After Sundown 1e

My Dearest,

If you are reading this, then it appears that you have recently died and been brought back to a semblance of life as one of the living dead. You also presumably drank my blood and witnessed me hand you this very letter and then flee the premises with haste. This doubtless seemed odd to you, and I apologize for the necessity. You will receive further aid and instruction when I am able, but as of the writing of this letter, neither you nor I know when that might be.

The first thing you will do upon reading these words is to try out your powers. Doubtless you will find solace in climbing walls or even flying about. Also, you will be able to quickly heal from any injury, so perhaps you will wish to experiment with the sort of senselessly dangerous activities you previously gave only a slim moment's thought - such as leaping off a building, stabbing yourself in the chest, or thrusting your hand into a fire. These are perfectly reasonable things for you to do, and you should probably get them out of your system sooner rather than later. However, even whilst abandoning yourself to the temporary insanity of genuine magical power you should still maintain a semblance of decorum and a thought towards self preservation and your future.

The first thing for you to keep in mind is that others of your kind take a gratuitously dim view of giving away the show. Supernatural creatures such as yourself maintain their existence in no small part through the expedient of secrecy, and you'll notice that even in your case the reality of magical beings was revealed relatively recently. You can be hurt, and you can die. Yes, even though you are essentially already dead, there are available bigger, more final deaths to be had. The first and foremost danger is wood. Avoid that foul stuff like it was bathed in vipers, and if you must experiment with cutting or bashing yourself, make for certain that you do so through the medium of comparatively harmless metal or stone. But also you will want at all times to keep your powers and nature a darkest secret - other creatures may be helpful, but none will long hesitate before turning upon you should your actions jeopardize their safety or obscurity. Your ability to float about the room will doubtlessly seem magical to you - in no small part because it is in fact magical - but mortal and vampire alike will feel threatened if you use it in public. Best not to tempt reprisals.

The second thing to keep in mind is the constant gnawing hunger which will drive you for the rest of time as a farmer drives an ox. Your experience of the cravings will doubtlessly be deeply personal and reminiscent of some craving you felt in life. However, this is no ordinary famine, you crave instead the blood of mortal humans. Actually acquiring this blood to drink is no easy task and will constantly threaten the secrecy of your true nature. Until you can master for yourself a feeding system, you will wish to do it as infrequently as possible. Unfortunately, the beast inside you will not stay quiet forever, and you will be driven to feed eventually, and possibly with wild and murderous abandon. Using your powers will make you grow more famished, making it harder to control yourself. Consuming large quantities of blood will likely be fatal for your ~~meals~~ victims (and you will have victims). And if you get hungry enough to lose control, you will very likely drink copious amounts. Try to not get hungry enough to have that happen.

In the meantime, it would probably be expedient to introduce yourself to the local Makhzen government. The Makhzen is an old organization, and by your very existence you are now a member of it. And by old, I do mean old. You will, if you avoid the barbs of splinters and thorns, never die. And the leaders of the Makhzen never have. You will doubtlessly find their customs to be archaic and feudal. However, you should remind yourself that age is also a virtue and that these laws have outlasted every institution raised by mortal man. So presumably they have some virtues, even if they are not immediately obvious to you. The address to go to is written on the envelope, you should ask for Florentine - she is an ancient and accomplished mermaid - and she can aid you in presenting yourself to the local Prince better than I can under the circumstances.

And yes, you did read correctly that you will be asking for aid from a mermaid. That is not the limits of the strangeness you will encounter before the night ends and you will long for sleep. The truth is that whilst most stories you have been subjected to are indeed merely stories, there are dozens and dozens of legends that you have heard that - are at least in part - factual. Try to play it cool as much as possible.

Your Sire and Mentor,

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