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Dispatch → Factbook → International
by 
The Constitutional Monarchy of Synnadine.
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76 reads.
Vampiric Nation
Immediately above Soldiers are Prelate's, who are the most trusted members of a Family and handpicked by its Master. Due to this trust they form an "Inner Circle" for the Master of their Family, and are very few in number within their Family. Most Prelate's tend to be centuries old and become well known even to other Family's in the general area. For a Soldier to become a Prelate they must first Sire at least one vampire and personally instruct them towards the title of Apprentice, they cannot pawn it off or rely on someone else to raise their progeny. After that they must receive a recommendation from a higher ranking vampire, typically another Prelate, for their Master to take into consideration. If approved then they become a Prelate and are given a daylight charm, both to serve as a recognizable symbol of their status and allowing them to work on behalf of their Family at any time of day as needed. Following this are Regent's, the Second-in-Command of a Family. Just as each Family on has one Master they also only have one Regent, serving as the right hand of said Master. Handpicked by a Master from their Prelate's, Regent's are often the oldest and strongest of their other Circle members, though sometimes they may simply be the wisest. While it is the decision of a Master who they choose as their Regent and why, given their position exemplary leadership skills are always a must. Finally, as stated above, at the top of the commoner titles are Masters. It is the duty of a Master to lead and rule over their family and their Colony, overseeing that duties and responsibilities are carried out as ordered. They have final say over everything that goes on within their family, as long as as a Noble does not get involved that is. A Master has some influence over individuals in other Families as well, but only their Soldiers and lower, as even the authority of a Prelate from that Family would supersede their own. For a vampire to become a Master they must be appointed by a Noble, but they will only be considered for this after having Sired at least 10 vampires that successfully became Soldiers. Personally raising them is not required, as this is more meant to judge their ability to handpick good candidates to become a vampire. Typically a new Master is appointed after proving themselves as a Family's Regent in a way that gains the attention of a Noble, showing they have what it takes to lead a Family themselves, though in some cases even a Prelate might catch the eye of a Noble (at long as they meet the criteria). Once appointed they are granted the land that will server as their Colony, and as a new Master it is their duty to go there and begin developing a new Family. Beyond Aristocrats are Barons and Baronesses, though this promotion offers little change other than how much respect they are given by other Vampires. Other Nobility tend to not acknowledge an Aristocrat as a real noble, outside of those that were Highborn that is, strictly based on principle. Upon becoming a Baron or Baroness however a vampire will often finally receive due recognition from other Nobles, as they have proved themselves to be a cut above the rest. A Colony or two may be taken from a neighboring Aristocrat and given to them instead but, in most cases, their Territory remains the same as it was. Becoming a Baron/Baroness is actually fairly simple on paper: First an Aristocrat must prove themselves to have standout skills in someway over their peers, enough to gain the attention of even higher ranking Nobles. Second, they must have developed some type of unique ability and gained a modicum of skill with it. Beyond that they need only be appointed the title by a Duke or Duchess that acknowledges they are worthy of a higher standing. Simple in theory, but the fact this title generally requires one to develop a unique ability is what makes it truly difficult. Not all vampires develop one in the first place and while vampires with more pure blood are far more likely to it is still no guarantee, so it is entirely random whether they do or don't. In order to be appointed the next class, a Margrave, two vampires that they once Sired must now be Masters leading what are perceived as successful Colonies. This reflects not only on them as their Sire but also upon their ability to truly find individuals worthy of joining the Vampiric Nation. Past that they must receive a recommendation by a Duke or Duchess that brings it to the attention of the local ruling Count/Countess, who then must approve and appoint the new title personally. As a Margrave they are granted rulership over what vampires refer to as a Region, consisting of five to eight Territories and encompassing a minimum of 15 Colonies with as many as 40. The next title is that of Duke and Duchess, which simply put is an incredibly difficult title to attain. The first and easier reason for this is that a vampire must have a perceived mastery in at least one unique ability. It can be any ability, but they must be viewed as having an exceptionally high level of skill with it in the eyes of Royalty. The second, and more daunting task, is they must Challenge an existing Duke/Duchess to a duel and win without killing them. Duke's and Duchesses are often over 3000 years old, and are almost always Highborn though it's not required or even expected. Just a pattern. The Duke/Duchess in question cannot reject this duel and the request cannot be rescinded, meaning the only way out is forward, UNLESS a Royal refuses to sanction the duel. For the duel to proceed a royal vampire must agree and allow it to take place, to ignore or outright disallow a duel is the same as saying the Margrave in question isn't worth the title of Duke/Duchess even if they did win. If the duel does manage to take place and they do manage to win without a fatality on either side then they are granted the title of Duke/Duchess and given governance over the Regions of three Margraves. Referred to as a State, the area a Duke or Duchess rules holds anywhere from 45 to 120 Colonies and is spread over vast areas of land. By a particularly wide margin the rank of Duke/Duchess is as far as most vampires can hope to achieve, though the hierarchy still continues. Above even a Duke is the rank of Count/Countess, the highest possible title Noble title. To become one a vampire MUST be Highborn, meaning they are from the second, third, fourth, or fifth generations. They must also have direct support of at least two other Dukes/Duchesses willing to serve under them, as well as the recommendation of Royalty. Once each of those things are in order there is a chance that they might be appointed the position by a high ranking Royal vampire. If appointed they are granted absolute control over the State they already held, as well as the States of any Dukes/Duchesses pledged to serve under them, thus ruling over a so-called Province. A normal Province holds anywhere from 135 to 360 Colonies and may span as "little" as tens of thousands of square