Pre story: I was told my name is Alana. I don't really know what my name is because I never knew my parents. My story starts in a far away place. I was born to Sarrem and Mahkesh of Esthen. It was a very happy occasion for them, for this was their first and only child. The joy was not to last. That night while they slept, a Sorceress called Kalara crept into the room where I slept and placed a curse on me. The curse was that if anyone touched me, they would die. Well, many people attempted to help the infant me but died in the process, including my parents. Eventually the Sorceress appeared and took me away, saying that no one would ever see me again. Many believed that. I grew into a spirited youth, learning great spells and practicing the arts of telepathy and telekenesis. During my sixteenth year, Kalara came to me and broke the spell for she'd forseen she would soon die, her years had grown long. I sensed this as well and decided to run away. The very thought of seeing my only friend die was too much. Into the night I ran, away from my greatest friend who would be no more. Soon, a huge thunderstorm exploded in the night sky. It was as though the sky had broken open and was unleashing it's own tears of mourning. Eventually I found myself at a manor house and decided to ask if they would give me food and a place to sleep. As I approached the great house, a great sadness swept over me. Grief, weariness from the long journey and hunger took their toll. I knew what I needed and was determined to get it. I reached the door and knocked twice. At once, the door was opened by a very old man, who seemed to not have slept in years. The master of the house was strange, but kind. He gave me a place to sleep and food. I thanked him profusely and hurried to my room, wondering all the while why he was so strange to live in such desolate surroundings. I thought him a bit eccentric, but nonetheless kind. I fell asleep dreaming of him coming into my room and telling me I had to stay there forver, else he'd harm me. Just after four in the morning, I awoke and prepared for the long journey to the city. The man came to me and told me that I could not leave, just like my dream. Of course I scoffed at him and left the manor house as quickly as possible. He followed me in the pre-dawn darkness and when I stopped to rest, he sunk his fangs into my neck, cursing me from the light of day or of the sun's warmth. Cold replaced warm within me, gradually my heart hardened to ice. The pain of the change is still fresh in my mind, even after all these years. My body began to change, my organs shut down, one by one until even my very breath was silenced. My heart stilled in my chest, the quiet of my own body eerie and new. Then, I tumbled into a restless sleep. I awoke suddenly, telling myself that it was but a dream. I felt my neck, but there was nothing there. The tired old butler came into my room with breakfast, and I lept upon him, apeasing my sudden urges for human blood. I let his life-less corpse fall to the floor as I saw that master of the house appear in the door way, smiling like the devil himself. I remembered the Sorceress's favourite spell, however and whispered the words under my breath. The teleportation spell had worked! I was on the road to the city. The passers-by gave me curious looks but I cared not, for I was free and would live forever. Main story: Eventually I found a home in the east by travelling by night and settled there. This was when I met Scream Khad. He cajoled me with eloquent words, coaxing me into an empty room off the main hall. There we were bound as Sire and Childe, our lifeblood pumping in eachother's veins. The Khad originated in the Middle-East, where the main training head-quarters is, of which no other Clan knows about. We are among the best assassins in the world. Highly trained in many types of extermination, We usually make contracts, and follow through with them to the letter unless the person you are dealing with neglects to tell you something or lies. As far as I can tell, I have no conscience about killing. We are payed in blood by our peers, who will often use us to double-cross for them. My Sire, Scream, was a fourth generation, thus I am Fifth Generation and I take my title as a Khad very seriously. It is my duty to bring honour and praise to my family. If anyone stands in my way, then they die. Do not think of me as not having a heart or being a cold-blooded killer, for nothing could be farther from the truth. I have a family too. A mother, Reina, who adopted me and who I would die defending. There are not many Khad nowadays, many were killed in a great purging when the identity of my family was made known. Blood spilt more then, than any plot we'd hatched. I go on, a fierce and determined spirit to avenge my family and once again see the Khad be restored to it's original glory. Strengths/Weaknesses: The Main Disciplines used by the Khad are Celerity, Obfuscate and Quietus. These potent forms of Kindred magic do not go without weakness. The Weaknesses of the Khad include a 10% bloodtithe to sires, a severe reaction to biting fellow kindred and the very strict modus operandi followed meticulously by the Clan, upon penalty of final death. Relevant titles held by Alana Khad: Marquisa, Archduchess of Khad, Order of the Silver Sun Haven setting: Alana Khad's "Ravenbrook" or "the Khad Compound" as her childer know it as, is Alana's main residence. This is a quite formal Castle, really, but is now a sprawling mansion as it was built-onto over the many years it's been around. The closest settlement to the almost perfectly monitored and patrolled grounds is a little town with a population of just over five thousand humans, a product of Alana's extensive campaigning to draw agricultural development to the land. This rather new, little town was called Nisil, after the meadering river that coursed through it's very center. Total population of Archduchy: approx 319,000 Capital of Archduchy: Valentino Population: approx 18,500 Exports: vodka, hay, coal Job: Alana's legal business activities are somewhat more realistic, it would seem. Alana Brand vodka was a house-hold brand name that carried her company to the top of the list. The launch of a line of fruity vodka coolers that bore the familiar female's contour exploded onto the market and took it by storm, allowing her to expand her empire further. Now, Alana Brand is in every home, it seems. Alana herself is CEO and sits in on every meeting she can. When she cant, her son Ashley takes over. NPCs: -Ashley Khad He was the child Alana bore in her life- quite awhile ago. Fortunately, she'd found him still at the little cottage with the the kindly old lady, she'd been only sixteen at the time and was unable to keep her child. So, she'd left him with her midwife. When she'd been embraced, still she watched over her son while he slept until the day the kindly lady died. Then, she kept her promise and returned for her son. He was only fifteen, a boy, still Alana embraced him and made him her son by blood once more. He adapted quite quickly to his new life, and his mother he'd always been promised would come for him. An expert in stealth and dexterity, he accepted his calling to arms for the family somewhat half-heartedly, though, as he is more business-minded. Some of the family's jobs can be quite unsettling. -Shade Khad Shade aka Sonya was a dirty, malnourished russian child Alana bought out of her beaming mother's arms. The little ringlets of gold and her sad blue eyes had proven too much for Alana to bear witness to the death of from poverty. Her mother offered Alana the child for a paltry sum which would be the price of her child's life. Shade shaped up to be one of Alana's finest, specializing in weapons and explosives. She was embraced finally when she was at her pique fitness, as she wanted, when she was nineteen. Speaks fluent russian and heavily accented english. -Nevar Khad A human child Alana adopted in infancy, Nevar is no more than ten years old or so. Often away at school, she is seen little by her siblings as she is not destined to be embraced or to train. Instead she is given the appearance of a well-bred child of a wealthy family.