You are not of this world. Not anymore, or perhaps not ever. You are a vampyre, and your homeworld is the S'under, an otherworldly plane in the endless outer darkness, openings to which are hidden in dark corners of the earth. You stalk the planet, perhaps unseen, perhaps disguised as a mortal, and sustain yourself with the blood essence of mortal beings. Perhaps you became this way when you were bitten by a Red Blood; perhaps you were born to a family of Green Bloods; or perhaps, like many Blues, you chose your fate by working ancient rituals. Maybe your nature was a gift, a blessing by a White Blood upon a noble soul; or maybe, gods forbid, you were raised from the dead by a vampyre of the Black. However you became who you are now, you share a common history with all others of your kind.
Note: You don't have to play as a vampyre necessarily, at the beginning, but you will end up as one eventually. Also, I don't have a map of Kesh at the moment but anyone interested in helping me try to create one, I would love some help with that as I've never made a city map before! :)
Thousands of years ago, in the ancient Mesopotamian city of Kesh, there was a sorceress. The Pnakotic Manuscripts call her "Minira." She found ancient magic, hidden since the dawn of time, and contacted strange outer gods. She made a pact, to channel their power into the mortal world, in return for channelling to them through her own body the power in the blood of mortals. She became the first vampyre.
She founded a cult worshipping those nameless outer gods, siring numerous other vampyres. Soon the mortals of the city became terrified at these monsters in their midst, and began to hunt them down. Minira was burned alive, her ashes to be interred deep in a tomb guarded by many sacred symbols and labyrinthine corridors. But: with her final breath, she intoned a curse that would take effect in three days, to give her followers time to escape.
Those vampyres who survived the hunt laid low, pledging that their kind would live more carefully from then on, covering their tracks and killing as few as possible; for without Minira, their link to the dark gods, their power was much lesser, and they were much more vulnerable to mortals.
On the day of the curse, those who were left watched from a safe distance as Kesh became S'undered from the world, broken off to become the center of a plane in the Outer Darkness, as their lady had promised. It seemed to sink beneath the earth, swallowed by an abyssal void, and it was as if the city never existed. All that was left was the tomb of Minira.
The first vampyres then sought their mother's ashes, a holy relic to keep with them on their future journeys. There they found, next to the urn, whose contents glowed with a violet aura, a staircase downward into black depths, similarly glowing. Going down, they found the dead city of Kesh, all its mortal inhabitants now dust, surrounded by endless, otherworldly wilds under a black and starless sky crowned with a huge, ever-present full moon. They realized this had been their mother's final gift: the city which had created and then tried to kill them would now be a safe haven for their kind - for in the presence of their Mother Minira's ashes, all vampyres may open a portal to the S'under.
Afterward, the followers of Minira split into five clans, known by color of their spiritual "Blood Essence", by the types of animals they can transform into (each vampyre has one totem animal and is thus a were-being also), and by the god and goddess to whom they had been initiated. They dispersed across the earth, each keeping a small pinch of their mother's ashes inside an amulet so that they could always reach Kesh in the mysterious S'under. These five Bloodlynes still exist today, hidden among mortals in the modern world.
She founded a cult worshipping those nameless outer gods, siring numerous other vampyres. Soon the mortals of the city became terrified at these monsters in their midst, and began to hunt them down. Minira was burned alive, her ashes to be interred deep in a tomb guarded by many sacred symbols and labyrinthine corridors. But: with her final breath, she intoned a curse that would take effect in three days, to give her followers time to escape.
Those vampyres who survived the hunt laid low, pledging that their kind would live more carefully from then on, covering their tracks and killing as few as possible; for without Minira, their link to the dark gods, their power was much lesser, and they were much more vulnerable to mortals.
On the day of the curse, those who were left watched from a safe distance as Kesh became S'undered from the world, broken off to become the center of a plane in the Outer Darkness, as their lady had promised. It seemed to sink beneath the earth, swallowed by an abyssal void, and it was as if the city never existed. All that was left was the tomb of Minira.
The first vampyres then sought their mother's ashes, a holy relic to keep with them on their future journeys. There they found, next to the urn, whose contents glowed with a violet aura, a staircase downward into black depths, similarly glowing. Going down, they found the dead city of Kesh, all its mortal inhabitants now dust, surrounded by endless, otherworldly wilds under a black and starless sky crowned with a huge, ever-present full moon. They realized this had been their mother's final gift: the city which had created and then tried to kill them would now be a safe haven for their kind - for in the presence of their Mother Minira's ashes, all vampyres may open a portal to the S'under.