miles to even hundreds of thousands, depending on how densely populated humans may be in the area. A large Province with the sworn loyalty of additional Dukes/Duchesses beyond the minimum of two can hold many Colonies covering a much, much larger area of land as well. As a Count/Countess they are expected to appoint Margraves and potentially other Nobles within their Province, if they so desire. They are also held personally accountable for anything that occurs within their Province, good or bad, so they have strong encouragement to ensure the other nobles serving under them are all doing their part. Most Counts and Countesses strongly believe that if something bad does happen in their Province, but they personally take care of it, that their accountability for it will be effectively absolved. As such their hands on involvement in any issues that go beyond a Family matter is not only considered normal, it's completely expected. As a final note, it's not uncommon for Nobility to wish to "retire" from their duties and just live the lavish lifestyle their title could offer them if it weren't for all the duties their position tasked them with. Doing so means they will no longer be able to be granted any further titles regardless of the title they currently hold, but that's an agreement many Nobles decide to make eventually. To do so a Noble must first secure a replacement to fill the shoes they'd leave behind, whatever requirements that may bring, and they must also get the blessing of a Royal vampire to step down from the duties that were deemed expected of them as a Noble in the first place. If they get permission and find a suitable replacement then they are able to successfully retire, and generally proceed to live somewhere within the land they previously ruled OR they move to live in a vampiric settlement of some sort, perhaps even Amaurat itself. After several lifetimes of living among so called "human society", living among other vampires of a high status is often times the preferable option. Retired Nobles, regardless of their title and former position, are almost always several thousand years old. As a Monarch there is a chance for them to be handpicked by one of the nine Ancients to serve as one of their Elders, acting as the face to their rule. Monarchs are given two choice: First, they can choose to rule over a Prefecture, which would span the Provinces of several Counts and Countesses. The limit would really depend on how much a Monarch wants and how much the Ancients are willing to give. Alternatively, they may choose to take up permanent living arrangements in major vampiric settlements, preferably Amaurat. Even those who gave up their former Province as a Lord/Lady are given the chance to rule again, if they wish for it, with their new Prefecture even including their former Province. Most Monarchs choose to rule, even those to who retired from ruling as a Lord/Lady, for one good reason: They aren't necessarily expected to do anything in particular if they choose not to. They can continue living within or even outside their Prefecture and leave the entire area to local Nobility to lead and rule, provided that they touch base with at least the upper Nobility on a semi-regular basis. If something does come up they are only expected to delegate matters through local Counts and Countesses, they are NOT expected to get personally involved unless they themselves choose to do so. With that in mind a vampire doesn't earn the trust of the Ancients by lazing about, displayed by the fact that most Monarchs are VERY proactive in their rule. Most Monarchs willingly visit even Aristocrats in the pursuit of "touching base" with them, and some even go as far as to visit individual Families on a mere whim, much to the absolute PANIC of commoners. Not every Province is part of a Prefecture, far from it, but those that do are generally very well behaved at all times as a result of the pressure most Monarchs exert upon the Nobility. Above Monarch's are Princes and Princesses, a title unique exclusively to Purebloods. Only Purebloods ever hold this title, which they are given at birth, and no other vampire ever holds it. As a Prince/Princess they are technically a Fledgling, but since they were biologically born it's much easier for them to learn than it is any other vampire. Not only that but as a Pureblood their very life outranks even Highlords and Queens, if it came to that. A Pureblood is intended to be raised, trained, and instructed by a Monarch until they have finished maturing physically, between 16 and 24 years of age. At this point they are automatically given the highest possible rank in the Vampiric Nation, a rank they share with the Ancients themselves, known as Highlords and Queens. While it is possible for other vampires to theoretically be given this status, there's no rules or statutes that forbids it, doing so would equate to the Ancients acknowledging a vampire who isn't even on their Council as their equal. Because of that it's simply never done. Excluding Purebloods and the Originals themselves, Highlords and Queens rule over the entire Vampiric Nation with absolute authority. They decide rules, laws, punishments, social status, and everything else however they see fit. Generally they will have their Elders serve as their envoys, acting on their behalf with equal authority, so that they don't have to. Additionally they very, very rarely ever leave Amaurat. Most vampires outside of Amaurat only know their names and do not know their faces, so attempts to impersonate them in name and rank are far from unheard of...and HARSHLY punished when discovered. Technically speaking the Originals also hold these titles, Katerina in particular holding the title of "High Queen" as the oldest living female vampire and only female Original, and they could step in to take control over the Vampiric Nation at any time if they so wished. With that said, the Originals actually care remarkably little about the Nation and only wish to lead their own lives how they see fit, which they couldn't do if they were bogged down by political nonsense. For all intents and purposes they live outside the rule of the Vampiric Nation, and as the very originators of the entire race are completely exempt from their rule and laws. Nearly all vampires look up to them as Gods out of equal parts fear and reverence, though given the fact that they could wield the highest possible authority on a whim but would sooner leave the entire nation to rot...most vampires also hate them. The truth of the matter is the most Covens aren't officially formed under the eyes of the Vampiric Nation, since so many Nobles outlaw their formation altogether, but that does nothing to stop vampires without a Family from existing. As social creatures by nature these vampires still seek out one another, ultimately forming so-called Burrows. These Burrows are considered to be rogue Covens but are often times largely ignored since they typically are very small in size, so they seldom are worth caring about. However, if they are discovered to exist within or even nearby a Nobles land, a Burrows fate is almost inevitably a swift extermination. Baring in mind the treatment of