Vampires

Social Hierarchy
From Lliwe Vos'eldru's writings

Author’s note:

''It is through extensive study and payment of time I present this study. Having spent time with this elusive and enigmatic race, having sought out their abandoned residences and cities, old seats of power and watched their current structures bloom, I feel confident in my ability to compile an accurate history of their race, alongside a detailed description of their social structure.''

~Lliwe Vos’eldru

To truly claim to understand these peoples, one must first have a sound grasp of their strict social hierarchy and the ways in which it affects their every-day lives.

The lord of this faction is known as the Keeper of Secrets, at the time of writing this is an individual known to me only as “Vic”, he being the fourth Keeper of Secrets. The Keeper of Secrets is the holder of the Blood Rune and within the faction their word is law. The most prominent feature of the Keeper of Secrets in its last few incarnations has been the ability to lead, and command their people. Other traits have been there also, but do not seem a requirement. While the Keeper of Secrets may not excel in areas where other members of the faction may – be it swordsmanship, architecture or any other skill you may care to name – they command utmost respect from their followers and are invariably an Ancient; a Trueblood vampire of great age and wisdom. The Keeper of Secrets carries a white feather as a symbol of their rank.

Aiding the Keeper of Secrets in the running of the faction, and in the overseeing of the peoples, is a collection known as the “Blood Council”. Four individuals – nearing the Keeper of Secrets in age and command of respect – each representing one of the remaining “Five Runes”, fire, earth, air and water. Each councillor’s respective Rune represents their area of command and responsibility.

• The councillor of Fire is the representative of war, and is the commander of the Vampire armies. They are often an excellent tactician and skilled in a number of weapons.

• The councillor of Earth is the Vampires’ chief architect, in charge of maintaining the defences of their numerous fortresses and strongholds, the conditions of their buildings and houses and of overseeing the construction of new buildings.

• The councillor of Air is the head diplomat, a bringer of peace and war, founder of alliances and forger of enmities. The councillor of Air is a skilled speaker, silver-tongued debater and superb political thinker.

• The councillor of Water is responsible for internal affairs, settling disputes between members of the faction and overseeing the faction’s economy and affairs.

If all four members are present, the Blood Council is able to make decisions without the Keeper of Secrets. Unanimous decisions by the Blood Council carry the weight of a decision made by the Keeper of Secrets and are in effect immediately, providing that the decision made does not contradict an earlier ruling by the Keeper of Secrets.

A Blood Councillor has an honorary name bestowed upon them by the Keeper of Secrets, and carries a seed as a symbol of their rank.

The Blood Council is answerable in its entirety to the Keeper of Secrets, the Keeper of Secrets may overturn any Blood Council decision and remove and instate Blood Council members as they see fit.

Military

Headed by the Councillor of Fire (and indirectly the Keeper of Secrets), the Vampires have an effective military consisting of three distinct ranks and roles.

• Ignaes – An Ignaes is a commanding officer within the Vampire military, having proven themselves a sound tactical thinker and skilled soldier. The Ignaes report directly to the Councillor of Fire. They lead units of Shadow Stalkers and Soul Gatherers into battle, often engaging less in the fighting themselves and overseeing the battle, issuing commands and ensuring order remains within the ranks. If a battle starts to go badly, an Ignaes may engage into combat themselves, as a formidable fighter this may often be enough to turn the tide of battle. They carry a golden sword in peacetime as a symbol of their rank.

• Shadow Stalker – A Shadow Stalker is an elite and specialised military rank bestowed upon those who show an affinity for quick, precision strikes and covert operations. Less an assassin figure and more an elite scouting unit, annihilating pockets of resistance and neutralising tactical targets as a part of their unit, lessening the task of the Soul Gatherers. A Shadow Stalker will take commands from their unit’s Ignaes during battles, however in peacetime they are a highly respected individual within Vampire society, considered on-par with an Ignaes in peacetime ranks. They carry piece of black wool as a symbol of their rank.

• Soul Gatherer – A Soul Gatherer is the basic soldier within the Vampire military (Though that is not to say that they are of little worth), they have proved themselves in their areas of combat and have shown the ability both to take orders when given and to use their own initiative in a battle situation.

Civilian Life

Outside of the Blood Council, civilians within Vampire society all bare the rank of Trueblood, considered equal amongst each other, even if their roles demand a degree of authority over one another. This works well as the Vampires’ social code demands that they mutually respect the decisions of other Vampires and work toward the furthering of the faction as a whole, rather than personal goals.

The Vampires are less leant toward specified jobs or careers than, for example, the Humans, preferring instead to do what needs to be done at the time, aiding where they can within their own abilities. (This is well illustrated by the fact that in Human society one might ask an individual “what they are” and receive a reply such as “a builder” or “a shop owner”, if one was to ask the same question within Vampire society, however, one would receive the answer “I am a Vampire”.)

Falsebloods

A "Falseblood" is a Vampire who was Turned through the infection given by a Trueblood's bite. These Falsebloods are seen as the lowest of the low in Vampire society, shunned by Truebloods and sometimes even used as blood supplements by higher ranking individuals. Little more than a slave, a Falseblood is obliged to carry out the demands of a Trueblood vampire, despite any personal discomfort or injury they may sustain as a result. (This can include even being sent into sunlight to gather resources or food, I also witnessed sunlight being used as a punishment for a disobedient Falseblood.)

A Falseblood does have the chance to become a Trueblood through a long and reportedly painful ritual, though such occurrences are rare and it is not forgotten that a Trueblood was once False.

