Eleri James ["Cerberus"] : A Letter to Kyle

[Josée's Note: Using her real name, Ceinwyn leaves her old friend a note. An apology. A plea.]

A Letter to Kyle
Eleri writes a letter, for Boyd's eyes only.

Boyd,

I'm sorry for dropping in on you as I did. I didn't know what stories or rumours had been circulated about my disappearance...and I didn't mean to drop in so unexpectedly.

Firstly...I feel I should apologise for leaving you so long without a word. The situation I found myself in was difficult for me to comprehend...let alone explain to anyone else. I never wanted to cause you more pain, and leave you on your own as I have done. That was never in my plans, I promise you. But sometimes life...doesn't always go the way you wish it had.

Ceinwyn Roberts ["Cerberus"] : "Bittersweet Reunions"

[Josée's Note: Following the prequel game, Ceinwyn sought out her ex-boss, and old friend.]

Bittersweet Reunions
Ceinwyn writes in her diary about the evening she was reunited with her former boss.

The past few days began as they meant to continue. I went to feed and apparently, no-one was around. I was forced to prey on a couple of drunk chavs near the pier. Ugh. After I'd had my fill, I decided to help Darwin out a little and place the idiot (now sleeping) close to the sea and see whether or not he ever appeared again. I didn't get quite as far as I liked as I must've passed out. Cain was sitting in an office, and we had a lengthy discussion. Apparently...he's in my head, he's only ever around because I want him to be, and he was the person who gave me all the information about Kray when I was a kine.

He kept asking if I had a plan, and I kept replying that if he was in my head, he knew what my plan was. He did have a point though, when he finally admitted he knew what I was about to do. I was going to go see Boyd...I knew I had to. But he reminded me that I didn't know what I was going to do when I got there. After much talking and little resolution, I walked away. But he wasn't willing to let me leave that easily. He mentioned (purely to aggravate and frustrate me, probably) that I looked a lot like my mother.

Ceinwyn Roberts ["Cerberus"] : "Unforgotten Dreams"

[Josée's Note: Every character got a "Prequel" game. This was mine. I think I will leave you with the original note I wrote to the player group regarding this particular piece. Note that I was 19 years old - hence the "teenage girl" reference!

"I had "I Giorni" by Ludovico Einaudi playing throughout writing this song (it was on repeat and played 21 times.) I had no issue with it until I got to the last italicised part, at which point, probably in part due to me being a teenage girl and it also being gone 4 in the bloody morning, I ended up in tears. Quite a lot. I don't mind admitting this, and I doubt any of you will experience the same, but I did. In short, this was quite emotional to write, and I hope it comes through. One day, I will get round to writing Ceinwyn as if she's not feeling sad...but that day is not today! - A very tired, emotional, pleased, rambling Josée."

Unforgotten Dreams
Ceinwyn reflects on the life she once lead...and regrets a few things along the way.

I couldn't help but let my mind turn to the past, today. Something told me I had to revisit it...as much as it hurt to do so. I try not to dwell on such things as...all it does is make me miss my life...and those within it.

I left the house today, and the fog had cleared, just as we had been told it would. I decided to go alone, as I needed some time to myself. Living in a house together can make you feel like a family...but it can also become claustrophobic and crowded. I found myself along the beach once more, where Raphael and I...the memory still hurt...where he had consoled me, and tried to convince me to carry on, and not let myself fall victim to the despair of my Requiem.

Ceinwyn Roberts ["Cerberus"] : Turn the Page

[Josée's Note: Ceinwyn's moral struggles reach a new level. The young boy mentioned here is the same child mentioned in "A Grandmother's Tale", written from the perspective of his grandmother, another character I played in a Cerberus prequel, later that year.]

Turn the Page
Ceinwyn relives the night she killed her mentor.

I don't quite know what to do now.

I know, deep down in my hea...
I know what I did was right, regardless of where I know it from.

Ugh...this isn't going to make any sense if I start here...I guess I have to go back to where I was, and relive it from there.

After I'd returned to the house, Leo was talking to the others about Father Raphael; which was fine...except that he was suggesting Raphael was a slaughterer and murderer - even going so far to say that the two of them had both done it together. Talon - that insufferable man - was declaring his intent to find and kill Father Raphael every few seconds, which...as you would expect, didn't particularly endear him any further to me. First he barged in waving that stupid "Book of Nod" and presumed because he had it I would somehow be more keen to speak to him, and then he begins to threaten my mentor. I don't know if he's stupid or has a death wish, but either way, it's a very good way of making me even more loathing of him.

After Talon's continual "I will kill him" rant, Leo asked about the composition of our band of not-so-merry men. Christopher referred to Angus, himself, and I as "family". It was a strange moment...as I couldn't tell if that was the bloodbond talking...or if he really believes that...that I come into his "family circle". I have to admit...it was a nice feeling...even if it wasn't wholly of his choice. If I hadn't been around everyone else...I think I might just have hugged him.

The girl we saved, Mary, came down. She looked just as nervy as she had been when we first got her out of the Ordo Chapter House. Christopher tried to calm her, but I'm not sure that was such a clever idea...as, after all, he had been there when the other Ordo were trying to harm her. I knew she had felt more at ease with me, so I offered to take her for a walk. I didn't want to be sat around - even if Talon had decided to go searching for Raphael and wasn't in the house. I felt trapped in there...as if I was unable to have my own space with that many people. It was also nice to have a chance to chat to another woman. Having that many men around the house - you can practically taste the testosterone!

