Being One of the Predators

To be a vampire means to have a responsibility. That responsibility is to serve the grand scheme of things by becoming a sentient incarnation of the predatory spirit. Vampires are elemental forces of myth and legend. Stories and song tell of their role as mystical entities who represent both man’s darkest fears and most hidden desires. To not do one’s best to fulfill this role is to deny the sacred gift that Fate has granted one. Being a vampire isn’t simply a state of being, it is an art.

This is the worldview of the Lothorian Bloodline. Lothorians take their natures very seriously, and see themselves as actually having a duty to make their existence as interesting as possible. Each and every Lothorian sees himself as aiding in a great narrative about a legend that may even outlive their own immortal unlives, and so acts in a manner that would best serve that legend. This does not, of course, mean that they can’t have fun while doing it; quite the opposite. If one isn’t spending eternity having fun, then how in the hell could one’s unlife be interesting enough to add to the Great Legend?

The Great Legend

The Great Legend is the sum total of what little that there is of a unified Lothorian philosophy, which is pretty much explained in the paragraphs above. It was officially named (or perhaps re-named) sometime during the Middle Ages, when the Bloodline became more institutionalized by Lothos. It is the basic premise upon which the entire Bloodline acts: to be a vampire means that one is no longer human. Instead, one is a spiritual being, an embodiment of predation, desire and the night. This means that, while human morality is left in the dust along with mortality, one still has the responsibility of being what humans expect of such an entity. Humans created the spiritual force that animates the flesh of the vampire, and humans supply the flesh that hosts it. The very least that vampires can do is make themselves worthy of the myths which spawned them.

Lothorians do, in fact, care about humans in this context; they make their broods according to artistic or thematic patterns and engage in short-and-long term plans and activities specifically designed to add to the wealth of the folktales, legends and desires/fears of the mortal world. Lothorians who do meet Final Death attempt to make those deaths memorable. A Lothorian who hunts, does so in a way that makes the victim’s final moments equally memorable. A Victim taken by a Lothorian is usually hunted and slain in such a way so as to make the killing worthy of at least an interesting anecdote, to the Brood if not the Mortal World, granting that victim a place in the Great Legend as well.

Organization: The Master and his Brood

Lothorians organize themselves into Broods, usually a group of vampires created by a single Sire (called a "Master") along some kind of theme (all Jock, all female, simulation of a nuclear family or a corporate hierarchy, etc.). This Brood may have as few as four or as many as twenty-plus members, depending upon the needs of the Master, the nature of the theme and the carrying capacity of the environment in which the Brood exists. The Master, as the architect of the Brood and its theme, is the absolute ruler over his Brood. His word is law, and none may dispute it without expecting the MasterÕs wrath, which may include Final Death.

Broods are taught the ways of the World as the Master sees fit. Normally, the Master doesn’t reveal anything of the outside vampiric world to his Brood; as far as they know, the vampire universe begins and ends with the master and possibly any other vampires that the Master permits them to be aware of. More often than not, the Brood may not even be aware that other vampires (including other Lothorians) exist at all.

It is a common occurrence among Masters to create a wider power-gap between himself and his Brood; to this end, he will appoint the eldest Childe the task of recruiting and Embracing progeny according to a plan laid out by him. This creates a Brood including at least two Generations higher than the Master himself. On some occasions, the Master may not even reveal his own presence to the Brood, allowing them to believe that his eldest (called a Second) is, in fact, the Master.

It is the task of the Brood to carry out the part of the Great Legend that the Master created them for. Ultimately, they are expendable, should they prove unworthy or get themselves destroyed, then the Master will often just move to a new location, come up with a new idea (or revise the old one), and start over. The Brood, of course, is aware of the concept of the Great Legend, but is never told precisely how expendable they actually are in the eyes of their Master.

Shadow Walkers

From time to time, a Lothorian is created who has the latent potential to perceive the Great Legend’s tenets well enough to become a Master himself. Lothorians with this talent are recognized almost immediately by their Masters, sometimes even before they are recruited. Such Latent Masters are watched over carefully and subtly groomed for their eventual destinies, often chosen as Seconds. Latent Masters are usually given a bit more information about the "outside world" than the rest of the Brood, and pains are taken to insure that their chances of survival are somewhat greater.

Once a Latent Master is ready, then the Master ritualistically sends him away (the details of the ritual vary, but often involve things like combat of Initiation/Separation Rites) to travel the world on his own, find out what else is out there, and eventually grow into the powerful controller of others that he is destined to become according to the Great Legend. This time of trial is called the Shadow Walk, and may last anywhere from a decade to a century (there are cases of Shadow Walks being less than a year in length, but these are very, very rare).

