Unlife in Paradi City
You were human, once. You were born, you slept, you ate, you breathed, you loved, you felt the pangs of the mortal coil as you progressed through life. The city around you teemed with its millions upon millions of souls and you were a single speck in the ocean... then, one night, you were murdered.
One night, you died, but came back with a hunger more intense than any you’d known before.
For whatever of many reasons, you attracted the attention of a creature out of legend; a vampire. It stalked you, perhaps from afar or perhaps smiling to your face where you never even knew it’s true nature. It observed you, it came to you one evening, and then it stuck its fangs into your throat and drained away every last drop of your life to make you exactly like it is.
Imagine the sensations a neonate vampire is suddenly born into; illness, injury, cold, the day to day struggle to scrape by… it’s all gone. You’re undead now and you’re more. Your senses are sharper than any humans could ever hope to be, your body is able to endure punishment that would kill others without discomfort, and your lifespan is no longer limited to a mere handful of decades. You have eternity stretching before you. What’s not to enjoy?
It’s only later that you realize how much less you are now too.
That hunger is constant now and the only time you ever feel at peace, the only time you ever truly feel good again, is when you’re drinking down the hot blood of your former kind. Oh sure, animals are edible… for a time. But the taste is bland and nothing at all compared to what human blood offers. Your emotions grew hollow and forced, no longer as genuine as they once were, and things you never felt before are confusing as the static Beast doesn’t know how to mimic it. Your existence is a lonely one, with only the company of your fellow Damned… and a good portion of them you'll end up hating their rotten guts. You can sense what they are and they you. Eventually that Beast growing inside of you seems a little stronger, the people around you a little less important, as age increases and any humans you once knew are reduced to dust. Meaningful connections with any mortal becomes more and more difficult as time leaves you behind and the only solace is the company of your hated brethren. Boredom grows rampant and thus the Danse Macabre grows as new players enter and old ones are destroyed by it.
The Decadent Aristocracy of the Night
At first it might seem like a vampire is set free upon joining their new life. With the necessity of severing connections with former acquaintances, they’re empowered to seize their new existence and move forward into their Requiem! It doesn’t quite work out that way in practice.
Granted, some vampires do thumb their nose at the social conventions of their kind and ignore the Danse. Those who do are the ones devoured whole by it or ignored completely. Just because a vampire tries to stay out of others affairs doesn’t mean others won’t involve him or her in them, sometimes without said vampire’s knowledge. Ignorance can be fatal and being ignored just as much so. Those who don’t participate are outcasts among their own kind, and as non-participants in the night to night activities of their kind, few will be inclined to trust them. Some may gather together in refuge, seeking safety in numbers to avoid being drawn into politics, but too often these groups merely develop such things on their own or are forced to inhabit sub-par feeding grounds where most kindred are a drop of blood away from a hunger frenzy.
There’s also the fact that the idea of spending eternity as someone else's laughing stock, whipping boy, or personal tool often wears thin. How long can someone survive in an abusive relationship? A spouse can always hope their partner will be killed in a car accident, perhaps finally divorce them for another woman, or even just fall over from a heart attack. The Damned have far fewer chances of such things happening… once someone’s slave, they may well be so for the rest of their eternity. Potentially forever. Breaking free would take allies, influence, and a measure of power… and to get those things, one must often join the Danse. For many vampires there’s simply no choice and the alternatives are worse than gritting their teeth and jumping in, even if they do hate the self-serving nature of their elders.
The Life
Neonates are brought in on the ground level of the establishment. Often attached to their sires for the initial part of their Requiem, they learn the lessons of their new existence. The sire-childe relationship is as unique as any between humans; a sire can be loving, vicious, anything… and the same holds true for a childe. After some time, the length of which varying by sire, the neonate is released on their own and stands as his own citizen of the Court. Often they’re still expected to promote their sire’s goals and agendas though nothing forces them to do so. To not, however, risks alienating one of the most influential vampires in their unlife. Not supporting your sire can also be hazardous if for your lack of efforts your sire is destroyed… which can leave a young vampire being viewed by vastly more powerful rivals as the shit that fell from the ass they kicked. Neonates are seldom afforded positions of great import and most who rise too quickly burn out like a candle lit at both ends as their power bases are not yet entrenched enough to withstand the attack of an ancillae or elder.
Enter coteries.
By banding together, neonates can increase their safety and resources to give themselves a fighting chance. Members of a coterie don’t even need to like one another but when the choice is between a disliked coterie-mate and an elders fangs, most will remain with their fellows. Older vampires are more wary of coteries as well; deny it though they will, older vampires are well aware of their own limitations unless they’re deluded, and the risks a group of organized, fast-moving, younger kindred can be. Some will seek to sponsor, and thus influence, such a group while others merely consider them a problem to be solved.
