The Don’s View from “Through the Net”
Notes by Logan
Location: Armandasanti Family Grave Site
Time: 11:15 pm
Date: Sometime in the Future
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“I hopped down from my perch on high, right? I looked down at this mangled man as he coughed up blood and tried to get his thoughts straight. A hunger overtook me, I didn’t care much at that point. I’d fought and defended what I thought was right, you know? Pa would’ve done the same thing. Hell, Mama would have done it too. I can’t talk about what it was that I did but I want you all here to know that I won’t ever be joinin’ you where you went. What I’ve done in this life is enough to condemn even the most holy of Saints.”
As the Ventrue took a seat, the old dry wood of the chair creaked with such groan Vito thought for sure this was the night that it broke. Still it held. Just as he held through the nights. Resilient make and construction this was given. His mind turned back to the act at hand, the place in his story where he first encountered the phenomenal rush that was the consuming of a vampiric soul.
At first, it was as though it were a simple feeding. All the typical sensations were present and alive in the act. It was satisfying and filling. As though Thanksgiving feasts were being drained from the body of this Gangrel. Only this time, the difference between Humans and Vampires, Vito could see the memories of this Kindred within the feast of blood. The sanguine callbacks to a time and place Vito had never been privy to. A pack? A party? Ansara...Vito saw Ansara dangled like meat above the hungry mouths of the raiding group. Memories of friends? Of lovers? Of his childhood. This Gangrel, German, had his life in his blood and it flashed in Vito’s mind with frightening clarity. Yet, even as such a thing was happening, the beast within called for so much more. A part of Vito knew that what was bound to happen if he followed this path was wrong on so many levels. To consume the essence of his soul? Such a thing was surely the work of evil.
And in that vein, he very nearly stopped the act there.
However, his own memories came to him in that moment of dire consequence. Jinx had shown Vito the heinousness that was to come soon. The very end of the world at the hands of Blood and Red Angels pouring from the Sun. His own son, Matthew, would need Vito to defend him from what was coming and the powers that be far surpassed the lowly Ventrue’s own. If consuming German’s soul was a step he could make to defend that which he loved the most, why would he hold back? He became a Kindred for the purpose of protecting his love. Was this really that far of a jaunt?
Together, Vito and German, found themselves at the root of who they were. Vito, the standing monster with fangs bared and eyes blazed with fury and anger. German, the innocent child abused by life and lineage slowly being devoured by the ceaseless void that had become roughly Vitus shaped. A tinge of emotion, the feeling of remorse for the life and regret for the act was quickly brushed aside by the hunger. The Endless Hunger. Hunger for Blood. Hunger for Power. Hunger for the strength to fight the rising odds. In that moment, German was swept aside and all that remained was Vito with the memories of a life he had never lived. Emotions he had never felt.
What is perhaps the greater crime was this: It felt amazing. Feeding was one thing. The sheer euphoria that came with inhaling the evil soul of a vampire was second only to the joy of finding out he was a Father. Even then, it rivaled such emotion with a terrifying intensity. Idly, Vito would oft wonder about the feeling. If something like absorbing the soul was so bad and evil, why did it feel so over-the-top blissful? Why did it feel like the purging of decadence? Why was it so good? Perhaps, someone more versed in Vampiric lore could teach him. Later.
For now, the world came back in to view. At least, somewhat. Seeing through four eyes was interesting as an experience. Specifically because of it view through a soulful lens rather than a physical sort. Prentiss called out to him and Vito noted all sorts of odd expressions adorning the features of his group. Some were smug. Some were worried. Time wouldn’t allow him to set their concerns to rest. An in truth, he didn’t care enough to do so. He felt justified.
“Right...I spaced there for a fuckin’ moment. Jinx did this fuckin’ mind thing again, right? A magic trick with the mind. She showed me so much and I barely had time to process havin’ like, two thoughts going on at once. Couldn’t tell ya what that meant, still don’t understand it fully but for now, just trust I was doing what I could. My military people showed up too. Thank God they did. I needed their help now more than ever. With all the knowledge that we had together as a group, we made a plan for escape and to get out of this fuckin’ warzone.”
A roll of the shoulders. A sigh.
“Buuut. That wasn’t all. My...friend, Barnaby, had never done me wrong and was sort of a father figure that I respected. A Mentor if you will. I couldn’t let him die. Not here and not now. So I used a Magic Trick I had and called him. Obviously, he was very, very angry. Beyond belief angry. It was justified. This family ran off pride and pride alone. Having him flee the fight was a blow to his pride. I suppose he and I would have to have quite the conversation about it later but for now, it was just a matter time at that moment. Anyway, we had to do this like, fuckin’ climbing and descending thing now. I was still flush with the power inside and damn did I impress myself. Hell, I even caught Henry and Barnaby. We worked together and let ourselves down.”
“Now, this is the part that got me. There were some fuckin’ wolves waitin’ for us. The amount of fuckin’ fightin’ I had to do in one night was getting excessive at this point. But hell, they wanted blood? They were going to get blood. In the most primal way. The dance of war still shook my limbs and drummed my heart so viciously I damn near exploded at the chance to gut one of these animals. Get this, right? The fuckin’ wolves attacked and one of them jumped on me. My chance to devour this thing was upon. Now, Wolf didn’t taste as good as like, regular meat but hey, I was in a pinch. Everything seemed to work out well. My team...if nothing else, were blessed killers. Well, a few of them. Henry and Jinx seemed to vanish but that was their best defense. Couldn’t fault them.”
What came next was a blur of motions and movement and scenes. A run through the woods. A home lost. A car gained. The ride over to the Alexandria domain was something of beauty. A calm moment among the storm. Jinx needed to know about Chad. Vito had put Chad so far behind his mind that he didn’t even begin to remember it. However, circumstances forced his thought.
“I told Jinx about Chad, her newborn child. It wasn’t a clear cut explanation nor would it ever be. It was something Jinx was going to have to find out for herself as time went on. For now, I told her that Chad was safe and sound. In a uh...manner of speaking? Whatever, what mattered was getting the mother with the child. She deserved that much for sure. See, that was plan let it be known. Vito Armandasanti respects family more than anythin’. But see, this fuckin’ dome thing popped up. I could see it but it was like, a physical thing too. I felt a little too...queasy being this close. And that’s not a feeling I’m used to.”
The Dome. It appeared in the middle of nowhere. We wouldn’t even have gone in that direction had traffic not been so jammed up that the group couldn’t have gone around it. Some of the others, the Malkavians specifically, felt horrid upon sensing it. The Tremere were behind all of this for sure. They were the only ones that could. A daunting prospect for certain. Still, he wasn’t about to call it quits now. Vito could remember that much. His inner fire was far from being put out.
“Myself, Barnaby, Rose and Henry approached the field of odd...energy? Looked like flattened lightning stuck in this wall. I don’t know how to explain it. We needed in so we could get across and I could get home with the others and protect them from the war raging on behind us. We learned quickly that everything but us, Families with Magic Tricks, could get through. So we locked in an idea and made it work. Sent in a note about who we were and what we represented and hoped for the best. I’ll say this much, if the Tremere were involved, it was for a good reason. It had to be.
...Right?”