If you put a chain around the neck of a slave, the other end fastens itself around your own.
 - Ralph Waldo Emerson

So, you’re new to the game, and you think you’re all that. Well, I got news for you. You’re only halfway there. The vampire who made you has absolute power over your life. Think about that for a moment.

While you’re thinking about that, listen to me. I’ll take you through what all this is.

You love your master, and he’s turning into the center of your world. But how does he feel about you? Remember, you are just a piece of property now. Are you a precious Ming vase, or a cheap rug? That definition means everything to how your life will be from now on. If you’re the rug, your life is going to suck, and you just might like it. You also might not see your master more than the once a month that is required to keep you the way you are.

If you’re the vase, you still might not see your master more than the once a month, but when he does contact you, it will be pleasant. And if you live with your master, you can be sure that you will be safe and taken care of. Maybe even be a pampered pet.

Now, let’s talk clan. I don’t pretend to know all of them, and it’s highly individual, but clan counts for a lot. Some of them will almost universally treat you like shit. Others, will universally treat you like gold. Still others are just wishy-washy and you never know what you’re gonna get.

Granted, all that aside, the perks are great. As long as you’re fed, you’ll live forever. You can now learn these nifty tricks. If you’re a girl, you’ll never have to deal with your monthly cycle again! Of course, I hope you never want to have kids, cause that can’t happen either. And if you do get pregnant, it probably won’t last too long. You’ll heal faster than ever before. Of course, this will only continue as long as your master feeds you. You don’t want to know what happens when that stops.

And there are downfalls to this. One of the biggest being that you’re going to live forever. All your friends, all your family, everyone you know will grow old and die, while you never age a day. Oh, and you better break ties now, so that you don’t break the Masquerade. That will automatically get you killed.

As I said before, your mistress owns your life now. This means that you only have an illusion of free will. She might let you have your own life, but when she comes to you with a job, you better do it or it’s your ass. It doesn’t matter if you’re going to lose your job, she just doesn’t care. You have to do what she says.

Sucks, don’t it? It gets worse.

You know how I said your new master owns your life? I meant that literally. If she chooses, or you don’t do something she wants done, or just not good enough, she is within her rights to take your life away. The vampires have ways of covering shit like that up, so it’s not that big a deal for them. You are not that important unless you make yourself that way. I suggest you find a way of making yourself very useful to your master right away. She must have ghouled you for a reason. Figure that out, and get better at it.

I hope you have yourself a good master, and I hope you don’t fuck up. If you have any trouble remembering this, come back to me if you can. I like you, and I want you to be around for a while. Who knows? One day you just might make it the other half of the way to being “all that.”