Chapter 3: Chapter 2: Conventions

My companions and I invisibly navigate the dense city streets. During this time I have an opportunity to digest information about this world revealed to me by my player's handbook. This is useful as it gives me a chance to acclimate to this world's odd social and legal quirks.

As we explore "Harbor City" and gradually make our way towards our distant destination I ask my companions about "Vampire Spawn". To my surprise the one to answer is the male vampire, Gregory.

"Your 'Vampire Spawn' are vampires that you create. Rosemary and I are two humans you turned into vampires long ago, and we are both elite vampires. We are members of a breed of vampires you once called your magnum opus." Gregory explains, speaking to me telepathically.

"Creating vampire spawn is something that sanguinarchs do for a range of reasons. You are an exceptionally powerful sanguinarch, one who maximized all five sources of essence, which is one reason you create vampire spawn. Your spawn can gather essence on your behalf, which is incredibly useful for any sanguinarch." Gregory continues, even as he and Rosemary dart around pedestrians that my brides and I can phase through.

The five sources of essence... I know about them, thanks to the strange, academic knowledge I have of essence.

"Blood, souls, intimacy, oaths, and dominion. Those are the five sources of essence right? Connecting life to the body, identity to reality, life to life, men to one another, and even universe to universe..." I reply, telepathically.

Doing so is easy for me, all it takes is for me to will the vampire to hear me, and whenever I want that to happen I can sense [Mindlink] activating. [Mindlink] is another one of the major sanguine abilities I possess, which means that using it is both free, as far as essence goes, and basically effortless.

"Correct! I'm glad you know that, master. It's good not to have to explain everything, especially since I'm not sure we know everything. Your brides probably do, but among your vampire spawn you only explained the mechanics of essence to the leaders of your essence farms." Gregory tells me, his mental voice easily touching my mind-space.

Truthfully, I do not know how to reply to that, as the final part of that revelation has some fairly dark implications. "Essence farms" do not sound like lovely places to be, though it's certainly possible that it's not as dark as I imagine, given that "Intimacy" is one of the fonts of essence.

While it's true that an "Essence farm" could be a dark place where someone is milked of their blood over and over, it could also be an orgiastic pleasure palace where essence donors are pampered and treated like kings and queens. I guess it depends on the sanguinarch in question and their preferred methods of extracting essence?

If someone maximized all five fonts of essence-gathering, as I have, they would have a lot of different options to choose from. I could create farms from slaughterhouses or actual farms, converting the employees into vampires, or I could take over a bank and take advantage of the nature of mortgages to sneakily take advantage of the nature of the process of getting a house in this world as a way of easily getting hefty amounts of essence...

"Vampire spawns are useful for many other reasons as well. You were fond of creating a range of different breeds of vampires, and in the past, you did everything from creating breeds of vampires that were little more than living weapons to creating elite breeds that even in small numbers could help you manage entire planets." Rosemary mentally tells me, causing me to smirk. My brides all smile as well, it seems that they enjoy reminiscing about our... checkered past.

I turn inward and attempt to recall the specifics of the various kinds of vampires I have created. I am pleasantly surprised when this works, and I am able to see dozens of different breeds of vampires that even now I can create easily. I can easily spot breeds that are clearly intended to be living weapons, breeds that seem almost like lustful demons, and breeds that are elite vampires filled with almost every positive trait they can have dialed up to the highest possible extreme.

This knowledge manifests in the form of a visible list of detailed information on each breed. The tables that appear list out various qualities, from things such as possessing superhuman durability to possessing the ability to turn into mist or even fly. In many ways becoming a member of my greater vampires is like becoming a superhero or something... It's honestly a good deal, though I have to admit I ask that those who become my vampires pay a hefty price; every breed of vampire I have created is 100% loyal to me, without exception.

Curiously, in the case of all but one of the "Elite" breeds, they simply cannot convert other people into their breed of vampire themselves. If any of my elite vampires other than one of my "Magnum Opus" vampires want someone to become one of them they need to ask me to convert the person they want to see be transformed into a vampire.

This is a handy mechanism for controlling the number of powerful vampires present in any particular place, which even in my amnesic state is something I firmly approve of. Heck, even my "Magnum Opus" vampires still have to bite someone, with the intent of converting them into vampires, in order to do so.

All I have to do to turn someone into any of these breeds is be in the same city as them and will them to transform, so long as they are only mundane humans, and I can do that without their permission! In order to turn stronger beings into my vampiric spawn I need to be closer to them and possibly have weakened them, or they need to be willing to be turned, but either of those conditions can be arranged easily enough. I can even sense that my ability to do this at greater ranges and with greater ease to beings greater than mundane humans will only grow with practice, and time.

