As a summary before you read all my bs, the idea will be to play as vampires from different clans and different Courts and.... well, fuck each other over, mostly. As a tldr, the main plot will be that the vampire Empress dies suddenly and unexpectedly and a Proving of Inheritance (the violent process by which a new ruler is chosen) is called, except none of the Courts are prepared for it because no one expected it would happen for at least another few hundred years. So, the clans within each Court fight for a bit over who to send, there's some political drama, and then they go on to the Proving which is just a whole other extremely violent affair, with some other stuff going on that I don't want to reveal yet. So, it'll definitely be a more long-term plot with a lot of scheming involved and it'll probably take a while to really ramp up and then even longer to resolve itself. And then even if it does, there's still a lot more going on the world we could do if we're not sick of this yet haha. So yeah... I put a lot of info in already, but there's also more to be added. But I didn't want to put a [i]ton[/i] of work into it and then have no one be interested. [center]-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------[/center] All of life, really, is naught but an elaborate, unending masquerade. From the time you are old enough to utter our first words you begin putting on faces that are not your own, no matter how they may look so. You slip from costume to costume, stitched together from pieces of yourselves but even in your most intimate moments never do you truly unmask yourselves. Anonymity is protection, after all; hiding safely in rules of tradition and politeness that you have tailored so lovingly, so intricately, so restrictively for yourselves, like a delicate and suffocating corset. You hide in painted, dark eyelashes and layers of silken fabrics, thinking perhaps that if you cover enough of yourselves you might truly be beautiful. But your true nature is betrayed by claw-like jewelry and blood-red lipstick; you have not forgotten who you are. The scent of fear and blood still stirs something primal within you and when you fall asleep you dream of hunting in moonlit forests, and you awake and tighten your corset and think that things are easier this way. And yet, another stitch has broken. Soon the seam will come undone. [center][h2]The Last Empire[/h2][/center] Many thousand years ago, vampirekind grew tired of being hunted and slaughtered by humans. Mankind had survived that far only because vampires were divided and afraid, and when they finally came together under one banner and one cause, nothing could stand against them. They overcame the human kingdoms with ease, slaughtering most and keeping alive only those that they needed to feed, mainly children that they could raise to be subservient. Under the original thirteen vampires that led the revolt developed the thirteen Courts, and each staked out a claim of land for themselves. They set up cities and duchies, chose kings and queens and an Empress, and though at first they worked much as peasants to build their empire they realized soon that the humans had much more use than only that of blood. Thus, vampires elevated themselves to the status of nobles, forcing the humans under their control to perform the unskilled labor in exchange for a little less cruelty. There have since been five Empresses since the first. Now is the time of Empress Cassiopeia of Court Alecsandri. In the past 5,000 years the Thirteen Courts have flourished and expanded, the once near extinct species growing to number in the thousands. The place of humans has remained relatively unchanged as a whole, though each Court treats those under their rule to different standards; some treat them as livestock, pets, or worse, while others attribute them some limited rights and protections. The vampire Courts, in turn, squabble as any human kingdoms would, fighting for prestige and territory and other, more petty things. Now, it seems that a time of upheaval may be coming. Even beyond the Court of Ioveanu- known for their dreamwalking- dark nightmares stir in the minds of vampires all over the Empire. There is political dissent in the south and religious zealotry brewing in the north. We are not comfortable and secure, and our minds wander to desires far beyond mere survival, and our numbers have grown so that we may now plot in relative anonymity. It has been just long enough for a status quo to develop, and so, just long enough for it to be broken. [center][h3]Lifestyle of Vampires[/h3][/center] The continent of Vannesmar is divided politically by thirteen Courts of vampires that rule the lands. Each Court is divided further into counties- ruled by counts and countesses- who in turn rule over the vampires and humans that live there. While vampires do have "families," their clan- that is, all vampires living in the same county as them- is far more important. In all truth, much of the land is relatively unoccupied, with most vampires choosing to live in estates overlooking tightly-controlled human "settlements." Human settlements tend to be fairly primitive, predominantly resembling somewhat haphazard Dark Ages villages. Vampire manors are more ornate in Gothic and Victorian in style, and are rarely heavily as defense against traditional military-type attacks is not a concern. They may, however, have some other defenses with which to repel small-group attacks or discourage an enemy's ability to sneak into the dwelling unknown. If