Afterward, the followers of Minira split into five clans, known by color of their spiritual "Blood Essence", by the types of animals they can transform into (each vampyre has one totem animal and is thus a were-being also), and by the god and goddess to whom they had been initiated. They dispersed across the earth, each keeping a small pinch of their mother's ashes inside an amulet so that they could always reach Kesh in the mysterious S'under. These five Bloodlynes still exist today, hidden among mortals in the modern world.
RED BLOODS: Dedicated to the Blood Mistress and the Lord of Flame. Reds, whose totems are mammals, are the only vampyres who can endure sunlight and heat indefinitely - in fact, they thrive in it, and in the absence of blood can take some sustenance from flame. Their Power is to manipulate heat, physical and emotional. Reds are prone to extreme emotions and tend to have extremely passionate, stormy romances and vindictive, violent feuds. Many redbloods have accidentally (or purposefully) self-immolated over the millennia. On the other hand, they are surprisingly adept at all forms of physical activity, at all levels of precision and complexity - reds are stronger and faster than any other vampyres, better at fighting, sports, or any other physical skill, and even pick up fine motor skills such as forms of craftsmanship very quickly and to high levels of expertise.
GREEN BLOODS: Dedicated to the Horned Goddess and the Hunter King. Greens are the only vampyres capable of biological reproduction; they are also unique in that they can take sustenance not only from blood, but also directly from the life force of living things. Their Power is to manipulate life, both in the form of biological substances, and emotionally as lust. Greens are extremely seductive and some act like the succubi and incubi of legend, using sexual partners as energy sources; some prefer instead to hunt and consume the blood and life force of animals. They can produce poison in their saliva and sweat, and venom in their fangs, capable of intoxicating, paralyzing, or even killing. Green totems are all reptiles and amphibians.
BLUE BLOODS: Dedicated to the Night Mother and the Ocean Lord. Blues are the only vampyres capable of learning to transfigure themselves into any kind of animal, though it is easiest to become their native totems which are fish or aquatic mammals. They also are blessed with the greatest amount of raw magical power, but nearly all their power must be channeled through spells, learned and practiced - it does not come naturally. They also are particularly sensitive to heat and light, but make up for it with the ability to telepathically overlay their mind with another's, sending thoughts or illusions, even manipulating memory. They are thus capable of extreme stealth.
WHITE BLOODS: Dedicated to the Moon Goddess and the Sun God. Whites are the only vampyres who can consume normal food, though it does not provide them as much sustenance as blood does. Alone among the Bloodlynes, they are psychic, able to foresee all possible futures and how to reach desirable ones, and thus act as the leaders of Vampyre society. They also can manipulate space in ways that only very powerful Blues can mimic, teleporting hundreds of miles in a moment, or trapping someone in a spatial warp, and they are the only vampyres capable of using Minira's ashes to generate new stairways to the S'under, though the ash amulets are kept with members of all Bloodlynes and in certain secret places for safekeeping. White bloods are naturally very benevolent, even to mortals, and seek peace and prosperity for all living beings, often going out of their way to help others. This combined with the fact that their totems are always birds has led some to speculate that white bloods are behind the angel myth.
BLACK BLOODS: Dedicated to the Nameless One. Blacks are the only vampyres who don't seem to need any sustenance at all. They are also unique in that they can raise the dead. Their deity is the most inscrutable and frankly terrifying of the Vampyre Gods - it is utterly inhuman, neither male nor female, a manifestation of sheer chaos. Black bloods are usually quite insane, and uniquely unable to stave off decay; they usually end up as liches or even walking skeletons. Their totems, invariably swarms of arthropods or other crawly things, are equally disturbing. They are actively hostile to all the other Bloodlynes, and generally toward all forms of life. Black bloods are considered abominations by the other Bloodlynes, and actively sought out and immolated.
