PRESENCE

This power is used through many means Awe, Dread Gaze, Entrancement, Summon, and Majesty.

Awe: this amplifies the sublime magnetism this descipline gives the vampire. Those near the vampire suddenly desire to be closer to her and are very receptive to her point of view.

Dread Gaze: While all kindred can frighten others by physically revealing their true vampiric natures-baring claws and fangs, glaring with malevolence, hissing loudly with malice - this power focuses these elements to insanely terrifying levels. Dread Gaze engenders unbearable terror in its victims.

Entrancement: This power bends others' emotions, making them the vampire's willing servants. due to what these individuals see as true and enduring devotion, they heed the vampire's every desire. Since this is done willingly out of love (albeit a perversion of it) instead of through sapping the subjects' wills, these servants retain their creativity and individuality. A servant can fall out of entrancement therefore it may be better to either dispose of the servant once their usefullness is over, or bind them more securely by a blood bond.

Summon: This is the impressive power to call to herself any person whom she has ever met. This call can go to anyone, mortal or supernatural. They are immediately drawn to her. It can be used across any distance. But the subject will reserve their self preservation and will not put themselves in danger to get there. But the gnawing urge to be with the vampire will continue until dawn...at that time the summons is broken...if the vampire still wishes her subject to come to her she must resummons each night.

Majesty: Under Majesty's infulence, hearts break, power trembles, and the bold shake. Wise kindred use this power with caution against mortal and immortal alike. While Majesty can cow influential politicians and venerable primogen, the vampire must be careful that doing so doesn't come back to haunt her later. After all, a dignitary brought low before others loses his usefulness quickly, while a humiliated kindred has centuries to plan revenge.


A STORY OF PRESENCE

Felicity arrives at the grand regency mansion and is shown into a small sitting room. The man who shows her in takes her coat deferentially - he must be a ghoul. Felicity disdains him as a servant and pushes her umbrella into his waiting hand He avoids her gaze.

She fidgets with a copy of Horse and Hound that must be at least a couple of years out of date. It is a beautiful house. Finally the ghoul returns and informs her that the master is ready to receive her now. Felicity has only met her primogen twice before and although she tries not to show it, she is nervous. But she is Ventrue, born to rule, and made of sterner stuff than to quail for long. She pulls her shoulders back and tilts up her chin and follows the ghoul into the panelled meeting room. He bows and leaves.

A polished oak table dominates the room, and the lighting is dim. It smells of leather and wood-polish and age. At the far end of the table, a slim figure stands with its back to the door, evidently adjusting a cravat in a mirror.. Its blonde hair is slicked back behind the ears and its jacket and trousers are expensively tailored. It turns back to face the young Ventrue slowly, "Do take a seat" says Jane dryly.

Felicity dips her head and does so, crossing her legs at the ankle. The chair creaks. Her primogen places both perfect hands palm down on the table and meets her gaze for a long silent moment.

"Do you know why you are here, Ms Wykeham?" she asks.

Felicity finds it increasingly difficult to look away from the other womans face. It is perfect, delicate and sculpted and the shade of porcelain. There is a long silence before the neonate attempts an answer. "I made a mistake and I am to be chastised for it," she says, injecting a sober tone to her voice and hiding the disdain she feels for the Prince's pettiness in chasing it up.

"Quite properly, of course, Milady."

There is another long silence. Its a very long silence indeed. The older vampire doesn't move a muscle, as if she were cast in stone. Felicity shifts in her seat; it is so tempting to just watch the other Ventrue.

She is quite fascinated. "I.. "she clears her throat unnecessarily, "The Prince is unhappy that I entranced his ghoul at a party" She adds mentally 'even though I didn't -do- anything to him'

"My liege, Prince Sebastian," Jane murmurs, correcting her.

Felicity sighs. This is not going to be easy. "My liege the prince is unhappy with my conduct, milady."

Jane pushes herself abruptly upright and slides into a seat, flicking up the tails of her jacket smoothly. It is very difficult for the neonate to avoid looking into her perfect face, even if she wanted to.

"Yes," she says icily, "He is indeed. His displeasure at the failings of your useless sire in educating you in civilised behaviour throws a blemish over all our lineage."

