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What Kiara Knows of Vampires aka Vamp Mythology 101
#1
There's a lengthy update from the Verbena at some point the following morning after Kalen and Ian's encounter with Wesley, imbued throughout with the brunette's particular brand of wry humor:

Are you guys ready for your Vampire Mythology 101 Lesson? I've contacted what was left of my old coven in New York and aside from 'exercise extreme caution in dealings', they came back with some information that might treat us well to bear in mind. Some of it comes from personal encounters like Sera and Grace's and some seems more urban legend as far as I can tell. I also checked out a few personal sources and after cross checking what I could find, here's what we know about vampires, or at least, isn't just pop culture run wild:

The old shtick that they hate sunlight? Actually entirely factual. It's definitely one way to kill them, if you can expose them long enough. The older a vampire is, the stronger they get, that myth is also unfortunately entirely true. Fire and decapitation, pretty much any means you can rip them to shreds is also pretty affective, assuming there's means.

Forget about garlic or crosses, a stake through the heart might temporarily take one down but it's by no means as exciting as Buffy the Vampire Slayer made it out to be. More sedated lump than dust in the wind. They are weaker during the day so if there's scouting to be done, that would be the time, also beneficial for the Vitamin D route of disposing of one mentioned above.

If you're looking to go in armed, these guys can take some serious damage. A regular gun isn't going to stop one, magically enhanced weaponry on the other hand, definitely the way to go if you're packing heat. Apparently back in the day, swords were a favorite, if you listen to my sources. I'm guessing decapitation was easier than most other options, take a thing's head off, it's going to slow its roll -- well, the torso, anyway.

I mentioned vampires are like wine, right? They get more potent as they age, well word is they also have varying powers that do the same. Finding documented proof of what they are is pretty difficult, vampires don't exactly dig being researched so they try and cover their tracks as much as they can. Sera and Grace saw the shadow trick themselves, so there's that one and apparently in their box of tricks is also nasty stuff like manipulation of thoughts and feelings, eradication of memory, total control over free will -- they do love their mind games. Given what Sera told Kalen and I she felt when she experienced what a feeding was like, I'm going to guess it's not unheard of for a victim to be willing for all the wrong reasons.

My Verbena sources also confirmed there's been documented accounts of vampires changing form the way some shape-shifters in our tradition can. Apparently Bram Stoker wasn't totally off base after all.


There's a break, then. Kiara no doubt typing up the rest of her findings, which appears several moments later:

Kalen mentioned vampire war and he's not wrong. The information is scarce and what little I found barely scratched the surface (I'm guessing with good reason) but vampires play politics within their ranks. There's just no way for us to know who is telling the truth or has less dubious scruples than the other -- in all likelihood, both are as bad as the other.

Are they all out to kill every last one of us -- I doubt that. I'm not sure most of us even register to them until we do. They're very old and while some of them might seem more human on the outside, they operate on a wholly different level.

I couldn't scope out much on Kalen's Mr Edevane other than his apparent devotion to the written word or on this Grayson Addario character other than he checks out as the manager of the Black Orchid as far as official business ties go. None of my contacts in the Verbena recognize the names, if they've been around half as long as we assume they have, they haven't run into bad blood with us -- no pun intended.

Which doesn't say much, knowing how slippery they can be.

I'm printing out all of this, so if anyone wants a hard copy, I'll have one at the ready. I'm not a girl to shy away from danger, but I have to side with my friends in the coven when I say whatever we do, however we proceed, caution is absolute. None of these creatures can be trusted to keep their word beyond what's useful to their agenda.

-Kiara.
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#2
Being as vampires are dangerous, and I would rather we not be fighting all of them, my plan was to target the ones we know are out being active menaces.

The one we met at the Orchid elected not to kill us, and seems to prefer feeding without killing. Which I asked it after I was scrying and saw it let its victim go after it fed. Do I think vampires drinking people's blood is awesome? No. But a few pints of blood loss is not something I'd want to fight a thing like that over. More people are in danger of a few pints of blood loss from texting and driving. I'm not saying he's in need of a medal, just that as risk to effectiveness goes, he's not a target.

Similarly with Wesley, assuming that my read on him is wrong (I'm good at these evaluations and I was shielded against their tricks, but he could be better), we'll assume he has absolutely no qualms about killing anyone and is just careful about that, and elected to save Arionna from Grayson because he didn't want him fucking up in his territory. He's still going to be exercising some restraint. And that's if I am catastrophically wrong about my read on him.

And assumes that the fact that the two vampires we've met who don't feel like an icy funeral dirge are also the two vampires that scan as probably not monstrous has nothing to do with being less monstrous. (It could be tricks, yes. But fooling all of us all of the time is unlikely, and so far these observations of their energy remain constant.) They still have to drink blood to survive. Killing may be optional, but that is not. They're predators and they are dangerous.

But one should not pick any fights with dangerous undead creatures one does not have to. My observations about their war were less to indicate we should choose the proper side, and more to indicate that if all the vampires we are running into causing active problems are on one side, we probably don't have to fight the other side if we leave them alone. Not fighting every vampire in Denver at once sounds like an excellent plan if it is an option. It may be that we should take it if we can.

And it may be that we look at this, we do a surgical strike for that shadowmancing one, and if that club isn't the most horrible thing ever we don't actually start a war with an international vampire crime organisation. We have the option to pass on what we know to contacts where the clubs actively involved are and not invite a potential perpetual stream of reinforcements from an organisation bigger than we are. I'm not holding my breath on that club being something any of us can let go, but perpetual vampire war is going to make it difficult to save the world.

And yes. We have. Once definitely and twice perhaps that I know of. In the year and a half that I've been here. Just saying, for those of us new to the stakes we play for, depending on what we find prioritizing what we do and do not fight is a real thing. (Read as, please don't think I'm lecturing you about priorities, Kiara. This is just a general note related to your notes on both sides of a vampire war still being vampires. In which I basically, if perhaps not entirely, agree.)
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#3
Didn't take it as such, Kalen. Just wanted to pass on what I uncovered, for whatever it's worth. I fully endorse knowing as much as we can about what's out there, whether we engage or not. -K.
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