Ancillae, by contrast, those dead a handful of decades to a few centuries, have often split from their coteries by the time they reach this stage of their unlife. Mutual distrust, backstabbing, or outright violence often, even inevitably, separates groups of kindred, but for coteries who part on pleasant terms, ancillae may remain in contact with one another. Ancillae often hold middle to high ranking office, having proven their worth, though this rule is not universally true. For a neonate to be unknown is expected, for an ancillae to lose their reputation can be deadly. At this stage of the Danse, ones enemies are often far more cunning and brute force can only carry one so far when insulted and publicly shamed at Elysium. Naturally, an ancillae who does so should be wary on their way back to their haven lest their slighted target decide to avenge himself outside of the Prince’s peace.
Elders, in the new world at least, are vampires who’ve survived for centuries. Generally accorded to kindred hundreds of years old, elders are the movers and shakers of kindred politics and the cogs which churn the wheels of the political machine. Elders almost never possess coteries; too diverse personalities and paranoia keep them from trusting another enough to form that bond but it’s possible they may be in touch with members of their coterie from their neonate days. For most vampires at this age, they’re firmly entrenched and many hold onto power for the sheer sake of not knowing how to give it up. Elders have had centuries to hone their skills and refine their talents, making them forces to be reckoned with.
Ancients are to elders what elders are to neonates. Vampires a millennia old, give or take a few centuries, or older, give even elder monsters pause. The power an ancient can command is vast indeed and their desires are irresistible, having survived on them for countless years. Few ancients are lucid, the weight of years driving them mad, and fewer still are awake, but it’s not unknown for the truly and biblical old walking dead to stalk Paradi City. Where they do, magi notice shifts in ley lines and werewolves sniff the air cautiously. Weather acts erratic, as do animals, and dreaming humans cry out in their sleep. An ancient’s desires after millennia can make even the most composed individual shake with fear.
The Terrain
High Paradi: The topmost level of Paradise City is almost exclusively the home of elders, accomplished ancillae, and a scarce few neonates with powerful patrons. While vampires don’t need to afford base necessities like humans, the sheer cost of a haven on this tier of the city makes it impossible for most. People who don’t fit in are quickly singled out and vampires even more so. A hunter here has to be subtle in the extreme or risk discovery, a herd is almost a necessity. Yet for those who can move in high society, or have the money to afford this place, they find a vista which allows them to survey the urban cage like lords on high. Living on this level allows access to many people of import and influence but the most prime territories and individuals are spoken for often as not; this is an elder’s domain and they do not tolerate interference lightly.
Upper Paradi: Home to accomplished ancillae and a few elders, as well as neonates, Upper Paradi is not quite as exclusive as High but it still requires a deft touch to hunt here readily. The industrial areas afford some hunting grounds with little risk of discovery, as does the commercialization predominant on this level. A herd is still of great use but some of the city’s trendiest clubs and social scenes can be found here, allowing for hunting grounds with prime locations. A haven here can be situated for a very lucrative feeding but is not at all cheap. Favors, flesh, blood, or more may well be demanded as tithe to ones regent for the privilege of using their fields.
Middle Paradi: This level is home to many ancillae and neonates, perhaps even an elder or two, though it’s predominantly the purview of the ‘middle class’ which the elders don’t hesitate to find amusing. Blood can be found here though quality can be a concern as no kindred wants to become a plague rat. Still, there are opportunities for good havens and the expansive network of pipes and utilities emerging this far down allow for some interesting options for kindred who don’t mind non-standard lairs. Middle Paradi certainly isn’t the best and many look upwards hungrily to the higher tiers, but it’s where the majority of the city’s vampires dwell.
Lower Paradi: While not exactly hospitable to the Damned, Lower Paradi isn’t as harsh on them as it is for mortals. Vampires have few needs for creature comforts and unless temperatures truly drop low they’re not in danger of frostbite or harm. The greatest concern of unlife this deep is blood; there’s plenty of humans but those which exist are hardened, addicts, wary, or move in groups. There’s not many good locations to be found for blood but an extremely secure haven could be built at this level. Home primarily to malcontents or other less-than-admirable members of society, Lower Paradi boasts a steady vampire populace. Competition for blood is keen, however, and lone vampires have been bled out for it. Most down here are neonates who travel in pack-like coteries, with a few ancillae currently out of favor. Rare is the elder who’d delve this deep though rumors persist of Mekhet gatherings and extensive Nosferatu warrens.
Under Paradi: Few vampires dwell in the lightless depths beneath Lower Paradi but those that do are urban nightmares made flesh, emerging to steal blood before vanishing back into their holes. Still, kindred do flee this deep either from enemies, from the Danse, or from themselves. A number of draugr and kindred near lost to the Beast come this deep as well, where they hunt each other as often as human prey. Blood is almost impossible to find, making long term survival a difficulty, though rumors of hidden burial chambers with slumbering ancients make their way from lips to lips. Rumors also persist of an Under-Court, created by kindred desiring to be free of the above’s yoke, and of less savory things dwelling deep in the earth that humanity was not meant to know of.