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Welcome to the Empire of the Night

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 Greetings, 

 May I Introduce Myself?

I am the Empress of the Empire of the Night, my name is Empress Theodora Augusta.

For the last half a millennia I have allowed my people to know me as Mistress T.

And, so I shall refer to myself by this name in these written records, as recommended

to me by Belisarius, the General of the Imperial Bloodguard and my closest minister.  

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I wish to explain our Empire and introduce our guests to the realm in which we 

preside. We live in peace and harmony with Humankind. It has been a grand 

achievement for the two kinds, Human and Vampire, to have come to a relatively                                                 Mistress T

friendly meeting of minds. Now, there are some humans who still live in ignorance of our presence in 

their midst, but that is for our protection. 

 

The Empire of the Night spans across the globe.  After the chaos of " The Wilds" we have managed to keep peace and civility within our borders, both amongst ourselves and with humans, since our creation in 1000 AD. There are some vampires that remain outside of the Empire, that is their choice and for now our diplomatic relations with them are civil. We are proud that for just shy of a millennia we have managed to provide sanctuary to our citizens. It is our greatest desire that it remain so for many more millennia.

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How Does One Become A Citizen?

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Any vampire can apply to become a citizen of the Empire of the Night. It is important that one declares their alignment and 

Blood Ties when they apply. We accept all vampires regardless of their alignment, whether it be benevolent, neutral, or malevolent. 

You must fill out a Citizenship Registration form and pay a once in a lifetime fee of $65.

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*Humans can also join the Empire, however they are given Human status, as a Confederate of the Empire.

 

You are welcome to attend our events if you decide not to be a citizen. Citizens enjoy access to the online reference area, private forums, Empire chat, Celestial Gallery, and other areas created for them to enjoy. They also will be offered special deals, merchandise, and will have access to reserve seating/tickets at our events. Citizens have privileges. 

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The process of becoming a vampire in this community it is called a Blood Tie and you do not actually die. You remain a living human being that shares their existence with a shard of the Azure's essence inside of you. The actual rite of a Blood Tie will be described in the reference section provided to citizens. We follow the vampire mythos of the Slavic peoples in which these creatures were considered humans born with two hearts and two souls.

 

However, in this universe we put a spin on that tradition. The second soul is not a ghostly evil presence that haunts the mortal world after one dies as the Slavs believe. It is understood that your second soul is your second chance at life, an immortal existence that defines your truest self. We consider your true nature, or second soul, to be the type of vampire you choose to be, evil, neutral, or good. Also, your second heart is the Azure, if you are benevolent it remains closer to you, if you are malevolent it hides deep within your soul fleeing from the darkness it senses. Many Benevolents call Malevolents "those with no heart", "black souls" (upierzs or upiórs in Polish).

 

In other words, your true nature/self is what may corrupt you, or make you better than the human you once were. Tying a Blood Knot does not involve demon possession or any religious significance. There is no corruption of your soul other than the new powers one comes into. It is up to the individual whether that new power is a corrupting influence. The Azure just resides within you as a life force that makes you immortal and possess supernatural qualities. But it remains a neutral alien essence that does not impose upon your will, but keeps you alive. 

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Vampiric Alignments:

 

Benevolent Vampires:

Benevolent Vampires live by a peace abiding code of conduct. Some feed on humans, but only

the willing, and they do their best to not take life unnecessarily. Older benevolent vampires are

able to feed off energy sources other then humans. They can feed off of sunlight, which does not

harm them if they are exposed to it. This is due to the fact that they are more aligned with the

Azure than malevolent vampires so they are able to preserve a kinship with their celestial origins.

 

Older Benevolents are easily recognized by spiraled or curled fangs due to the fact that these 

vampires have willed their canines to no longer be instruments of death.  Some prominent and

noble benevolent vampires have intricately carved canines/fangs that look very much like tiny ivory

carvings. It is a status symbol amongst their elite. They have a more healthy pallor to their skin. Their eye colour and shape of their iris remains more human in resemblance.  