It is during the Shadow Walk that a latent Master learns of other vampires (and other types of vampires at that), and his entire worldview undergoes serious adjustment. It is not unusual for a Shadow Walker to observe a particular group of vampires from a distance (an easy task when one can fly) and then later approach them while pretending to be a member of their Clan or of a different Clan that they have become aware of. By living among other Kindred for brief periods, the Shadow Walker learns of other ways, techniques, philosophies and Disciplines, which he may then employ in his own artistry as a Master. It is because of experiences like these that Masters often display powers unknown to their Broods.

Broods

Broods most typically consist of 4-5 Kindred plus a Master and/or a Second. They are generally established in areas that are relatively free of too much intrusion by other vampires, including other Broods. Lothorians are highly territorial once a Brood has settled in, and it would not be unusual for two Lothorian Broods to fight to the Final Death if they were to encroach on one another’s territories. In dealing with areas wherein Lothorians must contend with nearby Kindred, the Master may make some kind of arrangement with the local Kindred leader (sometimes posing as an elder vampire of some remote Clan or Bloodline) that allows for non-interference of some kind, rather than risk discovery or conflict with a far more powerful, numerous and organized opponent. More importantly, the Lothorian Discipline of Icarus is their most carefully guarded secret; a Lothorian would rather be tortured to Final Death than reveal any part of it to a non-Lothorian . . . generally, they don’t even like the idea of another breed of vampires knowing that the Discipline exists at all.

The Becoming: Recruitment, Ghouls and the Embrace

The Lothorian view on ghouls is that, strictly speaking, there’s no such thing. The process through which a candidate becomes a Lothorian is slightly more complex than the standard "find a target, judge their merits and do the deed" method of most Kindred. The transformation of a mortal into a Lothorian is a serious undertaking, as much a part of the Great Legend as what the subject does after they have become a member of the Brood.

For Lothorians, the process begins before the Embrace, the subject is chosen and watched closely in order to insure that they match the theme of the Brood and the aspect of the Great Legend that the Brood represents. Then they are tested in any of various ways to see whether or not they truly have the potential that the Master is looking for. If they pass, then they are ready for the next phase. If not then they are either left alone or become lunch.

The next phase is ghouling. The Blood of the Lothorians is exceptionally strong in that the reflection of the Beast that it possesses is slightly more . . . intense . . . than that of most forms of Cainite Vitae. A Ghoul with Lothorian Blood in their veins is even more prone towards Frenzy, Humanity loss and other negative effects than others. Even the Hunger can eventually be stimulated, given the right conditions, and such conditions the Lothorians know quite well. During this time, the Ghoul is forced/led into undergoing a series of tests, trials and exploits that are specifically designed to lower their resistance to the new, inhuman drives that continually threaten to overwhelm them. They are taught to think like Vampires, to relish their muted Beasts. The Brood lures the subject into a world of dark passions, violence and the thrill of the Hunt Ð in short, he is treated as if he were actually turning into a vampire.

Once a ghoul’s sense of Human morality has dropped sufficiently, there is a final test: the subject must hunt and kill a prey, just like a "full vampire." If he succeeds, then his Humanity is low enough for the Embrace, which is performed immediately. Once the subject awakens from the experience, he is now fully indoctrinated into the mindset of the Way of the Great Legend, and inhuman monster ready to face the night.

Playing a Ghoul

Playing a Lothorian Ghoul is an unusual prospect. Lothorians do not create ghouls for any other purpose than as a stepping stone towards the Embrace. There is no such thing as a Servitor or a companion Ghoul. To them, it’s all or nothing. To play a Lothorian Ghoul means that the character is fighting for their own Humanity, a downward spiral that is being encouraged by mysterious beings that continually attempt to lead them into their world.

Lothorian Ghoul characters are created just like any other Ghoul character, except that it should be noted that Praetori, unlike Protean, can be learned by ghouls (the stress on human physiology isn’t as extreme), but only up to an absolute maximum of level two, regardless of the Generation of the Domitor. Since the time limit for the testing period is variable, it may be possible to portray a Ghoul character for the length of a short chronicle, although the character will eventually have to make the choice of transformation or risk Final Death as a failure.

Lothorians treat their Ghouls as they would other members of their Brood, so there would be no social status problems involved with playing one in a Lothorian chronicle. So, unlike a Camarilla Domain (where Ghouls are basically property) or Sabbat Chronicles (where they are property if they’re lucky), Lothorian Ghouls are treated as if they are initiates, sort of "younger brothers whoÕre still getting the hang of things."

It should be noted that Lothorians are not adverse to the concept of a Blood Bond, so one may keep that in mind when playing or dealing with ghouls of the Bloodline.

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