Welcome to our club, this is a short missive to help you through your early nights as a member of the Ventrue Clan. In it I will attempt to help you understand some of the terms and etiquette of your new existence.

Firstly you are a Vampire. This may appear to be an obvious statement, however you would be surprised at how many people cannot understand even this simple fact. We obviously do not advertise this fact and so use terms such as Kindred and the more archaic Cainite (taken from the kindred myth that we all descended from Caine, the biblical fist murderer.)

You, being recently "Embraced" (made into a vampire) are classed as a Childe, and are therefore under the direct responsibility of your Sire (the one who Embraced you) and under the indirect responsibility of the Clan.

What is the Clan? You ask, Well, think of us as your family, we will be here to help you when we can, and will Discipline you when we must. We are not the only Clan, you will come into Direct contact with six others regularly, but for more information on these I urge you to seek other treatises on the subject.

There is a very strict Hierarchy within Kindred society, both within our Clan, and within the Camarilla (an organisation of ourselves and the six other Clans I mentioned Earlier) You, as a childe are among the Lowest rung of this ladder, yes I know how frustrating it is to be at the top of your ladder and then to find yourself back at the bottom. Remember, we have all been in your place at one point.

The hierarchy of the Camarilla is very Simple, at the bottom you have those not recognised, these include anarchs, childer, and those of Independent clans. Next you have those Kindred who are members of the Camarilla who have not proved themselves. After that you have the Respected members of the Camarilla, followed by the Clan Elders, these are the spokespeople for their respective Clans. Above the Elders are the Court, who are the Princes hands, eyes, ears, and mouth within the City. And finally, on a city-wide scale is the Prince. This is the title used by the oldest, strongest, or most powerful Cainite in a city. (S)He is the equivalent of the elder for the City.

The Hierarchy extends upwards from the Prince, however, you do not need to understand this yet...

It is Traditional to refer to one higher up the Hierarchy than oneself by their title, or by the titles of Sir/Madam. (I.e. My Prince, Mr Praetor, Madame Herald...)when speaking to one on an equal or lower footing than oneself, it is respectful to use their Surname. (I.e. Mr Smith, Ms Jones.) Once you have become more personally acquainted with an individual it is within the bounds of etiquette to refer to them by their Given name.

The Laws of prestation are also part of the etiquette of the kindred, but they will be discussed elsewhere.

I hope you find this useful.

Nathan leFleur