Covens, Clans are the natural choice for basically all Master vampires. As a Master of a Clan their Family is named after them, versus Covens who don't even get a name in the first place, and all vampires belonging to that Clan are referred to as such. For example, if John Smith started a Clan then his Family would be known as the Smith Clan, and all vampires belonging to this Clan would be referred to as a Smith Vampire. In the event the founding Master of a Clan dies then the Noble ruling over the Territory either dissolves the Clan, taking their Colony from them and gifting it to a new Master altogether, or they appoint a Prelate or Regent of the Clan as the new Master and rename the Clan after them. Should the founding Master be given a title as Nobility, however, the Clan and its vampires will continue to use their name as a Legacy, as a badge of honor that they were originally founded by a Noble. The only way for this to change is if the Noble ends up being banished or otherwise executed by the Vampiric Nation for a crime, which does happen, and in either case also results in the execution of the Clan the founded so as to wipe their bloodline from the Vampiric Nation. There are no Laws amongst the Vampiric Nation that directly governs how a Clan may live, thus such matters are left entirely up to a Provinces Count/Countess and the Nobility serving under them. Most Nobility adheres very closely to the "chain of command" under day to day operation, so unless given reason otherwise they will often only interact with the Noble titles directly below them. From there they simply entrust their underlings to carry their words down the ladder for it to reach where it needs to go, however far down that may be. Since vampires have a perfect memory it is impossible for this to result in a "he said she said" or Chinese telephone situation, unless it is deliberate and intentional somewhere along the way. One of the only exceptions are inspections, which all Nobles are expected to perform so that they may provide reports for their Superiors. Counts and Countesses are expected to provide reports on their Province to an Elder quinquennially, once every five years, detailing anything and everything of note: Vampires Sired, who Sired them, deaths of vampires, humans killed, changes in the borders within the Province, changes among their Nobility and Masters when applicable, anything important. This means they must personally visit and speak with each of the Nobles serving under them, which in turn means said Nobles must be keeping their own reports on those under them as well. While the reports to the Elders are only every five years it is fully within the rights of a Count or Countess to demand their own reports as frequently as they wish. Meanwhile Elders are supposed to assign a Lord or Lady they trust to perform an inspection directly upon Counts and Countesses decennially, once every decade, or even perform the inspection themselves. All of these reports are all in the name of attempting to ensure vampires are following the laws of the Vampiric Nation and, above even that, that no one is secretly planning a coup to overthrow any level of authority within the Nation. Within a single Province there can be as many as 360 Families, so it's only natural that even between Families of commoners there can be something of a hierarchy. Other than a possible history of issues surrounding them, this hierarchy is based entirely on how old the Family itself is, how old the noteworthy members are, and how many members it holds. Though these things don't do much in terms of their standing between each other, is does influence how favorably Nobility views them. Clans with no history of causing or being involved with issues that required Noble intervention, those who have been around for centuries or even thousands of years, those with fairly old members who have been around long enough to be known by name and face even to Upper Nobility (in a good way), these are all things that can earn a Clan favor. Greater favor essentially means they are given more free reign over their Colony and, in some cases, might be given a complete pass on policies that the Nobility enforces upon all other Families in the Province. With this in mind there are seven clans who are acknowledged even by The Council of the Ancients themselves, and for very good reason. Referred to as "Superpower" Clans they are the only modern Clans that started, grew, and survived long enough to see their founding Master become a Royal vampire. Two of them are even Monarchs ruling over a Prefecture. Many Clans exist that are of similar age to these Superpower Clans, though there's miraculously few that also survived long enough to see their founder become a Royal. Most Clans hardly see their founders become Nobles, let alone a Royal. This, however, is not what makes these 7 Clans truly special. What does make them special is that they the were able to use their titles while serving as Counts and Countesses to gradually weed out Nobles and Masters who weren't part of their direct bloodline. As a result of these actions, these seven Counts and Countesses were each able to create a Province where nearly every single vampire within it was a descendent of their very bloodline, effectively making their entire Province a singular Clan of impossible size. It's this exact feat that led them to be gifted titles as Royal, with two of them even being made Monarchs later on. These vampires are Lord Shalidore, Lady Daeva, Patriarch Soto, Lord Malkavian, Lady Lasombra, Patriarch Haemar, and Lord Ventreas. Their names are well known to the entire Vampiric Nation and so are the actions they took to get to where they are. As such any common vampire who is able to properly wield their name without lying is treated with some respect even by Nobility, out of respect for the Royal that they got their name from, while commoners not of these Clans struggle to see a distinction between the simple name and the Royal vampire themselves. Exiled vampires are "lovingly" referred to as Shadows and have their fangs forcibly removed before being cast out from vampiric society, so they must rely on other tools like a knife to drink blood normally. Since Shadows are seen as even less than human any actions committed against one are not considered a crime, no matter what is done to them, so Shadows understandably avoid all other vampires. In particularly whimsical instances a vampire's punishment may be turned into a game known as a "Blood Hunt". Upon being sentenced the violating vampire is deemed a "Stag" and are forcibly given a vervain laced tattoo upon one cheek of the present date, and how long they are to be a Stag for on their opposite cheek. They are then sent away to run and hide with a 24 hour head start, enough time for the Vampiric Nation to notify all Counts and Countesses of an ongoing Blood Hunt so that they can pass the information down the hierarchy accordingly. The end goal of a Blood Hunt is to track down and kill the Stag within the allotted time, typically a decade or two. Participation in a Blood Hunt is not mandatory but heavily encouraged, with rewards such as being granted a greater title or new