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-ˋˏ ༻❁✿❀༺ ˎˊ- INDEX -ˋˏ ༻❁✿❀༺ ˎˊ-
ﮩـﮩﮩ٨ـ🫀ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ Vampire: The Masquerade Terminology ﮩـﮩﮩ٨ـ🫀ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ
NOTE: 90% of everything below was taken from the White Wolf wiki on the World of Darkness section. I have put basic things down, not more than what is necessary to read the fic. If you wish to know more, feel free to look into the wikis yourself. I will not be going into depth here.
The Clans (taken from World of Darkness wiki): Vampire clans are used by vampires to describe the major groups of Cainites who share common characteristics passed on by the blood. There are 13 known clans, each of which was reputedly founded by an Antediluvian, a member of the mythical Third Generation.
Clan Lasombra - Proud nobles who command the very essence of darkness and shadow. Can control the void, morph shadows to their will, etc.
Clan Tremere - Vampiric blood sorcerers. They became vampires through treachery and artifice. Prioritizes hierarchy.
Clan Malkavian - a clan fractured by madness, each member irrevocably suffering under the yoke of insanity. Basically, when someone is embraced, they get a mental illness along with it.
Clan Gangrel - bestial and untamed, often coming to resemble the animals over which they demonstrate mastery. Vampires with animal traits, like tails, claws, etc.
Clan Ventrue - observe the noblesse oblige of vampire society, though their entitlement and greed encourage them to seek ever more at the expense of others. Basically, business vampires. If the leader of a mafia is a vampire, they're usually a Ventrue.
Clan Toreador - Cainites that enjoy every sensual pleasure the world has to offer, idolizing physical beauty and the adoration of their thralls. What most people think of when they picture a "typical" vampire. For example, Lestat from Interview with a Vampire.
Other types of vampires:
The way that non-Cainites become vampires is a much more taxing process. For Western vampires, they are embraced and given vampiric blood.
Asian vampires, on the other hand, die completely. They are buried, dead. They have one entire lunar cycle where their spirit is in the depths of hell, and they have that one lunar cycle to climb from whatever pit of hell they were in, back to their body, fighting off whatever demon they come across, including the one that's piggybacking (oh yeah that's a thing by the way).
They're having to navigate several different types of demons that are trying to eat them, and stay focused on where their body is. They have to get their body along with this piggybacking demon.
When they reach the body, the demon is reincarnated into that body with them, and then they have to dig themselves out of the grave. They become a demon and a human soul living simultaneously in one body.
If they lean too far into the demonic qi, where they get all their supernatural powers, they have to balance it out with life qi. They have to cleanse, meditate, and what have you. If they eat someone who has too much negative qi, they have to do the same thing.
It's a constant battle of balance to make sure that they can keep those powers, but also not be overtaken by the demon, and vice versa.
They can walk around in the daylight; they're just sensitive to the sun. Umbrellas, long-sleeved shirts, etc., exist. They aren't compelled to sleep. They can eat things that are rich in qi, and they don't have to throw them up later.
If they do not eat the way they are supposed to, they do age. However, if they keep up on their cultivation or consume the right qi, they go back to the age they died.
These vampires cannot be staked. Beheading does not work. Cainites, if they know of the Asian vampiric cultivation process, are terrified.
Instead of Clans, there are Cultivation Sects, or Families. I will not go into these at the moment since the city we're focused on is in the Western World, and there's not a lot of information out there besides on Reddit. Feel free to ask questions in the comments, and I can go more into depth!
Other terminology: This is the most important section!
Kindred: The name that vampires use for themselves.
Ghoul: A human who is fed vampiric blood to become a servant. They are essentially blood-bound to their vampire, and will put themself in harm's way to protect their master.
Blood-bound: Kinda self-explanatory, basically another vampire, or animal, human, or otherwise, can be fed vampiric blood to become bound to a vampire. Being mutually blood-bound is a deep act of complete trust and mutual affection. Either can be platonic, romantic, sexual, for control, etc.
Caitiff: A vampire who does not know what their clan is due to being abandoned by their sire.
The Camarilla: Vampiric government. They're basically nazis and most people hate them (at least in the campaigns I've played in).