Felicity holds herself straight in her seat, determined not to give the other woman the satisfaction of seeing her wilt at the onslaught. Inwardly she is seething.

"Fortunately," the older Ventrue continues, her tone losing warmth if anything, "you are young enough that small allowances can be made, and corrections learned." The tone implies that the primogen herself might have been inclined to be harsher than the Toreador Prince. "It is my right of primogeniture and also my duty to see that such teaching is made available, and is not wasted on deaf ears. Do I make myself clear Ms Wykeham?"

"Yes, Milady. Perfectly clear." Felicity says without any great enthusiasm. She hopes this will not take long.

There is another long silence. The vampires lock gazes, the neonate is pinned to her seat by the older woman's regard, as if the world had shrunk to two grey points of focus across the table. Jane leans back in her seat with a faint smile playing across her lips and peels off her kid gloves, one at a time. "You are probably thinking that this is a waste of time, Felicity," suddenly there is genuine warmth in her smile, a hint of camaraderie. "That his Grace is making a fuss about nothing, just because he is protective of his favourite ghoul… and that you were unlucky…?"

Felicity relaxes and makes a so-so motion with her hand, she returns the grin cautiously. "Well.. something like…"

"Don't think that!" Janes's voice is still pleasant, the voice of a friend, but her eyes are frosted pebbles.

The neonate flinches imperceptibly and frames an apology, she is on her guard now and suddenly nervous but still, it is so hard to look away from the other woman's face. Would looking away be taken as some sort of insult also?

"Tonight you will listen and take note whilst I instruct you in the proper use of presence, child. One week from tonight, you will present yourself at an address which I will give to you and apply yourself similarly to instruction from a Toreador acquaintance of mine. One week further on, you will present yourself at a third address to be instructed by the Brujah. One calendar month from tonight, you will represent yourself to me, with some written notes on what you have learned. Do you understand?"

Felicity looks across the table into the other Vampire's eyes as if she has lost something in there and nods once. The use of the word Presence has struck a warning chord in her head. Has the older Ventrue maybe used it on her already? She is uncertain, but there is a dull subconscious acknowledgement that she is hopelessly entranced.


The month passes in a crazily moody set of ups and downs. It reminds her of all the annoying hormonal imbalances of life - uncomfortably. As she takes one last look at her notes, she remembers the three vampires and what they had said to her.


Presence - the Ventrue way

Allowing a meeting to degenerate to an extent in which you have to blatently use such powers is a clear signal that you have lost control of the situation. At that party, you lost control. I am unimpressed and do not expect to hear similar things of you again. Subtlety above all things should be your goal.

Emotions are a means by which people can be controlled and presence is a tool for doing so. Like any tool, it is most effective when wielded appropriately. Learn to know when you will need it, and then use it without hesitation - when you do not need to use it, do not allow the temptation to overcome you. Those who make most effective use of these powers of the blood are often those who need to use them least.

Control applies as much to your own emotions as those of others if not more so, so learn to rein them in and to listen to your intellect - they are your servants and should never be your master. Let weaker minds be ruled by their emotions and by impatience and irritation and resentment - strive always for serenity and a clear uncluttered thought process. Presence enhances the process by which the strong rule the weak.

Be aware also as to how the effects may interfere with any other mental controls you are considering, whether constructively or destructively.

Sometimes it will seem useful to make the power use very evident, to encourage an adversary to spend pointless effort in resisting its force which will weaken his mind to a mental command later.

Sometimes it will seem useful to make a domination sufficiently unreasonable that your target will spend all his effort on resisting that and laying himself more open to use of presence later. Whilst useful, do not think that these rather unsubtle tactics are without cost, and never rely on them.

Alternatively, a judicious application of presence may make a person more agreeable to a suggestion that you wish to implant later. Used in this way, the target may leave believing that the reactions were entirely their own idea, and with no proof that any mental powers were involved. Be advised that this latter course is usually more effective and is well worth the extra effort involved. We are not Brujah or Toreador to entrance or terrorise simply because we harbour some small-minded need to be feared or to be adored. We are Ventrue and we are greater than that.