land to rule over. Should a Stag survive the Blood Hunt they are given the title of Master to reign over a Colony, separate from an established Province so there's no Nobility ruling above them, and are allowed to extend the size of their Family to match the number of years they survived for up to 30. If their Blood Hunt was for 10 years then they can have a 10 Member family (including themselves). If it was for 50 years then they can have a 30 member Family, since that is the upper limit of what they are allowed. It is very rare for a Stag to survive the duration of their Blood Hunt regardless of how long it is, even more so for them to survive without killing any of their pursuers, but it has happened a select few times. There are more potential sentences a vampire may be given, of course, but since there's no formal standard as to how they can be punished the variety of punishments for violations are essentially limited only by the creativity of who is deciding a sentence. As for the actual laws themselves, rather than different potential punishments, there are quite the large number of difference laws and policies to govern the Vampiric Nation (again, mostly focused around Commoners). Listing every single law is a fruitless endeavor, so instead there is a list below containing the "core" laws of the Vampiric Nation, in order. These laws are some of the oldest and first established laws, often considered some of the most important laws of all for one reason or another, so for all intents and purposes they worked to help form what the Vampiric Nation is today: Killing another vampire is expressly forbidden unless: Defense of your own or another vampire's life can be proven. The violator was carrying out a valid punishment upon the victim. The violator can be proven to have been under compulsion by another vampire. The murder was the end result of a mutually agreed upon duel. Until being given the title of Soldier, a progeny must obey the orders of their Sire except when: A vampire with a higher title than their Sire counters a given order. A given order would result in the violation of another law. Only a vampire who holds the title of Master may establish a Family, and only within a Colony gifted to them by a Noble. Fraternization of any form with a werewolf is STRICTLY forbidden unless: The werewolf in question is of the Nexus breed. The werewolf is connected directly to one of the Nexus breed. So called "wars" between two or more Family's are permitted on the conditions that: No deaths occur outside of duels formally approved by both Masters involved. The "war" ends when one side surrenders, or when a ruling Noble determines a victor. Defeated Family's swear fealty to the victors, above themselves but below the Nobility. The results of a "war" are final. There is to be no retaliation on either side. Vampires are permitted to leave their Colony on the conditions that: They do not feed on humans outside their assigned Colony. Their Family Master grants them direct permission to depart with or without a time limit. Should they visit another Colony they immediately notify the local Family. They must stay within their local Territory, unless given permission otherwise by Nobility. Vampires MUST conceal their true identities from humans unless: They reveal themselves to feed, enslave, or turn them. They ensure to make humans they revealed themselves to forget via compulsion. The humans are leaders of local human government and have an active deal with vampires. Killing humans through feeding or mere entertainment is fully permitted provided that: The number of humans killed does not lead to the suspicion of the unnatural in local humans There are no human witnesses to any murders Drinking the blood of another vampire is heavily restricted, only permitted when: It is consensually performed during acts of intimacy. Performed to help revitalize a desiccated vampire. It is done with the permission of a Royal vampire. Feeding on a werewolf is only permitted in the name of curing the bite from one. Turning children into vampires is ABSOLUTELY forbidden, as they are not yet mentally matured enough to control their vampire instincts. Vampires found guilty of this are to be immediately executed, as is the child they turned. No exceptions. Under vampiric law a child constitutes any human who has not finished puberty. Only Vampires who hold the title of Soldier or higher are permitted to Sire more vampires. Local laws my restrict this further. Note: With the permission of their local Master, Apprentices are allowed to Sire a vampire. Local laws may apply.
Vampires, namely the supernatural strain, are governed by an ironclad ruling body with a strict class based hierarchy. Known as the Vampiric Nation this governmental system rules over all Vampires in the Sector, even those who do not recognize it as an authority over them are simply viewed as insurrectionists still ultimately subject to its rule. The class system heavily favors a vampires generation and their age, though at the end of the day merit and having the right connections are the primary factors in determining a vampires social class. With a greater title naturally comes more influence over other vampires, marginally more freedoms to do as they see fit, and of course greater respect from other vampires. It divides Vampiric kind between Commoners, Nobility, and Royalty in a way that rather heavily favors prejudice between these divides. Ruling over the entire Vampiric Nation are The Council of the Ancients, or simply "Ancients Council" for short depending on context. This Council consists of nine of the oldest living vampire, and strongest by extension, who have lived since before the Blood War. Their word is Law and their Law is absolute, only exempting the Originals and Purebloods from having to obey them. Each Ancient also selects three vampires to serve as their attendants, performing and all tasks on their behalf. It is not unusual for Ancients to deem meeting for Council unnecessary and instead have all 27 Elders hold Council in their stead. With that in mind if one Ancient personally summons the other 8 then attendance to Council is mandatory. The Ancients all live and almost exclusively remain on the Vampiric Nations Capital Island of Amaurat, far off the cost of Vedran's Metropoli. The Ancients very seldom bother with leaving the island, preferring instead to simply dispatch their Elders. Amaurat is an island shrouded in a mysterious fog that hides its existence from outsiders and even turns those who try to enter around, so one one but those who are permitted may even see the island let alone reach it. It is well settled as the largest vampiric settlement in the Sector, befitting a capital, though only Nobility and Royalty are even allowed to set foot on the island without special summons or escort. Resting upon the tallest hill on the island sits Urdokaz, a massive castle that houses the Ancients and their Elders, as well as any Councils and Courts they may hold. Effectively serving as the Capital Building to the entire Vampiric Nation Urdokaz has tempered windows to allow sunshine through, brightening rooms, without letting the harmful rays themselves through.