they must fight a battle, they tend to be relatively small-scale, as even large clans usually consist of perhaps a couple dozen individuals at most. There have been times where vampires have chosen to have humans under their command fight by proxy, but this is only a functional way of settling conflict if both sides agree not to become directly involved, as even one or two vampires can easily tear apart scores of well-trained and armored humans. In turn, when the vampires do decide to meet on the battlefield, their fights tend to be long-lasting (sometimes going for days without respite or reinforcements), bloody, and extremely brutal, and more often than not come down to the last living members of either side hunting each other down desperately in the wilderness. When they do go to war, there are typically few survivors. Thus, many vampires prefer to use more subtle methods of assassination to remove threats, though some clans have more success at this than others. [hider=Social Hierarchy] Vampires have a distinct social hierarchy, though this tends to be fairly flexible, and in the end most vampires live a similar lavish lifestyle. In fact, many prefer to stay at the bottom of their tier of society, if only for the safety of being out of the public eye. This tends to be a minority, though, and typically vampires are on watch for any chance to move up in station. The lowest in their society are those who live more-or-less alongside humans, living in the estates that watch over and manage the human villages. These vampires tend to be the social equivalent of farmers or tradesmen; though they are generally not in charge of personally growing food or harvesting resources, they are in charge of ensuring that those things happen. Of slightly more prestige are vampires who choose to take up a personal craft or skill as a career, such as sword-smithing or art. While humans are used for nearly all unskilled labor, there are some skills that they simply do not have the lifespan to perfect in the same way that vampires do, and thus will rarely be used for anything more than the barest assisting in those tasks. Some, such as the crafting of weapons, is entirely forbidden to humans. Though not masters, most vampires do eventually end up learning one or more practical craft or hobby in their lifetime. Vampires are arranged into clans, as mentioned above. A clan consists of any families living within the same county, likely all serving a very similar purpose and lifestyle and living in close proximity to one another. A small clan could consist of only one or two families, while larger ones may be as many as 10 or 15, though few exceed that. A vampires "family" name is that of the clan of their birth; they needn't be any more specific than that, as all families of a clan know each other well, and thus precise bloodlines need not be stated. Vampires may marry and breed across clan lines- in fact, it's preferable to reproduce with vampires of different clans, as most families with in a clan are closely related. It is, however, frowned upon to marry into a different Court. If married, vampires do not change their clan name to that of their spouse; however, any children will always take on the clan name of their mother rather than their father, regardless of the child's gender. All clans, in turn, live under the rule of a "ruling clan," the leader of which being the king or queen of the entire Court. Which clan is the ruling clan may shift, usually violently, but it is a fairly uncommon occurrence. The ruling clan is responsible for all lands ruled by their Court, dealing with the other Courts as a whole, and keeping the peace among those under their command. They are also directly subservient to the Empress. The Empress (or, potentially, Emper[i]or[/i], though there is no historical precedence for this) is in her own turn in control of the entire Empire. This predominantly consists of mediating problems between the Courts, of which there seems to be a never-ending supply. When the Empress dies, the process of choosing a new one- referred to as the Proving of Inheritance- is extensive, complicated, and often incredibly bloody, but this will be expanded on later. [/hider] [hider=Relationships & Lifespans] In their individual lives, vampires tend to be vain and callous. Most have relatively little regard for life, whether of humans or vampires, though they care [i]more[/i] for the latter, especially if they have a personal relationship with them. While vampires can and often do marry, it is more common for them to be polygamous, at least to some extent. After all, with a roughly 1,500 year lifespan, it would be difficult not to get [i]deathly[/i] bored of only one partner. Of course, this is more a trend than a rule, and there are those who marry in their youth and remain very much in love for the rest of their long lives. Regardless of purpose and situation, marriages tend to be more for political and social gain than anything, with the production of children being secondary. Vampires tend to be relatively promiscuous, and so long as no children result it is typically not frowned upon to have extra-marital affairs, including same-sex ones. Vampires almost never marry outside of their own Court- in fact, it is forbidden without permission from the king or queen of BOTH Courts, but non-romantic physical relations are only slightly scandalous (so long as it seems the participants don't care for each other [i]too[/i] much). Overall, truly romantic attachments and relationships that are