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                              Some Elder Benevolents remove their                             This is an example of the ornate 

                           fangs/canines and use them as adornments.                 carving that is done to some Benevolent

                                                                                                                              vampire fangs/canines.

 

*Some Benevolents do not feed on the life energy of living things at all and shun consuming blood. Once a Benevolent vampire reaches a certain age they do not need blood at all. 

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Many benevolent vampires are involved in diplomatic relations with the Human world and running the day to day bureaucracy of the Empire. They are also the main supporters of humanitarian works, the Environment, the Arts, and have a great admiration for the ingenuity of Humans. The malevolent vampires often site this affection for the Human world makes benevolent vampires weak and blind to the dangers that mortals pose to the Empire. A famous quote from a malevolent elder was,

                                         

                                                "We were not created as superior creatures just to lower ourselves to play with our food."

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Neutral Vampires:

Neutral Vampires are creatures that do not feel drawn toward the two polar alignments, benevolence and malevolence. They remain in the middle able to decide on how their behaviour is affected by their reactions to life situations, or circumstances of events, rather than a strict code of conduct. Many of the younger vampires prefer to adopt this school of thought in the beginning of their supernatural (second soul) existence. These vampires, in their younger years, are the most human looking. Their fangs/canines are small to medium, but still look more like human canine teeth than fangs. 

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Many neutral vampires prefer to dine on willing hosts, but typically in the most civilized of methods. They drink the blood from drinking vessels. The older ones are able to feed off other energy sources, but not as efficiently as Benevolents.  They can be exposed to sunlight, but depending on their nature, they may be affected by it to varying degrees. 

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It is only later that many neutral vampires find themselves firmly entrenched in a polarizing alignment. It is hard to remain neutral after millennia of life in this world, too many choices have been made to stay "Grey". Older vampires that have managed to stay neutral after a half of a century are deemed "Greys". There are very few Greys in the Empire. The ones that are are usually drafted into the Imperial Council and the Empire Congress. They are seen as esteemed members of the Senate and the Bloodguard.

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                                                                               General Belisarius of the Bloodguard

                                                                                        An Elder Neutral Vampire

 

Malevolent Vampires:

Malevolent vampires are not necessary evil incarnate or Nosferatu like creatures. They are definitely influenced by darker desires and often involved in the more nefarious activities of the Empire. They are still accepted as citizens in the Empire. However, they must abide by the laws that all vampires are expected to follow and are enforced by the Bloodguard. These vampires begin to take on a more feral look as they age. Their irises become more catlike, their fangs look more like that of an animals, and their skin pales.

 

The Older Malevolent Vampires tend to become solitary and erratic in their behaviour. These types of vampires find it difficult to fight the need to hunt living creatures due to the fact that the Azure does not sit well in their souls. The connection to the Celestial bodies and the ability to feed off of solar energy is lost to them. The darkness in their soul acts as a veil that hangs between the Azure and the stars. They must feed off of the life energy of living creatures to replace the Celestial energy that is deprived from the Azure within them.

 

These vampires are the ones to blame for the folklore and myth that sunlight burns our skin. Sunlight does not cause a malevolent vampire's skin to burst into flame, but it is not pleasant for them to be exposed for any length of time to solar rays, the effect varies depending on their age. The older the malevolent vampire the less likely it will be tolerant of the light of day. A side effect from a malevolent alignment tends to be the development of excellent night vision. Their eyes reflect light like that of a cat's.

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It is common to find the older malevolent vampires to be heavily involved in Trade. They are covetous of material items and tend to horde wealth. Many of the wealthy middle class vampires involved in Trade are to some degree malevolent. Quite a few of the Great Galere Houses were established by an Elder Malevolent. 

 

 

 

 

 

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An Important Note on the Codes and Conduct of Our Community and Events:

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We have seen too many events and communities devolve into feuding and vicious in-fighting between the attendees, as well as attacks on the businesses/organizations themselves. This has caused dissolution and/or disruptions of these events. For the enjoyment of everyone we are making this declaration so that our policies and intentions are clear.