Commoners make up the majority and core of the Vampiric Nation, though in the eyes of the upper echelon of the Vampiric Nation commoners are hardly worth any attention at all provided they obey the laws. In ascending order the commoner titles that are appointed are: Fledglings, Apprentices, Soldiers, Prelates, Regents, and finally Masters at the top. Together they form Families that serve under the Vampiric Nation as the lowest governing body within it. Personally led by a single Master, Families live within what vampires determine to be "human society" known as Colonies, which are gifted to them by Nobility. A Colony is focused around a single human settlement and spreads to the nearby area, generally spanning anywhere from 5 to 20 square miles depending on the density of the local human population. As stated prior Fledglings are at the bottom of the vampiric hierarchy, and for very good reason. Upon being Sired this is where a vampire starts off, as they now have to learn the basics of their new life and abilities. Generally speaking Fledglings often aren't even considered a real vampire by most others of their kind, due to their particularly young age and the ignorance that comes with it. It is the duty of their Sire, or an assigned Prelate, to instruct a Fledgling on how to lead their new life. They are to be taught about the Vampiric Nation and its laws, the names of noteworthy/important vampires in the world, and most importantly how to control their newfound abilities in and out of a fight. Once their instructor decides they have effectively learned the basics they can promote a rising Fledgling to Apprentice at their discretion. An Apprentice vampire is, broadly speaking, officially recognized as a vampire in the eyes of their kin. They are still young and are considered to have a lot to learn, but have at least learned enough to be acknowledged as a "real vampire". By this point they their instruction focuses almost entirely on how to fight as a vampire, properly putting their new physical abilities to use. Eventually, once they feel they're ready, an Apprentice vampire's instructor can make a request that they be promoted to Soldier. To receive this promotion the young vampire must pass a combat test and have their skill with their vampiric abilities measured by a Prelate, other than their instructor. Pass or fail the results of these tests are entirely up to the Prelate conducting them. If successful the rising vampire officially becomes a Soldier, the grunts of the Vampiric Nation and their family. Reaching the rank of Soldier can sometimes take decades, but comes with many perks now that they are recognized as no longer in training. First and foremost they are granted permission to turn humans into more vampires at their discretion, as their personal opinion on who could potentially make a good vampire is now trusted.
Vampiric Nobility effectively lord directly over common vampires and their families, ruling over large areas of land that only grow as they are granted greater titles. In ascending order, the titles Nobility hold are as follows: Aristocrats, Barons and Baronesses, Margraves, Dukes and Duchesses, and finally Counts and Countesses. Being a Noble HEAVILY favors the purity of your blood, which takes priority over everything else. This is proven no more true by the fact that vampires of the first ten generations are automatically granted the title of Aristocrat once being Sired. Such vampires are often broadly referred to as Highborn, those who had pure enough blood to be granted Nobility upon being Sired. Beyond that only vampires of the first twenty-five generations can work their way up to being granted a place among Nobility, which is far less common than you'd think. Less than 10% of all vampires actually fall within the first twenty-five generations, including Highborns, and of those vampires less than 35% actually manage to become Nobility. With all this in mind there are still vampires who do manage to rise to Nobility by their own merit. Doing so requires they obtain the majority support of Masters from nearby Colonies, an important factor because as Nobility they would gain rulership over the area, so having the support of local Masters is a must to maintain order. Assuming they do garner this support a Master can be granted the title of an Aristocrat by a Royal vampire, thus being given reign over several Families and their Colonies, typically three to five, through what is known as a Territory. In some rare circumstances a vampire that worked their way to Aristocrat will still choose to serve as the "Master" of their former Family while ruling over their Territory as an Aristocrat, though doing so means they aren't wholly focusing on their duties as a Noble and guarantees they will never be given any greater titles. Outside these standout cases, most Nobility all but refuse to associate with commoners more than they have to. To these ends they will generally limit their interactions with commoners to only Masters as needed for them to fulfill their duties as ruler over the Territory.
