Date: Sun, 24 Oct 93 04:08:37 -0700 From: int907a@lindblat.cc.monash.edu.au To: Multiple recipients of list Subject: Re: Vampire Avatars Sorry about the X-post, but it does belong :) > > I just had a thought regarding the nature of Vampire avatars. It has >already been established that vampire and Garou avatars are already awakened. >Is a vampire's Avatar its Beast? My take on Vampire and Avatars is the following: There was a Mage, millenia ago, who was obsessed with Immortality. Not having any idea on Life (this was before Traditions came along with foci, and easy teaching), he managed to find away to split his Avatar into pieces, and get rid of another beings Avatar, in order to create an effective 'clone' of himself. Funnily enough, this guy or girl is now known as Caine. Well, the first people he tried this on, their avatar was blown away, to become part of the Whole again, and pieces of Caine's Avatar was given to them. This was according to plan., Unfortunately for Caine, a beings personality was not entirely rested within its Avatar as he had thought. What he had created were beings who's own Quintessence-drawing Avatars were gone, so they were unable to draw their life-power from the natural store, and so their bodies died. The pieces of his own Avatar could distribute the Quintesence that was already woven into their Pattern, but could not draw more. It was an instinctual draw upon the most ready source of Quintesence that saved these new-borns from being sent to Torpor immediately. Flesh. They consumed meat, as was their usual diet, and found that it caused them to be violently ill, and regurgitate their meals back up. Only when one of them Frenzied upon the uncooked corpse of a cow, did the truth become apparent. They needed blood to survive, to hold and convey the Vitae that was so desperately needed by the Childer of Caine. Time passed, and eventually curiosity, or Hunger got the better of one of Caine's Children, and they fed of a human being. Ecstasy, the taste of human blood immensely more satisfying than that of animals, it would seem that the intensity of the life that a creature lived was i imprinted upon its blood, and this impression could be tasted by the fledglings. They also found that their own blood allowed them the Discipines, and healing beyond mortal ability. It was the last that created the second tragedy - the Third Generation. One of Caine's childer, in an effort to restore a mortally wounded comrade to life, fed him some of their blood, and created another, slightly lesser being. In time, all of Caine's children made their own Childer, either for protection from the others, for company, out of a desire to bring someone to Immortality. However, these 3rd generation were not as all-powerful as their Sires. For one, the reduced Shards of Caine's Avatars were not enough to prevent their newly dead bodies from being pulled apart by the Sun's rays, so they were restricted to the nights domain. So Vampirim were born. Perhaps the first feeding was reviled by the rest of Humanity, leading to a precursor of the legend of Caine, which Genesis incorporated, this leading full circle, with the Kindred believing the second mangling. But as it stands, each Vampire recieves a smaller and smaller part of the Avatar of Caine, thus becoming less and less powerful as you travel downt he Generations, and Diablorie causes you to recieve a large portion, strengthening your grip on Life... AS for the Beast.... mayhaps everybody posesses a Beast inside them, restrained by their Avatar for the most part, or at least controlled. The Vampire's Avatar is _gone_, who is to restrain the Beast? Caine's Shard within them is strong enough, as long as it has access to power (blood), or the primary personality is stable (not frightened, or mentally deranged (a _very_ generalised term, please don't flame)). Caine's Avatar-shard is just not integrated enough with the original personality to have a complete hold on the beast. Which brings me to Golconda. The acceptance of the Beast. Its not. It is the strengthening of the piece of Caine's avatar, the joining of your life with it, to withhold, restrain, and bind the Beast back where it originally lay. Thus the option to become fully human. You manage to grasp enough of the Avatar to bind it to your body, and initiate its browsing of the general Quinetsence to once again take your place amongst the ranks the humanity. But this also explains to some degree why the Golconda-reached Kindred need but 1 blood point per week. They have not quite attained the state of Life, where all Quintesence is automatically attained, but a near-state, where the Avatar can start to attract free Quintesence so that you need but a catalytic amount. The strengthening of the Avatar gives you access to the full measure of Discipline power and attribute adjustment as well... no more comes to mind, and apologies for the informal tone :) I was writing this as I thought of it.... Sean