 

The Empire of the Night Entertainment Service staff and management will not become involved in these types of interactions. If you have a complaint/grievance with our company and its practices contact us directly. We will not permit negative comments at our events or on our online presence. If you should decide that the Empire is not a community that you wish to support, do not attend or become/remain a member.  This community is not a real life existence, it is an entertainment/hobby service. As part of the Canadian business community we understand that we exist in a Capitalist economy and your are welcome to spend your dollar elsewhere if desired. We maintain that we provide a high standard of customer service and ethical practice. It is our greatest desire to provide a pleasant experience for 

everyone.

 

Thank you for your understanding.

 

How Our Community/Events Work:

The Empire of the Night is not a LARPing community. It does not run by any game rules or system. When you join the Empire you 

will be encouraged to create a persona based upon a person you wish to role play as. The person can be human or vampire, from any 

time period, fictional or historical, and must have some sort of history (background) established. The background is a highly suggested facet of your citizenship. It allows you to be able to carry on conversations more intelligently as your persona and enables you to enjoy a more immersive experience at events. Think of the Empire of the Night as a community not much unlike historical re-enactment groups, persona based.

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Code of Conduct for Our Citizens:

We run our community with the understanding that our members are expected to follow a code of conduct that promotes civility. As 

adults we do not expect everyone to love each other, however, we do require that all members operate in ways in which they all get 

along peaceably and respectfully outside of and as their persona. We will not tolerate harassment, abuse of any form, or attendees 

using our events/online community to commit criminal activity. Those who break our Code of Conduct will have their membership and access to our community/events revoked without reimbursement. 

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Our members will be held responsible for their conduct and discord is heavily discouraged. If there is a dispute or offense 

we expect our members to be adult enough to be able to resolve it in a proper manner on their own. The Empire of the Night is a community of adults that is governed by the laws and civil codes of Canada. We are not responsible for the behaviour or actions of our members during, or outside of our events, as well as within our online community. We remain an 18+ community for this express reason.

 

If a member breaks the law, it is up to the parties involved to report to the suitable authorities and inform us. We follow regular business practices such as; what is within legal and reasonable requirements to keep our events/online community safe for our members. A member is encouraged to report harassment, abuse, or disruptive behaviour to our staff. If they choose not to involve our staff we cannot, and will not, assume responsibility. We have procedures in place to deal with members who are abusive or unpleasant. However, The Empire of the Night is purely an entertainment service, not a police force or governing body, we are an entertainment business and follow Canadian business practices.  

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We reserve the right to revoke a membership/citizenship if that person should cause unreasonable grief or disturbance to the day to 

day operation of the Empire of the Night. There will be no tolerance of political disputes at events, on our social media outlets or website, 

or any gatherings related to the Empire. This is an avenue for our members to enjoy a few hours of entertainment outside of the 

rigors and disruptions of the Mundane (Real) World. Please leave your Socio/Political platforms at the proverbial door, act like cultured 

adults, conduct yourselves in consensual and positive interactions, and by all means do not create dissent. 

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                                                                Origin Myth

Of the

Empire of the Night

 

Our Origin:

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This is the origin tale of our beginning. It has been passed down by those who came before, from those who came first. Much of our origin has passed into myth and mystery. We only have whispers that have slipped from behind the veil shrouding our elusive past in the mists of forgotten time. Many who were the first of our kind wish to remain lost to us. Never allowing their identity to be recorded, they form the oldest Council of Vampires. And, if they do venture out into the modern world, few of us will ever know that The First Ones are in their company.

 

This is what has been allowed to be written in our history, the only permissible record of those who came first.

It has been translated from the words of an Old One who wrote in a long lost ancient tongue.

The text has been adapted by myself, Mistress T, in order to be more comprehensible to a present day

audience. Please be patient with the translation, it is difficult to truly convey the full context in English.

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However, the modern day Imperial Council and Parliament deemed it necessary that the youngest of our 

Empire understand their origin. We lost so many to "The Wilds", the time when there was no Empire, 

no way, meaning, or laws in our existence. A newly bound vampire was expected to find their own way

in their new life with no explanation of what had happened to them. So many became mad and