Less than 1% of all vampires hold a Royal title, a fact which has led royals to be particularly feared and revered even by Nobility. Let alone Commoners. Royal vampires are generally well over 6000 years of age and only Highborn are permitted to be given a royal title. The first and second generations, known as Primordials and Methuselah respectively, are even deemed Royalty immediately upon being Sired. All Royal vampires are given more wiggle room in regards to Vampiric Law, receiving forgiveness if not outright total pardons for many things that could result in even a Noble receiving harsh punishment. They demand absolute respect from those beneath them and if they feel they do not get treated in a manner befitting their status, it is generally left up to them how to deal with such insolence. As a royal vampire their expected duties become far fewer and more relaxed, since royalty largely leans on Nobility to do the heavy lifting for them. In ascending order, royal titles are as follows: Lords and Ladies, Patriarchs and Matriarchs (Monarchs), Princes and Princesses, and finally Highlords and Queens. The lowest ranking royal vampires are Lords and Ladies, who must receive a recommendation and direct support of a Monarch. The supporting Monarch must offer the would-be Lord/Lady a small amount of their blood, in essence swearing their loyalty to that specific Monarch. In doing so a member of the Ancients Council must acknowledge it and appoint them the status of Lord/Lady, though this can be vetoed by a majority rule of the other Ancients. As a newly appointed Lord/Lady they are given the choice to either seek out a vampire worthy of taking their former place as Count/Countess and push for their appointment, or they can willingly choose to continue reigning over their former Province even as a Royal. Most choose to find a worthy successor and have them appointed, as that effectively means they are retired. With that said if the successor they appointed makes a grave mistake, there is a significant chance their prior recommendation will come back to haunt them. As a result, while they are certainly in a rush to effectively retire with a full package of benefits they also want to make sure they are fully confident in their would-be successor. For those Lords and Ladies who choose to basically retire is it standard practice for them to find permanent residence in a major Vampiric Settlement with a host of other Royals and retired Nobles, with little to no commoners, or to simply travel around the land they once ruled over while doing whatever they so wish. At the end of the day, life as a Lord or Lady and essentially be as easy as they wish it to be. For this reason the title of Lord/Lady is the highest position most vampires even aim for, not because they don't believe they can reach a higher title but because they literally don't want one. Above Lords and Ladies, as stated before, are Monarchs. Individually referred to as Patriarchs and Matriarchs, to become a Monarch is to be given a position of deep trust by the Council of the Ancients. Though rejection is "technically" an option, promotion to a Monarch is effectively an Order. To reject it is the same as betraying the trust of the entire Ancients Council and, if the issue is pressed, will only lead to eternal imprisonment or death. To be appointed they must have a unanimous approval by the Ancients Council and must complete a ceremony involving all of its members within Amaurat's castle of Urdokaz. Each of the nine Ancients fill a goblet with just a bit of blood, passing it from one to the next, until the ninth member tops it off and has it handed to the proposed Monarch. The vampire must then recite an oath swearing loyalty to the Vampiric Nation before drinking from the goblet. The oath is as follows:
As stated in the introduction, the Ancients Council are the nine vampires who rule the entire Vampiric Nation. The same nine have retained their rule since the founding the the Vampiric Nation and not once have their numbers changed. They are believed to be among the very first vampires that were ever turned by the Originals, if the THE first, by default making them the oldest vampires alive second only to the Originals themselves. And with that age also comes strength. Even the most forgiving of the Ancients still have little tolerance for failure in the Upper Nobility and Royalty, often seeking swift punishment for such mistakes, sometimes even an on the spot execution. For the most part only matters that concern all vampiric kind and matters involving crimes of treachery or the like are brought to their attention as a Council. Beyond that matters are often brought to them on an independent basis via their Elders, who in turn had such matters brought to them as well. In these instances Ancients pretty much just leave dealing with it up to their Elders, unless they're feeling particularly bored that is. As far as active governing there isn't much the Ancients have to do, since very nearly everything is delegated to Nobles and other royals. As for the Ancients themselves there are currently three "parties" of sorts amongst them, which by default also extends through the entire Vampiric Nation: Anti-Humans, who view humanity as little more than cattle and slaves. Pro-Humans, who believe the best way forward is to try and eventually coexist properly among humanity. Then Neutralists, who don't care about the relationship between humans and vampires as long as the end result is the best choice for the Vampiric Nation. The Anti-Humans have the backing of four Ancients, being Kain, Edith, Ailuin, and Vladimir. Kain in particular is an extreme aggressor towards humanity and the very embodiment of what it means to be "Anti-Human". If their views won the Vampiric Nation would push to a new world where humans truly are reduced to little more than slaves and cattle for feeding and other pleasures. Meanwhile Giovanni, Lilith and Liam are all Neutralists. They truly want nothing more than to see the Vampiric Nation follow the best available path to see itself prosper, whatever path that may be. Humanity's relationship to this path, while important, is ultimately irrelevant. Finally there's the Pro-Humans, which consist of Amelia and Cedric, who wish for vampires to only feed and/or kill out of necessity. Not out of pleasure or entertainment. Their ultimate goal is that one day humanity as a whole can again but aware of their existence and maintain a peaceful coexistence, though even they acknowledge that at present this is a fever dream at best. Due to the wild differences between the Anti-Human and Pro-Humans it is common occurrence for debates between the Ancients to get...heated. Each of the Ancients are known to have at least one unique ability though not all of them are known, as they seem to be invested in keeping the exact nature of them hidden from other vampires. It is believed that each of them possesses at least two abilities, and that some may even possess three, though nothing is confirmed. The known unique abilities among the Ancients are as follows: Amelia has limited clairvoyance which lets her see seconds or even centuries in the future, though she has little control beyond a couple seconds. Cedric is known to have powerful Psychokinetic abilities, strong enough to throw objects via his mind with the same strength as his physical body. Vladimir and Liam, twin brothers, developed the ability to control blood. Vladimir developed the ability to control the blood of others while Liam developed the ability to control his own blood. Then lastly there is Kain, who developed a slightly more complicated one. He gained the ability to store his calorie intake into wells of excess energy that he can convert directly into raw boosts to his physical ability. To maintain this reserve of excess energy he regularly and actively consumes humans daily, not only drinking their blood but eating their entire body. This easily made him the most powerful of all the Ancients.