After pondering the oddities of the nature of vampiric traits and transformations, I study my surroundings for a brief moment. My companions and I are currently standing at the corner of a large, busy four-way intersection near downtown Harbor City. Downtown is where we are headed, but the apartment building we left a few minutes ago is far from the heart of this city.

Gleaming skyscrapers in the distance reveal the general direction of the city's downtown area. I can hear the soft sounds of a distant tide washing against the city's shoreline to my east, and I can hear the sounds of many cars to my west, besides the idle sounds of thousands of humans who are close to each other.

This city is a modern metropolis, a glittering testament to the technology and culture of this world. It's actually a little nice, as I can see people talking on devices that allow them to instantly call people even on the other side of this planet, and they have technology that allows them to travel from one end of the world to another in relatively little time. There's a lot to like about a world this developed, even if I have powers that are more convenient to me than this world's technology. After all, most of my servants can't replicate my powers...

"Master, where are we going?" One of my brides, Aleera, asks as we resume our walk. I am the one taking the lead and the rest of my companions are merely following me. I glance in her direction and spot the ethereal beauty following behind me. Her eyes are glued to me, and she seems almost protective of me as we make our way through the city.

"We are heading to the city's convention center. When we make it I will complete part of a [Quest] and gain points which I can spend to begin to improve myself." I explain, causing the woman to nod, satisfied at my explanation. It seems that Aleera is easy to please, and so long as she feels heard, considered, and respected, she will likely not offer much, if any, resistance to my plans. She's also quite talkative, in her own way.

I am being honest with her, to be fair. I see no reason to lie to one of my brides, even though I am leaving out bits and pieces of context in my responses to her and her sisters. I haven't told her, or her siblings, about the skill trees yet after all... Nor have I told them that the resurrection I underwent not only left me deprived of my old memories, but that it also changed me in ways that are decidedly less negative.

One of the skill trees I can access gives me access to abilities that I know once belonged to omega lords, and abilities that I know belong to "Novas", even if I'm unsure what a "Nova" is. Nevertheless, their abilities are fairly handy judging from the options available in the skill tree that hail from them, with abilities that are as minor as sex-enhancers to powers as incredible as the ability to create things ex-nihilo using an internal store of "Ether", and even the ability to resurrect people. That last one is something that I can do right now with essence, but doing it for free sounds incredible.

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The altered sanguinarch and his retinue of servants and allies quietly make their way through the city's streets. As they do the creatures continue to study their new surroundings, with all six of them quickly and silently strategizing about different things.

Warren, the mysterious sanguinarch himself, thinks about how to create effective farms that'd allow him to easily harvest hefty quantities of essence. Aleera wonders about how to get stronger, which is a curious challenge for a dark bride, all in the name of actually being able to protect her master in the future.

Marishka wonders what strange supernatural elements one might find in this world if they look hard enough. The dark bride is a curious scholar of the supernatural, and she wants to figure out how the stuff works, and how to control it. Verona is very relationally minded, and her mind is working a mile a minute to try and determine how best to infiltrate this world's various governments and societies.

Gregory and Rosemary are both thinking about similar things; how to best feed. Both vampires feed on pleasure, blood, and souls, and both vampires know that each time they feed their master receives the essence that the act of them feeding generates.

Whether the vampires sink their teeth into someone's neck, or sleep with them, both activities generate essence for their creator to use to advance his dark designs. But equally as importantly as generating minute amounts of essence, each time they feed they make it easier for their master to turn their feeding grounds into the newest portion of his "Dominion".

A sanguinarch's "Dominion" is an important part of their total power. "Dominions" refer to the territory that a sanguinarch has completely and totally conquered, by acquiring a hefty amount of essence in a given space, and then completing powerful rituals there that cement their power over it.

A sufficiently powerful sanguinarch can do everything from populating their dominion with mighty guardians to transforming their lands with as little as a thought... Moreover, the mere act of having a "Dominion" causes a sanguinarch to be perpetually fed essence by it, with how much essence being determined by things like how populated their territory is and how large it is.

The successful acquisition, management, and expansion of one's territory is a critical pathway to power for the most successful sanguinarchs! Not only are sanguinarchs with larger dominions safer from assault and assassination, they are also being fed more and more essence than their dominion-less peers which is invariably useful for sanguinarchs.