SELENES: Selenes are not a proper Bloodlyne, but rather a peculiar variant of vampyre across Bloodlynes. It is a known fact that all vampyres are incapable of change, both physically and mentally, able to learn but not to mature, to grow but not to age. It is in children that this fact reaches its most noticeable extent, for to ensure this changelessness, the universe perpetually guards their innocence. However a child perceives the world when they become a vampyre, that is how they will always perceive the world - for as a Selene, a child vampyre, their beliefs are enforced upon the reality around them. This can be good, as in the case of Daughter Artemis, high priestess of the Moon Goddess, in whose presence even evil thoughts are impossible and without whom the peace between the non-black Bloodlynes would likely be impossible... or it can be bad, as in the case of the black Selene, Alma, who is spoken of only in whispers and believed to live - or, rather, to undie - somewhere in the depths of the S'under, pursuing unknown but likely horrible ends.
GREEN BLOODS: Dedicated to the Horned Goddess and the Hunter King. Greens are the only vampyres capable of biological reproduction; they are also unique in that they can take sustenance not only from blood, but also directly from the life force of living things. Their Power is to manipulate life, both in the form of biological substances, and emotionally as lust. Greens are extremely seductive and some act like the succubi and incubi of legend, using sexual partners as energy sources; some prefer instead to hunt and consume the blood and life force of animals. They can produce poison in their saliva and sweat, and venom in their fangs, capable of intoxicating, paralyzing, or even killing. Green totems are all reptiles and amphibians.
BLUE BLOODS: Dedicated to the Night Mother and the Ocean Lord. Blues are the only vampyres capable of learning to transfigure themselves into any kind of animal, though it is easiest to become their native totems which are fish or aquatic mammals. They also are blessed with the greatest amount of raw magical power, but nearly all their power must be channeled through spells, learned and practiced - it does not come naturally. They also are particularly sensitive to heat and light, but make up for it with the ability to telepathically overlay their mind with another's, sending thoughts or illusions, even manipulating memory. They are thus capable of extreme stealth.
WHITE BLOODS: Dedicated to the Moon Goddess and the Sun God. Whites are the only vampyres who can consume normal food, though it does not provide them as much sustenance as blood does. Alone among the Bloodlynes, they are psychic, able to foresee all possible futures and how to reach desirable ones, and thus act as the leaders of Vampyre society. They also can manipulate space in ways that only very powerful Blues can mimic, teleporting hundreds of miles in a moment, or trapping someone in a spatial warp, and they are the only vampyres capable of using Minira's ashes to generate new stairways to the S'under, though the ash amulets are kept with members of all Bloodlynes and in certain secret places for safekeeping. White bloods are naturally very benevolent, even to mortals, and seek peace and prosperity for all living beings, often going out of their way to help others. This combined with the fact that their totems are always birds has led some to speculate that white bloods are behind the angel myth.
BLACK BLOODS: Dedicated to the Nameless One. Blacks are the only vampyres who don't seem to need any sustenance at all. They are also unique in that they can raise the dead. Their deity is the most inscrutable and frankly terrifying of the Vampyre Gods - it is utterly inhuman, neither male nor female, a manifestation of sheer chaos. Black bloods are usually quite insane, and uniquely unable to stave off decay; they usually end up as liches or even walking skeletons. Their totems, invariably swarms of arthropods or other crawly things, are equally disturbing. They are actively hostile to all the other Bloodlynes, and generally toward all forms of life. Black bloods are considered abominations by the other Bloodlynes, and actively sought out and immolated.
SELENES: Selenes are not a proper Bloodlyne, but rather a peculiar variant of vampyre across Bloodlynes. It is a known fact that all vampyres are incapable of change, both physically and mentally, able to learn but not to mature, to grow but not to age. It is in children that this fact reaches its most noticeable extent, for to ensure this changelessness, the universe perpetually guards their innocence. However a child perceives the world when they become a vampyre, that is how they will always perceive the world - for as a Selene, a child vampyre, their beliefs are enforced upon the reality around them. This can be good, as in the case of Daughter Artemis, high priestess of the Moon Goddess, in whose presence even evil thoughts are impossible and without whom the peace between the non-black Bloodlynes would likely be impossible... or it can be bad, as in the case of the black Selene, Alma, who is spoken of only in whispers and believed to live - or, rather, to undie - somewhere in the depths of the S'under, pursuing unknown but likely horrible ends.
Little is known about the S'under beyond the well-trodden streets of the ancient city Kesh. What is known from astronomical observation is that the plane is shaped like the inside of a sphere, with the same size as the Earth. The only light is from a large "moon" in the center (and thus always directly overhead), which glows with an even white light and no blemishes or patterns on the surface. Its true nature is unknown, as the atmosphere seems to thin as one gets closer to it and no white-blood in bird form has ever been able to reach it without passing out and falling back to earth.
