Summary : Rae (Raziel) Andrews is a young and somewhat directionless Oxford grad who has a chance encounter that changes her life. Having always been peculiar, much like her parents, she finds herself attracted to things outside of what she was exposed to in her small, isolated town. Never missing an opportunity to learn of a new culture, art style, tradition, or legend, she aspires towards a kind of enlightenment. And it is a vampire that sees in her the spirit of her covenant, and her own life. Embracing the young woman during their first meeting, Rae is welcomed into the world behind the world. The joys of discovery and growth are an intoxicating ambrosia, and Rae dives in head first. Yet, she has her fears. She is still connected to the mortal world, still connected to those who will die long before her. Not knowing how she will reconcile this imbalance, she remains cautiously optimistic of the future. Detailed Backstory: “It is the desire of the moth for the star. It is no mere appreciation of the Beauty before us – but a wild effort to reach the Beauty above. Inspired by an ecstatic prescience of the glories beyond the grave, we struggle, by multiform combinations among the things and thoughts of Time, to attain a portion of that Loveliness whose very elements, perhaps, appertain to eternity alone..” A section of framed poetry that sits above my bed, given to me by my mother. She’s given me bits of poetry, scripture, and motivational text throughout my life, but there’s no way that she could have known just how much this scribbled note could have meant to me. Encapsulating my thirst for knowledge, for secrets both sacred and profane, for perception with sight beyond sight, I am the moth. I have been given eternity. And my deepest desire is the star. I believe that it was this hidden desire that attracted the vampire that sired me. She picked me out at a party a friend of mine was throwing to celebrate their Psy.M. about 5 years ago. I’ve always enjoyed parties well enough, but I tend to prefer the position of wallflower. Savoring the chance to just listen to people share stories of victory, heartbreak, redemption, and loss, all wrapped up with bits of personal preference, moments of weakness, and bitter secrets. Watching the dance of social gatherings has been a treasured pastime, and oh what you can learn just by allowing others to speak. A spark of positive reinforcement, the assurance that it’s safe to be honest, to show their true self, and their hearts are laid bare before you. And ironically, I found myself saying all of this to the beautiful woman who noticed me through the mass of dancing and booze. Surprising me out of my trance, she simply asked me if I was enjoying myself. She was tall, beautiful, yet oddly pale, but then again, so was a third of the student body. The most peculiar thing about her beauty was that it felt so...ordinary, at first. Like the girl next door, you’d look right past her on the street, just another person, another story. Yet, as she held my gaze, her beauty appeared to flourish, and I noticed just how breathtaking she actually was. Why wasn’t she the center of attention? Surely others that looked at her for more than a moment would find her just as striking. But here she was, moving through the crowd without eliciting more than a mumbled “Excuse me”. At the end of my monologue, she grinned at me, a smile as bright and dazzling as her long, blonde hair. “I think that we’re sister souls, you and I. I feel the very same way. What’s your name?”. “Rae. My full name is Raziel Andrews, but the only time I ever hear it is during a roll call or a job interview.”. “Rae Andrews. Quite the moniker. Tell me about yourself Rae.” I had never heard my name spoken with such musicality, and for the second time, I was caught off-guard. “Sure, but before I do, could I have your name, please?” She looked at me for a moment, something unfathomable in her eyes, then she spoke. “Genevieve. But you can call me Eve, lovely to make your acquaintance. Now, on to you." With that, I was off. I told Genevieve all that I could remember of my relatively unremarkable upbringing, the most colorful parts of which were my parents and myself. “I was a chip off the old block, my cousins and aunts would say, for I was just as strange as my parents. The name Raziel was a product of their preoccupation with the metaphysical and supernatural, they’ve been die-hard nerds my entire life. So when I showed a seemingly insatiable interest in whatever knowledge about the world that I could get my hands on, they were more than happy to introduce me to the cultures, arts, literature, mythologies, and music of the world. This caused a bit of a rift between my older brother and I though, whose name is Gabriel. Our parents named us after angels, which is as sweet as it is lame, haha. Anyway, my brother has always seemed to be content with the quiet life of