Both of the powerful vampires use a mixture of savage instincts and carefully acquired experience to wonder how best to secure early victories for their sire. The two vampires wish to see their master secure easy, meaningful victories in these early few hours, and days, which would allow Warren to begin to buildup healthy reserves of essence. Beyond that being an early moral victory for their god, it'd also give him the essence stores needed to do the sort of impressive acts which could secure even more impressive victories in the days to come.

As the group begins to close in on their destination, the city's convention center, Warren's thoughts stop being so focused on hypothetical things. The group reaches the edge of the line leading to the convention center, and as they do Warren lets out a soft sigh.

"So conventions are actually popular? Hmm... Unexpected." He exclaims, unable to fully comprehend how such things can draw in audiences. Nevertheless the figure is both a powerful telepath and also has the book smarts needed to realize that the long line of macabrely dressed individuals in the direction he and his allies are heading is related to the event he has come here to engage with.

He and his companions can easily turn invisible and undetectable so they can easily slip by the line. They don't care about this enough to try and partake in every aspect of going to a convention, only the parts they might actually enjoy and that certainly does not include standing in long lines for hours when they could just as easily skip that part of the convention-going experience.

They continue their walk toward the convention center, now able to follow the long line of people. Several, even the majority of the people in the line, do not bother dressing up for it but about a quarter of the folks in the line are dressed in a variety of outfits. Some of the folks are wearing what is clearly vampire-inspired fashion, some of which is so obvious that even Warren easily notices it, while others are dressed like witches and wizards, and a few are dressed as mad geniuses.

Warren and his allies all size up the people they pass by. Each of them has different criteria which they use to form their opinions on the people they pass by. Warren judges them based on the way they look and smell, while Marishka uses her ability to use the major sanguine powers Warren possesses to read the minds of the people she passes by, looking for intelligent people whose minds can entertain her. Verona listens to their accents and thinks about which she likes best.

Aleera looks for the strongest people who are slowly making their way toward the convention center, sizing them up based on their muscle mass. She uses a variety of senses to spot muscle mass, such as x-ray vision to see through clothes, and slight mind reading to parse through memories of individuals who draw her eye. Rosemary looks for the ones who seem the healthiest, while Gregory looks for ones he predicts might have some level of status or influence.

Of all of the criteria which inform the process by which the vampire god and his servants size up possible meals, that last one is the most mysterious. Gregory does not know what traits might help make someone famous in this world, but he has explored hundreds of worlds with his creator and has seen thousands of societies. Those experiences are what color and guide his thought process here, allowing him to hypothesize about what it takes to become famous in a world as packed with technology as this strange city suggests it might be.

The group eventually reaches the actual convention center, which is a gigantic building located right in the heart of Harbor City. It is an impressive, eye-catching thing covered in high-definition screens that display expensive advertisements, and the entrance to it is filled with an array of horror fans being hurried through machines by professional convention organizers.

The horror fans are being shuffled through some security features intended to safeguard the famous guests and speakers who are scheduled to speak at this weekend-long convention. Not one physical word is uttered by any of the members of the party as they walk past the packed lines and ignore the security measures in place to keep the convention's most lauded guests safe from obsessive fans or ambitious, or desperate, criminals.

Warren visibly shivers as he senses the quest he accepted drawing one step closer to completion. Now that he is here at the convention, all he needs to do to unlock the "Fan" and "Horror" origins from the [Generic Conventions] category of perks is actually attend the convention!

"I am supposed to be here to participate in this convention, which I suspect requires me actually doing a few activities and listening to a few panels but that doesn't mean that we can't also advance our own goals here." Warren begins, speaking audibly to his companions but manipulating his usage of [Shadowblank] to ensure that no one else hears him.

"Let's use this opportunity to begin to turn this convention center into the first patch of my dominion in this universe. And in order to do that we all need to be on the hunt for suitable victims, and be proactive in acquiring essence, preferably in nonviolent ways. We want our victims to come back tomorrow and help us, and inflicting violence on them means I may have to spend essence healing them." Warren declares, causing his companions to smile predatorily, as all of them step into the convention center itself. Their eyes all narrow in almost animalistic, brutal, hunger as they examine their newest hunting grounds.

Their master himself carefully studies the grand hall they are now in. The place is packed with horror fans of all sorts, from bubbly men and women who are into gory and detailed descriptions of violence to edgy men and women who like the idea of someone being as monstrous on the outside as they are on the inside. Warren smiles as he surveils his immediate surroundings. There's so much to do, and so little time to do it...

The vampire lord emits a sound halfway between a battle cry and a peal of laughter as he and his allies begin to step boldly toward the middle of the vast hall, eager looks on their hauntingly beautiful faces.

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