otherwise built on fondness rather than gain are far more criticized than explicitly sexual ones. In terms of life cycle and biology, vampires are- obviously- incredibly long-lived, most surviving to 1,400-1,500 years, though some have been known to live as old as 2,000. Vampires infants are fairly rare, both because vampires tend not to care for raising offspring (being that vampire children are absolute nightmares) and because they are simply not as fertile as humans, a female's reproductive cycles being more by the century than by the month. When one is born, they tend to grow at more-or-less the same rate as humans, their aging slowly slightly once they reach puberty, and then grinding (more or less) to a halt once they reach about 30, which is essentially the vampire equivalent of 18. From there, it's nigh impossible to truly compare their aging process to that of humans; one vampire of 1,000 might appear like a human 35-year-old, and another may look 50. Either way, vampires tend to remain relatively "young" looking until their last 100-200 years of life, at which point they will age (comparatively) quickly until their bodies eventually break down from old age. To clarify other biological factors, vampires are able to go into the sun, but it is incredibly uncomfortable to them (something similar to coating an ice cube in condensed hot pepper juice and rubbing it aggressively into your skin) and will sunburn them quite quickly regardless of complexion, and could be fatal if they remain in direct sunlight too long. Keeping their skin fully covered in daylight helps to reduce this, but will still become uncomfortable after some time. Vampires must drink blood to survive, or they will starve, though this starvation is not so much of a physical starvation so much as one of the soul. That is, so long as they continue to eat other food normally, their body will not wither away, but their soul will until they simply... cease being alive. To remain healthy, it is generally good for vampires to drink roughly five liters of blood in a week. At one time, it was easy to get this by simply draining an entire passerby; nowadays, it tends to be viewed as wasteful to kill a human with feeding, and therefore vampires usually "snack," drinking only a little from multiple humans throughout a day, or else having one substantial- but not fatal- "meal" per day depending on preference. Finally, vampires are much, much stronger than humans, and they are also significantly faster, though this has more to do with fantastic senses and reflexes- allowing them to move more efficiently and accurately- than merely having an increased movement speed. They are also difficult to kill, as their bodies are slightly more difficult to damage than most humans, they heal much faster, and they do not have a shock response to trauma as other animals do. The downside to their increased rate of healing is that they also scar much easier than humans. Finally, they also have a much higher metabolism, meaning that they need more food than humans, and also require much more sleep (up to 15 hours a day, though 10-12 is the norm) and sleep much deeper than humans. [/hider] [center][h3]Lives of Humans[/h3][/center] Humans live in villages overseen by vampire lords, who have varying degrees of control over their subjects' lives based on Court, clan, and the purpose of the settlement. In the best places (for humans), the village may function more-or-less of its own accord with fairly little interference so long as it fulfills its purpose to the satisfaction of its lords, and obeys their rules. In other places, every aspect of a human's life and day might be dictated by their masters, from when and what they may eat or wear to who they may marry. Additionally, Courts and clans offer their humans different levels of rights as living creatures. In some places, wrongdoings may result in trial and more-or-less reasonable punishment; in other places, they may be killed on a whim. Some humans may work more directly with vampires, acting as servants in their manors, and even as handmaidens and personal butlers. Whether this is a preferable situation or simply a more dangerous one varies. However, it is almost universally the case that humans known as "Companions" are treated well above that of any other. Companions are humans who are chosen for three things, typically at a young age: beauty, obedience, and flavor. Each human tastes a little bit different, after all, and vampires prefer only the finest things. Why shouldn't they always have a succulent snack on hand? And of course, their pets must be obedient, so as not to cause them any trouble, and must be beautiful so that they can show them off. Nearly all vampires have at least one Companion that lives in relatively close quarters with them, often accompanying them to social events dressed nearly as finely as their masters. They are ornaments, and highly prized ones. Truly, it is as close to nobility as any human could obtain- a life of unparalleled luxury and leisure so long as they remain young, beautiful, and silent, and willing to donate a little blood. [center][h3]The Proving of Inheritance[/h3][/center] The Proving of Inheritance is the method by which the new Emperor or Empress is chosen. One is typically called towards the end of an Emperess's life, when she is beginning to show her age and knows she will soon need replacement. At this point, she calls for a Proving, in which each Court (except for the Lunari, for reasons explained under their Court information) chooses