fondness either for the supplicant or thrall themselves, or merely a fondness for the act of taking from them.

The Connection can be of enough interest to a vampire to drive them to at least put some effort into taking more into their dominion when they could, instead, simply harvest from the land by force.

       Day 6, Month 8 (Elasias (Highsun)), 176 AR
<br>       Anastasia        
[[Category:170-179 AR]]
[[Category:Journals & Diaries]]
[[Category:Undead]]