Haven: Typically, a secret and highly secure area where a vampire rests. It can also be a sanctuary.
Prince: The vampire that rules a city. If a Kindred visits a city, the first thing they should do is greet the prince.
*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚ Character Intros *ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚
Hua Cheng: A well-known and powerful vampire with unknown origins, at least 200 years old, but looks to be about 23. Because most do not know what his clan is, and have seen him display multiple disciplines from a multitude of clans, he is feared.
Hua Cheng owns a huge block of territory that shelters caitiffs, were-creatures, fae, among other creatures rejected by the "perfect" Camarilla standard. This territory consists of several apartment buildings, businesses, etc.. So much that it has a name: Ghost City.
Xie Lian: Human, 30. Used to be the heir to a large textiles company called Xianle Industries, before it tragically crumbled 10 years ago. He scraped his way through college but was unable to return due to his financial aid being cut off, so he was unable to continue his education. He has met nothing but hardship since the company began crumbling, and it seemed to be one thing after another.
At the beginning of the story, he's been couch surfing for about 5 years, trying to fix his credit to get an apartment. For now, he's staying with Feng Xin and Mu Qing, doing his part by caring for CuoCuo on their date nights and working two days a week at a local café.
Jun Wu: Vampire, Lasombra, Unknown age. Jun Wu is the prince of the city and has not been seen in many years. Appears to be about 45 with long black hair. He has sired several well-known kindred and is respected by the residents of the city, vampiric and not. However, he keeps a very firm hand on those who do not fit the perfect Camarilla mould, insisting on "keeping the city clean".
Met Xie Lian when the heir to Xianle Industries was 19 years old at a networking party. They have not spoken since then.
Feng Xin: Human, 26. A childhood friend of Xie Lian's and Mu Qing's boyfriend. He works for Wuyong Intelligence, an ancestry and data processing company. Nobody knows who the CEO is, and that's probably for the best.
Mu Qing is the first man he's been with, and was with Jian Lan for a time before they separated. She had a child and demanded that he pay child support, which he did, of course. Now, he cares for CuoCuo every other weekend, much to Mu Qing's annoyance.
Mu Qing: Human, 24. A childhood friend of Xie Lian's. He teaches at a local martial arts studio and lives in an apartment with his boyfriend, Feng Xin. He is very knowledgeable about the vampiric population in the city, as well as Hua Cheng, due to the powerful vampire being a direct competitor with Feng Xin's work.
Enjoys true crime podcasts, documentaries, and reading up on everything there is to know about vampires, were-creatures, and the like.
Yin Yu: Ghoul, unknown age. Hua Cheng's main ghoul. Went to Hua Cheng originally to escape The Camarilla.
He Xuan: Vampire, Nosferatu, 150. Works for Hua Cheng as a file archivist for the entirety of Ghost City. Always smells of rotting fish and dried kelp, and keeps large, transparent fish as pets.
Indebted to Hua Cheng, and blood bound.
Shi Qingxuan: Human???, 22. Xie Lian's coworker at the café. They are incredibly strange and usually find loopholes for rules constantly without ever getting in trouble. They have an expansive network, and always "know a guy".
They seem a little "off", which is why most people aren't sure if they're entirely human. Must be Xie Lian's imagination running wild again.
Qi Rong: Human, 23. Xie Lian's annoying younger cousin, who makes it a priority in his life to bag on the former heir of the company. He is a graffiti artist (though very bad), and very often gets caught by the cops.
He adopted a small child by the name of Guzi, though nobody is sure why. The man can't even take care of himself all that well....
Rouye: A white cat with blue and yellow eyes. Frequents the dumpsters behind Mu Qing and Feng Xin's apartment building.
E-Ming: A demon attached to Hua Cheng. Very much a moody teenager type, and Hua Cheng's consistent source of annoyance.
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If you have reached the end of the index, congrats! Hope you enjoy the fic as much as I enjoyed writing it!
I will try to post an update every 2-3 weeks, as I work and am doing this for fun. I will post the index first, and the first chapter will come shortly after. My current goal is to post the first chapter by the end of June, 2025.
Comments and kudos are always appreciated! It also lets me know how many people are interested and keeps me motivated.
Thank you for your support! Enjoy!