Presence - the Toreador way

Emotions are the very seat of a personality, the notes of a persons soul, and presence is the bow with which you coax a tune out of the strings. There is a certain skill to its use but in order to master it you must learn to read the emotions of the person you are practising on, watch their body language, see how they react to what you say, and guide them towards an acceptance of your presence in the same way as a dog herds sheep into a pen.

If you wish kine to be entranced, then act in a way which is entrancing. If you wish them to be terrified, then be terrifying. You can act, yes? Then learn to project, for that is largely what presence is. A projection of the desired emotions onto an audience, drawing their attention to yourself. It is like a spotlight, so when you have switched on the spot, step into it boldly and play to the crowd.

By the time you bring any supernatural charm into play, it should seem so natural as to be an extension of your personality. It should never jar or grate - that is the mark of an amateur. Practice it often and learn the usual responses to expect - guide the response in the way you wish it to go by your actions, language and demeanor.


Presence - the Brujah way

Presence is a weapon. I'm sure the others will pretend that it isn’t but the truth is that it is as aggressive as any other attack. So, if people get annoyed when they realise what you've been up to, don't be surprised if they decide to return aggression with aggression. Use it to subdue or intimidate and you can sometimes avoid getting into a fight. I've seen people break up fights by using some sort of presence to get peoples attention. Up to you what you do once you have it.

Any weapon is only as good as its user and this is just the same. An advantage you have is that you can use supernatural charm to sway a crowd - just point them in the right direction and let them go. Sometimes, you will want to be subtle but sometimes you won't - sometimes its a matter of facing someone down and putting them in their place. Thats the other reason kindred will tend to get annoyed very quickly when they know you've used it. If you have enough power to force them to eat their irritation and pretend its OK, then more power to your elbow.

You don't.

So don't do it. While it lasts you can lead a charmed existence, but it won't last forever. Learn to use it, but don't rely on it.

Entrancing someone elses ghoul is rude - do it if you are deliberately trying to annoy them. If you are just bored and want attention, there are easier ways to get it. Once you've used presence on someone you'd better not ignore them unless you are trying to make a point - I assume thats what happened at your little soiree? Entrance the bloke, decide hes boring and move on? Unless you enjoy being hated, try to give at least half a thought to the consequences of what you do.

Felicity waits in the same sitting room again, with a couple of sheets of typed notes in front of her. Although she is maintaining an impassive facade, her eyes are dull. She doesn’t know what to think of any of the 3 elders any more. Whether to admire them or detest them - for the past three weeks her feelings have been toyed with, even if she hadn't realised it at the time. Despite herself, she is glad of a chance to see the older Ventrue again, and hopes to meet with her approval. Is this also a side effect of presence? Will she ever be sure again as to whether her feelings are her own?

This time Jane slips into the sitting room herself, it is smaller and has a more intimate atmosphere. The primogen is still indulging her taste for mens clothing, and is still stunning. Felicity stands as the other woman enters and waits for her to sit first.

"Good eve to you, Felicity" Jane says as she settles herself, crossing one leg casually across another and gesturing for the neonate to take a seat. "I assume these are the synopses I asked you for?"

Felicity nods, finding it difficult to look away from the other womans face as she reads, eyes scanning the words quickly.

"So" says the older vampire without looking up from the notes, "has it been an educational few weeks?"

"Yes Milady." Felicity says soberly.

"Mmm... enjoyable?"

There is a brief silence. Jane glances up, and inevitably the vampires lock gazes again wordlessly. "I think that I have learned a great deal, Milady." Felicity says finally, dissembling.

"Good," says the older vampire mildly, rising to her feet - she gestures to Felicity to join her at the window and the pair look out on the city as it is illuminated by points of light.

"There is a seventh tradition," her primogen tells her quietly, "that overrides the first six and I am sure that by this time you have discovered it for yourself."

Felicity glances at the older vampire cautiously, she seems more approachable in some odd way - is this another trick? There is another silence. Felicity shrugs finally, "Don’t get caught?" she guesses.

Jane inclines her blonde head fractionally. "Quite," she says in her dry voice, "And remember that it may be that this city will not always be ruled by the Toreador."