As briefly stated above, at the bottom of the Vampiric Nations government structure are Families. As the lowest governing body within the Vampiric Nation a Family is comprised of commoners, living inside of a Colony with borders defined by Nobility. Put simply, a Colony is a specific area of land that is "owned" by a given Family. A Colony will normally only cover a single human town and some of the surrounding area such as forests or mountains, though two or more particularly small towns nearby each other may end up belonging to a single Colony if their populations are all low. At the same time cities and particularly large towns will be divided into two or more Colonies since their populations are so high. As a general rule of thumb a new Family is given enough land to contain roughly 10000 humans within their Colony to start feeding and siring more vampires, most human settlements smaller than that aren't turned into a Colony since the population is deemed too small to properly support a Family. From there they may or may not be given more land with more humans to accommodate their growing Family, depending on the whims of Nobility, which essentially means the size a Family can grow to is limited by the number of humans within their Colony. Regardless of the size of a Colony it is important that they are based around human settlements for one reason, other than feeding: The Family's that own a Colony are entirely comprised of commoners. Meanwhile most vampiric settlements are comprised predominantly of Nobles with some Royalty and, as such, it is impossible for mere commoners to "own" said land. For a Family to be formed a Noble, typically an Aristocrat or Baron/Baroness, must first appoint a common vampire as a Master. It is at this point the Aristocrat/Baron(ess) in question gifts the new Master with a Colony that is within their Territory that they may own to serve as the home for their Family. A Family is able to move, hunt, feed, live where/how they wish and generally entertain themselves how they see fit within their Colony...within the limits of what the Nobility above them allows at least. While a Family has free reign of activity within their own Colony their activity within another Family's Colony is up to the discretion of the local Master. Most Masters permit those from other Families to walk around and socialize, perhaps feed or hunt if they are doing with it a local vampire, but that's it. Colonies are always in close proximity with each other, even going as far as to share borers with each other inside humans settlements that have multiple Colonies such as cities, which for better or worse means there are always relationships between the Families in a Nobles land. Once a Master has been granted their Colony they are must essentially make a choice as to what type of family they wish to raise: They must either raise a Clan, which consists of vampires who are all Sired by the Master and the Prelates, or a Coven which can consist of any and all common vampires they choose to accept into their ranks. Clans are the far more popular choice, since that ensures the purity of their family's bloodline (i.e. their generation), a trait important to nearly all vampires. The Vampiric Nation as a whole even looks down on Covens, as the only reason most vampires are even free to join a Coven is that they either abandoned or were kicked out of a Clan. As such Covens are generally seen as little more than gatherings of vampires who are failures, leading most Nobility to outright forbid their forming within their lands. The only Nobility who actively allow them within their lands are more forgiving ones, believing all vampires should belong to a Family even it is if just a mere Coven. Though even in this case Covens still receive much more hands on control by the reigning Nobility, versus Clans who are largely given autonomy. Needless to say the overwhelming majority of Masters choose to form Clans, but a select number of bleeding hearts do choose to form Covens so that vampires who otherwise have nowhere safe to call home may find one.
Within the Vampiric Nation there is a specific role that Noble and Royal vampires may be assigned with the sole intent of protecting the Vampiric Nation and its interests. Known as Champions, these vampires hold their position anonymously and answer exclusively to the Elders and the Ancients. To help protect their identities while carrying out tasks given to them a Champion will wear some sort of mask or face cover with light garbs to conceal themselves and refrain from speaking unless deemed absolutely necessary, so as to avoid anyone recognizing their voice. When not carrying out a mission they simply live as they always do, just another Noble diligently ruling their lands or a Royal living a lavish life of relaxation however they wish, both silently waiting for their next orders. The fact that Champions exist and what they do in their position are both well known facts within the Vampiric Nation, they are by no means a secret group nor are they treated that way, though given the anonymity of the position the actual individuals are very much a secret. Champions train to be peerless in things such as combat, stealth, and investigation regardless of their age or generation so that they may effortlessly carry out any task that may be given to them, though they are most commonly issued orders to kill designated targets and groups. There are three different positions among Champions that each serve a different purpose, which is to say they are given different types of targets. These positions are Death Dealers, Grim Reapers, and lastly Phantom Slayers. Death Dealers are tasked exclusively with issues surrounding werewolves, often times focused on instances where packs are discovered in or around an established Province. While wiping them out is almost assuredly the end result, Death Dealers are often first told to discover where they came from and if they are connected to any larger packs. Meanwhile Grim Reapers are given orders that involve other vampires, often times discretely gathering information on a potentially untrustworthy Noble/Royal or wiping out Burrows that have been discovered. In any case these two types of Champions are only granted permission to act when directly ordered to by the Council of the Ancients or the Elders who serve them, and are expected to act immediately upon being given an order. Death Dealers and Grim Reapers often act in duos, teams of two, though some tasks may be split between two duos working together if it is seen as a dangerous enough task. Phantom Slayers, however, are an entirely different story when compared to the two. While Champions are easily the Elite among the Vampiric Nation, black ops specialists with raw skill that makes even vampires older than them seem like children, Phantom Slayers are in a league of their own above even that. Unlike Death Dealers or Grim Reapers who work in pairs, Phantom Slayers exclusively work alone, and are given full autonomous rights to act upon their own judgement without first receiving orders (so long as said judgement does not conflict with other, preexisting orders). They act as secret guard to the Ancients and the Elders, protecting them from the shadows while simultaneously doing anything and everything that is asked of them. If Ancients are to be considered the voice of the Vampiric Nation, and Elders its face, then Phantom Slayers are without a doubt its weapon. Outside of serving as their hidden guards the most common tasks a Phantom Slayer will be given is the assassination of Nobles or Royals seen to have failed their position, wiping out entire Family's of vampires seen to have collectively betrayed the Vampiric Nation, and the elimination of other Champions who have failed one too many times. Phantom Slayers are also responsible for the scouting, recruitment, and training of more Champions.
