The Purity of Blood

Ventrue. The very whisper of the clan's name conjures up images of power and princedom in the thoughts of other kindred.  But what is it that makes them so different from the others?  Of course, any Ventrue can answer that.  They are possessed of a rarified taste, their blood pure and of the most direct line from Cain.

[The rules state that the Ventrue weakness is "Ventrue have exacting and rarefied tastes, even when it comes to blood. The player must pick a restriction on the type of blood her character can feed upon, e.g. only young men, no animals, only virgins, etc. The character will feed on no other type of blood, not even if she is starving or under duress."]

Each clan is especially good at certain Disciplines and afflicted with a weakness which in combination gives them their distinct character. It is with great pride that I collect together the various investigations I have carried out  in service to milady on this subject, including her own conclusions. The particular study of the Ventrue "weakness" for certain special supplies of blood is of particular interest to milady, as it is by its very nature a study of herself. I shall begin with the notes of a scientific work of a sort in direct violation of the Traditions. I was in a position to copy these words before they were delivered to Lord Marcus.
 

In experiments at L'Universite in Paris, Les Professeurs have studied the behavior of the "Ventrue" breed or subspecies of the hemophagic predators known as "vampires", using a subject provided to us by certain procurers whose identities must remain secret for their continued usefulness. The basic questions were "Why do these sanguinary predators feed upon such limited dietary supplies?" and "How do they determine the suitability of prey?" We believe our efforts have yielded some interesting results.

The subject, when presented with blood of unknown origin, initially refused it outright. When allowed to grow greatly hungered, the subject desparately tried to reach the sample of blood, but upon but a simple taste spat it out and instead hammered uselessly at the cage in effort to reach my assistant. This imputed the ability to discern the suitability of the correct blood for nourishment by mere taste or that nourishment was in no way involved and unsuitable blood simply tasted so foul that it could not be ingested.

Thus, the next test involved forcibly feeding the subject with a system of pumps and tubes running into the esophagus. My assistant was badly bitten during the performance of this test and even my Electrostatic Patterning Tissue Reknitter seemed to have little effect. Thus the experiment marked the last before a period of rest and recuperation that thankfully fell between semesters. Fortunately, the test yielded some results that proved interesting. The subject's system rejected the blood from the original unsuitable source, even when it was forced down its throat so to speak. It was also discovered after the frenzied creature tore out the throat tubes, that the blood of my assistant served the subject's dietary requirements quite nicely. 

Until this time it had quite escaped my attention that my assistant bore even the slightest trace of Egyptian ancestry. We had, of course, arranged for a supply of plasma from Egypt ahead of time based upon the assurances of our procurer that such would be necessary. This turn of events  provided us with the opportunities for further tests, however.

Once again allowed to languish into hunger, the subject was presented with fresh samples of my blood and that of my assistant, placed randomly in identical containers. Approximately fifty percent of all first selections were incorrect, suggesting that the subject had no method of ascertaining the usefulness of the blood prior to tasting it or in some cases smelling it. 

Next we examined the properties of the various suitable samples of blood and plasma and sought out the similarities which might suggest what essence they bore in common. After a few trial runs, I was able to alter virtually any blood into a form useful to our subject, and eventually was even able to form suitably nourishing blood from pure ether. As this was only accomplished with the use of a Subatomic Resonance Transfigurator, we drew further conclusions.

Finally, we intentionally attempted to inject blood of refused nature directly into the veins of the subject. Invariably, the blood was still rejected. In most cases it was forced back out of the hole through which the needle passed, but when we closed this aperture immediately, the subject grew quite ill and expelled blood, which proved to be the same as that just injected, out of its mouth.

It would appear that the "Ventrue" breed of "vampire" requires blood bearing specific resonance, and that their olfactory and taste senses act to differentiate between suitable sources as a sort of first line  of defense, similar to our own reaction to rotten food. This is markedly different from the subject provided to us by our American source, which we were assured was of a "Gangrel" breed, which seemed able to consume and benefit from virtually any source of blood.

As we have had the opportunity to obtain but a single specimen of "Ventrue" breed, it is currently unclear whether the need for a specific resonance of blood nourishment is connected with any sort of choice upon the part of the "vampire" or if it is entirely a result of their pre-change physiology reacting with the hemophagic catalysts. Further study with additional subjects will be necessary. Fortunately, we can create new subjects here in the lab, if we can find some volunteers.

Milady, I am happy to say that in addition to the journal notes previously included here, I have also provided you with a copy of the report made to Lord Marcus. It was no large matter, as I was one of those he sent to Paris in pursuit of this sort of information.
 

Sir, I am very concerned by these notes of which I have obtained a copy assuming you would want to see them. You were apparently correct in your guess that the Banker intended to sell Mr. Carter to the University. I still do not understand why you dealt with him at all in the recent expedition to extradite Earl Watlington, for that very inclusion has introduced the bastard to forces which are dangerous to the Masquerade. It is clear to me that my understanding of the nature of science is far smaller than I have given myself credit. There are accomplishments here, things I witnessed I thought not possible. But, then I once thought that your kind was not possible either.

 

The Ventrue do not view this as a weakness. They see it as a significant sign of their higher standards, and for once they may be correct. In many ways, this "weakness" serves as a powerful form of defense in a culture of predators and slavers. No other clan of kindred possesses such universal protection against the blood bond. As a Ventrue . . . 

Editor's Note: This article is continued in September 1998 Foray as Part II