The city itself is vast, having been continually built up over the millennia by vampyres coming and going from the mortal world. Its most notable building is the Lunar Cathedral at the center of the city, originally a temple to Marduk, now to the Moon Goddess, and palace of the ruling family of White-Bloods - including the high priestess, the Selene Daughter Artemis. It is impossible, of course, for everyone to live in Kesh full-time, due to dietary constraints, but some wealthier vampyres are able to have their food delivered. The economy of Kesh is booming, with endless opportunity for the cunning vampyre adventurer, from "meal delivery service" (capturing live humans "on the surface" and bringing them "down" to the City), to priesthood in the various temples of the vampyre gods, to exploring the wilds beyond the City.
Nearly all of the S'under is completely unknown, because there has rarely been any reason to leave the City, and no one is known to have travelled more than a few dozen miles away in all of history. In the modern age, technology is making it a little easier to explore farther, though no wild-usable vehicle larger than a motorized dirtbike can fit through the portals to the S'under produced by ash amulets (and it's rather clumsy getting them down the stairs). However, numerous unknown species of terrifying, otherworldly monsters haunt the wilds (not to mention feral black-bloods), and they seem to get worse further away from the city, which for some reason (Minira's blessing, perhaps) they avoid. Few adventurers, even with great strength and the best of modern weapons and vehicles, make it very far out into the wild S'under and back alive.
One of the main benefits to vampyres of having access to the S'under is fast travel. By means of the various gates in the city it is possible to travel to many parts of the earth - any location where a relic containing Minira's ashes is. The larger the amount, the larger the portal, but also the more likely it is that mortals would stumble upon it by accident, so they are usually hidden in out-of-the-way places. The locations of some portals and associated ash relics are forgotten, and sometimes intrepid vampyre adventurers go searching the mortal world looking for lost relics of Minira.
The city itself is vast, having been continually built up over the millennia by vampyres coming and going from the mortal world. Its most notable building is the Lunar Cathedral at the center of the city, originally a temple to Marduk, now to the Moon Goddess, and palace of the ruling family of White-Bloods - including the high priestess, the Selene Daughter Artemis. It is impossible, of course, for everyone to live in Kesh full-time, due to dietary constraints, but some wealthier vampyres are able to have their food delivered. The economy of Kesh is booming, with endless opportunity for the cunning vampyre adventurer, from "meal delivery service" (capturing live humans "on the surface" and bringing them "down" to the City), to priesthood in the various temples of the vampyre gods, to exploring the wilds beyond the City.
Nearly all of the S'under is completely unknown, because there has rarely been any reason to leave the City, and no one is known to have travelled more than a few dozen miles away in all of history. In the modern age, technology is making it a little easier to explore farther, though no wild-usable vehicle larger than a motorized dirtbike can fit through the portals to the S'under produced by ash amulets (and it's rather clumsy getting them down the stairs). However, numerous unknown species of terrifying, otherworldly monsters haunt the wilds (not to mention feral black-bloods), and they seem to get worse further away from the city, which for some reason (Minira's blessing, perhaps) they avoid. Few adventurers, even with great strength and the best of modern weapons and vehicles, make it very far out into the wild S'under and back alive.
One of the main benefits to vampyres of having access to the S'under is fast travel. By means of the various gates in the city it is possible to travel to many parts of the earth - any location where a relic containing Minira's ashes is. The larger the amount, the larger the portal, but also the more likely it is that mortals would stumble upon it by accident, so they are usually hidden in out-of-the-way places. The locations of some portals and associated ash relics are forgotten, and sometimes intrepid vampyre adventurers go searching the mortal world looking for lost relics of Minira.
The basement of a worn-down old church in New Orleans
A hole in the ground in the Suicide Forest in Japan
Off the coast of a small deserted island in the Pacific Ocean
Behind the wall of an old house in Arkham
In an ossuary in Tbilisi
A hole in the ground in the Suicide Forest in Japan
Off the coast of a small deserted island in the Pacific Ocean
Behind the wall of an old house in Arkham
In an ossuary in Tbilisi
Note: You don't have to play as a vampyre necessarily, at the beginning, but you will end up as one eventually. Also, I don't have a map of Kesh at the moment but anyone interested in helping me try to create one, I would love some help with that as I've never made a city map before! :)