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Chapter 3
Coterie



Persepolis was filled with vampires. He felt ashamed he had never figured out their existence. At least 30 vampires living in the city alone. 30! He had heard some of the citizens speak of demons and monsters killing those who stayed out at night but he had shrugged them off as wives tales or drunken stories that had no basis in reality. Now, as he staked some of the foolish mortals who wandered the streets drunk at night, he wondered if there would be stories later of their disappearance or of demons.
The palace he had always known was actually home to the Prince, the vampiric ruler of the city. The ruler of the entire city he corrected himself. Enki, from clan Toreador. He was told of clan Toreador in Alamet. The whole clan was frighteningly ineffectual. They would rather stare at old pictures and oddly shaped stones then actually get out and do anything. However, he was told some individuals were to be reckoned with and Enki was over 3000 years old. Defiantly one to be reckoned with. He was told that every Prince has his Sheriff, the right hand man that took care of enforcing the laws the Prince set and caring out his dirty work. Ecrib of clan Salubri was known to be the sheriff. He wasn’t told much about clan Salubri for most of his clan had shrugged them off as being ‘soft-hearted fools’. He would have assumed the same for this Salubri except his fellow clan members had informed him that Ecrib was at least 1500 in age and a warrior among the clan.
The other members of the city hadn’t interested him much. His fellow Assamites were far superior to him in age and they gave him little notice. Because of his lack of social skill he had been looked over when vampiric meetings took place and seldom met with other members of different clans. His teachers at Alamet had strongly suggested he join with a coterie of vampires to protect himself from final death. He should join a coterie with other clans so he could rely on their strengths. Alamet had told him of some very useful clans but one stood out in his mind; Nosferatu.
“Our clans have enjoyed a long and productive symbiosis that is far stronger than any transitory political considerations, I advise you to foster that relationship whenever possible.” They were words from his teachers. He should seek out Nosferatu, for they would have information and see the signs of danger. He took the advice to heart, which had lead him to Najir.
Najir was a neonate vampire like himself. Only a decade as a vampire but he showed great potential. Najir had been a miner as a mortal and after his embrace he had taken to architecture. Jaffar became fast friends with Najir. From the moment they met they knew they could benefit from their company. Jaffar was a warrior and Najir was a builder. Najir told Jaffar about his grand plans to build massive underground warrens and Jaffar told Najir of his plan to gain power. And the occasional humorous story of scaring mortals.
Jaffar would have been friends with Najir sooner if Najir hadn’t suffered so heavily from the Nosferatu clan weakness. Jaffar had learned from his training in Alamet that every clan, no matter what, had its weakness. Assamites, at least for the warriors, was to have black veins in their auras. At first he thought nothing of it but was informed by the elders that black veins were the sign of diablerie, the consuming of another vampires soul. Clan Nosferatu had it worse in his opinion. They were forever damned with a monstrous appearance. Every member of their clan, even their founder, was doomed to a face not their own. Najir had the curse of Caine and there was no doubt he was a Nosferatu.
Najir appeared to have just barely survived a horrible fire. His skin was charred, bits of flesh missing and eyes forever staring, as he had no eyelids. It was difficult to convince mortals he could still live under such horrible wounds he often wandered around in full robes, only removing them in the company of vampires. Jaffar liked Najir for more then just being a Nosferatu. Najir was a leader despite his clan’s affinity for being spies and knowledge keepers. Jaffar felt comfortable following the lead of others and Najir planned impressive feats that would gain him the power he required.
Not only did Jaffar befriend Najir, but also shortly after arriving at the city he spotted a lone neonate who, like him and Najir, showed potential. He said he hailed from clan Setite, which was a bad sign according to the elders of Alamet. He was told their scheming knew no bounds and to fight one on their own battlefield would only result in a serpent’s wrath. He was also told they hailed from Egypt. This man said his name was Khalid and that he wanted knowledge more then anything. He didn’t seem Egyptian, but then again he knew very little about Egypt. Khalid was average appearance with the standard black hair and eyes. Unimpressive in the terms of Setites since he currently engaged in no social circles and kept to himself. Jaffar and Najir quickly added him to their coterie of neonates.
Jaffar began understanding vampires and there ways for the next two years. Socializing with Najir and Khalid had deepened his understanding of vampires in general. Meeting at taverns and planning for their haven of the future they made their home in a manse on the outskirts if Persepolis. Najir made his plans for the construction of mines; Khalid kept to his writings and Jaffar played tricks on the children of Persepolis. Sitting on the roof of their haven Jaffar looked up toward the sky. Unlife is good he thought as he laughed to himself.