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The
Vampires
The same general rules apply to the
vampires of New London: most pay at least lip-service
to the Court, out of a mixture of fear, habit self-interest.
The Dracul take a particular interest in the business
dealings of the city, the Bathora are always to be
found where good times are promised, and the Xiang
Shi have a noticeable presence due to the large number
of Chinese immigrants and oriental workers who died
building America’s railroads. Perhaps unsurprisingly,
the cultural history of New London has given rise
to a fairly large population of Obayifo and Cihuatateo,
immigrants seeking something familiar in the New World.
The major difference between the vampires and revenants
is that there are a lot more small quasi-religious
cults centred around vampires and their magicks than
the revenants. The cultural beliefs of the city make
it a lot easier for the Obayifo in particular to practice
their ritualized magick unmolested and mostly unnoticed.
Most people, through their ignorance, just throw it
all under the umbrella of voodoo and the rumours that
occasionally leak out of zombies, skulls and talismans
do the city’s reputation no harm, and no doubt
account for the continued interest in the luck charms
and love spells the tourists seem to like so much.
Conversely, the Bathora find it all the harder to
practice their form of blood magick as it’s
not what people expect from a town in the deep south,
and thus is far more likely to raise suspicion. There
are, undoubtedly, a few Bathora bravely forging their
Art in secrecy, but most seem happy enough to take
advantage of the mortals who lose their way, lose
everything or are simply too drunk on alcohol and
the promise of free money to notice anything’s
awry until it’s too late.
Just as with the revenants, there are only a few vampires
who openly defy the authority of the Court, and they
are powerful magicians who, rightly or wrongly, believe
their power puts them in a position where they have
little to fear from the Court. Smart observers, however,
point out that among these cults there is not one
who is a serious threat to the authority or reputation
of the Court, and that members of the cults are far
too occupied in mastering their Arts to worry about
anything else.
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