a young adult- between 150 and 300 years of age- to represent their Court in a position called "Heritor." Heritors are the candidates to be chosen as the next monarch, and they must be chosen young to ensure a long rein should they be chosen for the throne. Each Heritor is, in turn, allowed to choose two Escorts from any of their Courts to accompany them, whether for safety or political advisory, or for any other reason. In most situations, Courts begin to negotiate their Heritors and Escorts years before a Proving is called; as soon as an Empress begins to show any sign of growing old, the clans begin to bicker about which among them is worthy to serve in the Proving. Typically, a child of the ruling clan is chosen as the Heritor, though there have been times when this has not been the case. Instead, the other clans gain their swaying power through Escorts, which may be of any age, clan, or social standing. Thus, it is an important decision, and one over which blood is often spilled. Finally, each vampire in attendance- the Heritor and their two Escorts- may bring a human Companion of their choosing. Although intended more for comfort and decoration, extra bodies means extra opportunity for advantage, and thus Companions are typically also chosen somewhat strategically, although their use is far more limited. Once a Proving is called, the Heritor and their entourage travels to the Citadel, the capital of the Empire, where they will live with no external communication (except what news is given to them by the Lunari living at the Citadel) until a Crown Heir is chosen. One would think that giving each Court an equal number of representatives in the Proving would mean that each Court has an equal chance of begetting the next Empress or Emperor; this is not, in reality, the case. Though the Empress (or Emperor) has a sway in which Heritor will be their successor, theirs is not the final decision. Instead, the first days of the Proving often consist of the Heritors of some Courts pledging fealty to another, effectively taking themselves out of the running. This typically to ensure deals between their Courts; the assurance that if the Heritor of a certain Court does become the Crown Heir and eventually gain the throne, that they will reward those that pledged allegiance to them in some way. Many of these deals are negotiated by the Courts prior to the Proving even being announced, and thus must Heritors begin the Proving with a fairly clear idea of who their allies and their enemies will be. The Empress does have some sway in their successor; for example, they may choose to expel Heritors who overtly break the rules, may try to sway their allegiances to grant a more favorable outcome, and in the case of a tie in which it seems that two or three Heritors are on more-or-less equal footing and will not back down, they may break the tie. Otherwise, much of the Proving is a slow game of intimidation, negotiation, and- of course- elimination. It is an understood fact that the Proving is exceptionally bloody, and each vampire that enters it knows that there is at least a decent chance they will not make it to the end. Thus, it is preferable to either surround oneself with many and/or powerful allies, or else to pledge allegiance someone more powerful. That said, it is also possible for a Heritor to reject another that attempts to pledge to them, if their pledge would make them enemies or otherwise weaken their position. Similarly, though there are rules to the Proving- murder, for example, is forbidden- there is also an understanding that this is an intrinsic part of the process. After all, anyone who is powerful enough to be in the running and yet not smart enough to avoid getting themselves killed has no in the dangerous position of Emperor or Empress. Therefore, killings in which the culprit is not obvious- for example, the motive is not clear, there are no witnesses, and the culprits do not let it slip- will not be too heavily investigated; not officially, at least. There is nothing stopping a victim's allies from investigating their death and taking revenge if they are able, but the same rules apply to revenge killings: don't get caught. This includes betrayal, lies, and subterfuge of any kind. The issue with this Proving, of course, is the suddenness of the Empress Cassiopeia's death. In most situations, Courts begin their plotting well ahead of the death of their ruler, and in fact much before the Proving is even called for officially; however, in this situation, the Empress was very young, having only been chosen as Crown Heir herself around 200 years ago, and ascending to the throne a bit over 100 years prior. It was thought that it would be at least another 800 or 900 years before the next Proving was called. As such, Heritors and Escorts and allegiances between Courts had not yet been so much as mentioned, let alone ironed out. To make things more complicated, a Proving had never occurred in which the Empress was already dead; while this doesn't mean that the Proving process will have to change all that much, it does mean that it may very well drag on longer than most, and with no leadership for the Empire in the meantime. In most situations, because much of the deals have already been worked out, from the time a Proving is called to the time it begins is less than a month; in this situation, the kings and queens of the Courts have agreed to extend the deadline for a season, a little less than three moons. At the beginning of winter, the Proving will begin.