our little town, never taking to our parents eclectic interests like I did. After awhile, he drifted away from all of us, at first a side effect of adolescence, then the norm. He’s 3 years older than me, so our experiences were already separated by a gap in age, but once I could engage with my parents about their hobbies, he kind of clocked out. He loves us and we love him, it’s just at a distance. So that was the family, full of eccentricity and distinction that would shape what I would devote my life to. I graduated from Oxford about 2 years ago, Anthropology and Archeology.” I beamed with pride as I stated this, simultaneously registering that we had moved out of the large party area, into a small side room. The door behind us was closed, and it was just the two of us. I hadn’t even realized. “I’ve talked a lot, can you tell me a bit about yourself?” I smile, still taken aback that she really sat silently and listened to all that I had to say. “Well, you certainly seem keen on understanding the world around you. I admire that. As for myself, I work as a librarian here at Oxford, a position that I very much enjoy.” I hung on her every word. The word of this stranger who seemed so familiar. “You could say that I’ve been around the block, I’ve seen quite a bit. So you can believe me when I say that we are cut from the same cloth. May I confide in you?” “Please do.” I said. “I’ve only just met you, yet I trust you. I want to give you something, a gift that I believe you will find immeasurable value in.” “Yes?” I found that I had been holding my breath, and I slowly exhaled. “The ability to see behind every closed door, to move with total freedom, and take the world and all of its colors into yourself. You would see and feel things you never imagined, and your endless curiosity would be celebrated amongst those like yourself. How does that sound?” “Like heaven.” “But you see past heaven, don’t you girl?” Reaching out, she grasped the back of my neck and tilted my head to the side. “Every culture has its legends, and I’m sure that you’re familiar with many of them. Do you know what happens now?” “Yes.” I closed my eyes. “Then answer one final question for me, Raziel Andrews, or I will leave you as a pretty corpse on this bed. What is the secret of God?” My eyes shot open and stared up into the ceiling. I didn’t have to search for an answer. I didn’t even need to think about it. Because I decided many years ago what the answer was. “That He is everyone… and no one.” Without another word, I felt sharp teeth dig into my neck, but very little pain. To quite the contrary, I felt immense pleasure, and before long I felt myself falling into the darkness of sleep. Then a taste, like cherry wine, but even more delicious. I moved towards it, drinking in as much as I could. When it was finally pulled away, I opened my eyes to see Genevieve pulling her wrist away from me. As I looked on in joy and confusion, she spoke. “Welcome, to the first night of your new life.”. After that, Eve took me under her wing and, along with others, taught me of my vibrant new world. I took in the information like a sponge, mentally cataloging all things from the Requiem and the Masquerade to the Beast and techniques on how to harness its influence. I made sure to pay special attention to the worst horrors, like Diablerie, and ways to use my gifts to detect it on other vampires. I also became a part of Genevieve’s covenant, which happened to run my former college. Funny how life works out. Wanting me matriculating there, both as a cover and to continue to learn, my covenant, The Pythia Concord, had me accepted into grad school for Anthro&Arch. I’ve been so engrossed in everything that the past five years have felt like weeks. I’ve already completed my MPhil, and I’m halfway through my PhD program. Every day unveils a new secret, either of the mundane world, or the world of the Kindred. One of my favorite things about my new life is the change my body has undergone. I was always an athletic person who enjoyed pastimes that kept me active, but the Embrace has turned me into something out of a comic book. I can move faster than the beat of a hummingbird's wings, and react like lightning to the slightest of stimuli. This combination inspired me to pick up parkour, a hobby that my superiors are very pleased with. They say it’ll help mold me into a model member of The Concord. Even with all of this change, all of these revelations, I can still count on my mom and dad to welcome me into their arms. Their support helps keep me grounded, giving me the courage I need to brave this magnificent cacophony. But they don’t know about me, of course, and that weighs on me. I’m staring down the barrel of forever, centuries upon centuries of learning and adapting, and all I could seem to think about the last time I saw them was how worried I was about them. How am I going to keep them in my life?