Hand of The Blood Council

The Hand is a collection of individuals who together make up the Vampires’ elite force of assassins. Each one of the Hands is a formidable stealthy attacker, one with the night; a death-dealing shadow that is gone before anyone knows they were there. Highly skilled in the art of infiltration and silent assassination, a Hand may be any Vampire, of any rank. Only the Keeper of Secrets knows who they are, a Hand does not know who the other Hands are and a Hand may hold any rank in the whole of Vampire society. (There have been reports, though unconfirmed, of there even being Falseblood members of the Hand of the Blood Council.)

History
From the pen of Lliwer Vos'eldru

Creation

Little is known of the creation of the Vampires, save that they are one of the oldest races in Aeonis, dating slightly younger than the Demons, though they are relatively new to the overworld. They believe not that they were created by the Forgotten or the Creator, as most other races were, rather that they are the result of an experiment by the Margonite race. (How true this is I have yet to confirm.)

The Prophecy

The Vampires have a prophecy in which there is detailed that five legendary gems hold the power of the Five Runes.

Legends of vampires say that 5 gems lie within Aeonis, blown across the world from the creation of Vampires. These gems represent the 5 elements. Blood, Earth, Water, Fire and Air. Vampires are already is possession of the Blood rune and it is said that in the near future, 4 Heroes will embark on a quest to find these gems. A Demon, an Elf, a Human and a Vampire. Once these are found and returned to their proper location, and then a great secret will be revealed. However, these gems are not the easiest to find and not the easiest to get. A Margonite guards these gems and will often do anything they can to hinder the quest and kill the party that wishes to take hold of these gems''. ~From the writings of “The Narrator” first Keeper of Secrets''

The Time of Sundering

When the Vampires emerged into the Overworld of Aeonis, they were scattered far and wide, society and rules forgotten and communication with the Margonites (under whose rule they had flourished in their previous land) severed. Communication with their creators lost, and constraints of society lost, the Vampires became savage, earning their reputation as creatures of the night, evil beings that lived only to drain the blood of innocents to sate their burning hunger. Save one, an individual known to history only as The Narrator kept contact with the Margonites. He took the position of first Keeper of Secrets and began the task of gathering the scattered vampires to him. The first to come was Jenson Gedrickson, who would later become the second Keeper of Secrets. Together with Jenson’s aid, The Narrator grew the Vampires to a large and powerful faction, wielding their powerful abilities the Vampires were on the way to becoming a force to be reckoned with.

The Revolution

A while later, when Gedrickson sat on the Blood Council as the Councillor of Air (a position he would later exploit to overthrow The Narrator), and the great city-fortress of Vatier was the only thing which drove The Narrator, his time and fortune poured into its giant stone walls. The Vampires feared that there was something sinister behind The Narrator’s obsession, that there had to be a reason he drove them so hard to complete the tower and its walls. Dissent brewed within the faction, general sentiment slowly turned away from The Narrator; instead faith was being placed in his right-hand man, the Councillor of Air. Perhaps this would have come to nothing, perhaps once Vatier was complete the Vampires’ loyalty would have been returned to The Narrator, it was not to be, however, when a discovery was made. It was Agrathus Ankou who finally uncovered what drove The Narrator’s obsession, why he strove so hard to complete Vatier. The promise of Ascension. The Margonites were preparing to join their creation in Aeonis, and needed a way to reach it, a seat of power. Somewhere like Vatier.

Enraged by his discovery, and capitalising on the general unrest in the faction, Agrathus begged Jenson to seize power and cast out The Narrator. Eventually the Councillor of Air agreed, he used his position as the diplomat of the Vampires to secure the support of his then close friend, Knight-Commander Altin of the Templar order. Knowing he was backed by the entire faction and supported by the Templar war machine, Gedrickson confronted the Keeper of Secrets, demanding that he step down and hand over the white feather. (The Narrator reportedly fled into the Nether, no sources could be found detailing anything of him since.)

The Golden Age and the Time of Madness

With Jenson as Keeper of Secrets the Vampires flourished, he secured a strong alliance with the Templar and cemented relationships with the Humans, the Dark One of the Demons, Velerak, was eager for an alliance with the increasingly powerful Vampire faction also. (It is said that Jenson was also good friends with Master Rajaat.) Vatier stood empty now, Bloodstone Fortress and its towering spire became the Vampires’ political capital whilst Hollow Shadows became their centre of trade and main residence. All was good with the Vampires until the clouds of war began brewing, the Druchii ready to unleash their storm upon Aeonis. It was during the course of the Aeonian Dark War that Jenson Gedrickson, second Keeper of Secrets fell and Agrathus Ankou took the position. (I detailed these events in another volume, “The Fall of Jenson Gedrickson”.)

A New Age

The reign of Agrathus was short, and there are many conflicting stories as to how he died. Some say that he was assassinated by followers of Vic, others that he died of natural causes or even that he took his own life, the truth may never be known. What is known is that Vic did ascend to the position of Keeper of Secrets upon Ankou’s death and reigns still to this day. The Vampires have all but recovered from the death of Gedrickson now, and currently work to finish construction of a new, larger city as per the decision of Vic to abandon Hollow Shadows. Bloodstone Fortress remains their political and historical capital. ~ Lliwe Vos'eldru

Author’s few final words:

What will happen to them now remains to be written by history, and the winds of change may blow yet again, fate is fickle and the faction still looks for its feet. The Vampires have much left to achieve, and much to learn. They also have achieved much and have much to teach, I am grateful to have had the chance to study their culture and history and hope that this may be taken as the accurate portrayal of their society, culture and history.

Signed ~Tetra Lliwe Vos’eldru, order of the Tetragrammaton