Vampires regularly use a small selection of symbols, intended to provide an immediate recognition for things displaying them. Buildings and areas are marked as either "safe" via a triangle nested perfectly inside a circle, or "dangerous" via a triangle that contains a crescent moon. Safe areas include vampire ran nightclubs referred to as Dens, hospitals where at least one vampire is secretly working as a nurse or doctor, and buildings actively owned by a Family. Meanwhile dangerous areas are those where vampires are frequently killed, where vampire hunters are known to visit, and where areas that have known werewolves living nearby. Though areas marked as dangerous do not have laws forbidding vampires from going there, to visit them is still ill advised, and vampires ignoring the warning a danger mark provides essentially accept whatever fate awaits them. Beyond symbols to mark areas as safe or dangerous the Vampiric Nation also uses symbols to brand slaves, as a display of who owns them. Humans and werewolves are both kept as slaves for varying reasons, and can be regularly found within Vampiric Settlements under the ownership of retired Nobles and Royals. Each vampire has a different symbol which they use to show a given slave belongs specifically to them, placing said symbol as a tattoo somewhere immediately visible on a slave's body. Sometimes human slaves may be branded with a hot iron out of spite but, since werewolves would simply heal from such injury, they can only be tattooed with ink containing wolfsbane. The wolfsbanes harmful effects to the werewolf goes away eventually and allows the tattoo to properly heal, however the ink that contained it remains, thus leaving a tattoo behind just as it would on a human. Werewolf slaves are often called pets by their owners, reducing the consideration they are viewed with to be little more than a german shepherd, while human slaves are actively known as thralls. Most thralls are unsurprisingly kept for readily available blood whenever their owner wishes for it, while werewolf slaves aren't really kept for any particular reason beyond belittling and subjugating them. They are occasionally given grunt work in the form of physical labor, such as building a structure more quickly and easily than humans could, but for the most part they are simply beaten, tortured, and mocked on a daily basis. Werewolves are seldom enslaved outside of Amaurat due to potential security concerns of raids from enraged packs, while on the Capital Island of vampires, where no such concerns exist, enslaved werewolves very nearly share their numbers with their owners. To keep their "pets" in check and, more importantly to keep them from transforming, they are shackled with metal collars around their necks, wrists, and ankles that brandish inward and outward facing spikes. Each of these collars were treated with wolfsbane while being forged so that the metal itself shares the same properties as the actual herb. As a result of these shackles they are perpetually being burned while the collars sit upon their skin and, should they foolishly try to transform, the spikes would immediately begin stabbing deep into their flesh to force them back into human form. Should they continue trying to transform through the pain then the spikes would bury deep enough into their skin to nearly sever their hands, feet, and even their head. The properties of the metal would keep them from being able to heal so essentially, even after transforming through all that pain, they would be unable to do anything but revert back to human form and lay there. The most common result is having other werewolves hold the wolfsbane off of the fools skin long enough for them to heal which, naturally, is excruciating for the werewolves ordered to do so.
The Vampiric Nation enforces very strict laws, as defined by The Council of the Ancients. The exact punishment for the violation of any laws entirely rides on the whims of who is determining the sentence, independent from the actual violation. In other words there's no laws defining how violators are to be punished for their crimes or if they are even to be forgiven, with very select exceptions. Within Family's sentencing is decided by the Master, though violations that were committed from one Family to another are decided by the ruler of that Territory, which is to say an Aristocrat or Baron(ess). Many laws only apply to Commoners, by design, though there are some that apply to all vampires, such as no killing a fellow vampire in cold blood. With that said the higher a title vampires hold above Commoners the more leeway they are given in violations deemed "insignificant" when compared to their status, often receiving a lesser punishment or being outright pardoned. While carrying out orders that were given to them, Champions are completely pardoned for any and all crimes they may commit, so long as these violations were ultimately a means to the desired end. While this level of authority is undeniably enticing Champions must still take care to tread carefully, as it only takes earning the ire of one Ancient through their actions for them to be placed upon the chopping block without warning. The punishments a vampire is given for any violations always vary, since it depends entirely on the whims of who is deciding their fate, though there are a list of "standard" sentences that are more regularly used. The most common punishment of all is referred to as Solitary, which for a vampire is so much worse than the "solitary" that humans know. To a vampire, solitary involves first draining a vampire of all their blood to render them about as strong as a wet noodle before then encasing them in brick until the term of their sentence ends. Inside this tomb they don't even have enough room to move their head more than left to right as they begin to repeatedly die to carbon dioxide poisoning from a lack of fresh air, dying and coming back to life only to die again while they starve from a lack of blood. An alternative method of Solitary is locking them inside a small metal safe at the bottom of a body of water, though this is less controlled and could lead to outside discovery so it's seldom used. Solitary is typically ordered for a handful of months but, if desired, there is no upper limit to how long they can be sentenced for. The mere thought of this punishment is seen as worse than death among most vampires so the mere fact this single punishment exists, and is so common no less, is enough to deter most vampires from violating any laws. Vampires may also be sentenced to torture, having parts of their organs, limbs and small appendages surgically removed and allowing them to regenerate in a loop, focusing more on putting them through physical pain rather than psychological. Naturally a vampire could simply be put straight to death, though this punishment isn't so much seen as a "punishment" to the vampire being sentenced as it is seen as a "mercy" to the Vampiric Nation as a whole. Through carrying out the execution of a vampire they are sparing the Vampiric Nation from having to deal with them any further. A lesser sentence is simply being stripped of their current title, often given to Nobility or Royalty who are being given extra leeway for their actions, while Commoners are often sentenced to exile over demotion for even lesser crimes. When exiled a vampire is no longer permitted to live among other vampires as they are officially deemed to be even less than the humans they feed on, like a human living with a worm.