I ended up back on the beach, still deserted...but not so alone. Just having someone there with me made it seem like a far less barren place...and a little more inviting. I let my wings show, as there was nobody around, and because I know Mary began to trust me more originally because my wings were on show. She did open up to me. She reiterated that she didn't trust the others and that she had no understanding of the situation she was in. I gave her a hug, something that Kindred seem to rarely do. I tried to reassure her that Christopher - as at least I can partly speak on his behalf - would be of no threat to her. Trying to explain why without explaining why was difficult; I'm pretty sure she would have hidden back inside her shell has she known about bloodbonds. I told her of my siring, and of how I had got to the point of not caring. I don't know why I told her...I just...felt like she had bared her soul, and therefore I could bare some of mine. The hug we had seemed to go on for a while - though when it ended, Mary did seem to be more calm, as if her burden had been lifted slightly. I told her I would look after her, and as we returned, she seemed to get very close to me. There was always some contact between us on the way back - even if it were just a hand on a shoulder, her clutching on to my arm or holding hands. She seemed to need the contact; the knowledge that there was someone there who understood her situation.

Christopher seemed to get very jealous when I returned. I know that he is bound to me and that this is just an effect of the binding, but he really has no need to be concerned about her. She is a very traumatised, new neonate, and I just hope that my aid and being a friendly face will give her a starting point to develop and blossom into someone who - doesn't love what she is - but at least feels she can be of service in the capacity she is in. I offered for her to share my room for the day, and she accepted. She ended up cuddled up next to me through the night, and while it was unusual to not only be sharing a bad, but also with another woman and one who was so clingy; to know I was helping her through her trauma almost convinced me that maybe my time is not yet up.

The next night, Christopher wanted to show us some work he was doing. Talon had - yet again - disappeared off to go find Raphael. It all involved a lot of science and some really bright lights and lasers, and - if you couldn't tell - I'm no weapons expert. I did, however, have Dr. Carmine's laptop. There was a file called "TALOS.pdf" which contained all sorts of scanned paperwork from top secret archives from the 1940's at Bletchley Park. It looked like TALOS was a weapons programme running, with Alan Turing and Tobias Vaughn. When they were mentioned, mentions of "Awakened" kept appearing. The mages seemed to be helping the allies during the war. I told Christopher and Leo this, before Angus pulled me aside and asked to see the Book of Nod.

I took him down to my room and sat with him as he looked through. We kept discussing things and trying to figure out what it could mean. The word "Gehenna" always appeared and there was mention of the "Lord of Heaven returning to cast judgement". The Crone would get revenge on Cain's childe.

Getting concerned about Talon's jaunt (which had now had Leo also join it),  I decided to try and find Raphael myself...and I managed it.

I could feel his beast from a distance away, and it lead me to a house...or rather, below a house. I tried to force my way through the door, to no avail, so I climbed in through a back window. The house seemed deserted, and I found myself trying to get into the cellar. As I climbed down the stairs...there was Raphael...and he was torturing a family. I could see a young boy - he couldn't have been more than six or seven years old - hiding, as Raphael tortured his parents!

I know that the role of the Lance et Sanctum is to herd Kine in the direction of the Lord's light, and I understand and agree with that...but I couldn't let him go on attacking those who were defenceless. Without announcing myself, I drew my knife and used my sorcery to create the scourges that have become synonymous with my name. With no warning, I flayed him with them; the scourges raking his back, tearing his skin and the cassock protecting it. I don't think I've ever felt fury like it...

He looked enraged that I had done such a thing. He began trying to take the moral high ground, explaining that the boy would not sin in his life again, knowing the punishment his parents were receiving. The intention was palatable, but the commission of the intent was beyond anything I could have feared. I bit back every comment of his with a retort, and every explanation with a harder, more determined question. Shadows bound me, and I struggled to move much. Pulling my lighter from my kit for rituals, I burned a scrap of paper that Raphael had signed. The next thing I knew, Talon and Leo were also fighting Raphael at my side. Once I was free of the shadows - the lighter did well to remove them - I set about freeing the kine, and sending them upstairs with their son. I asked them not to do anything until the situation was controlled. The last thing we needed was for a police or Hunter squad to make their way down, as the Masquerade would be wholly breached and we would be seen as the perpetrators.

As I returned to the battle, the boys had done well, but things seemed to look up as I flayed him again with my scourges. Leo dealt the final blow, and we saw Raphael's body wither. Leo went to consume his soul, but I stood in his way. Raphael was my mentor, and he had betrayed me completely. I felt a right of my own to consume his soul...but I know the Sanctum decries anything of that nature. Leo kept shouting and ranting at me, which stunned me, and hurt. Leo and I had seemed to be getting on well until then. Still, I guess it still proves I'm a bad judge of character. Setting my hopes on Christopher to stop the others from going towards the body, I returned to the room upstairs.

Angus was making tea, trying to soothe the family. The boy was the most alert of them all, and he looked petrified. I handed him a cup of tea. I didn't really know what to say, so I said...despite it sounding clichéd and stupid..."Be brave. Be brave for me." He puffed his chest out slightly and nodded. He seemed to see the wings, as he kept staring slightly beyond me. I wasn't going to drop my obfuscate, though...I don't think his parents would have survived yet another shock.

Angus and I both whispered our concerns about the masquerade, and - after what seemed like a small gunfight down in the cellar - Leo and Talon left to find a couple of people skilled in Dominate. They dealt with the parents...though they may have left the boy...and we returned home.

Or at least...Christopher and I returned home. With Raphael's body.

Laying Raphael's decaying body on the table in the main room...I knew I only had one option. There was no way of reviving him, and no way to restrain him if we did. I didn't want to diablerise him...so final death seemed like the only choice. I used my ceremonial knife - despite his shortcomings, he was a member of the Sanctified - to cut off his head. I knew Leo and probably Talon would probably try to do the same to me when they returned...but it was the only safe thing to do.

I rang the Archbishop in Canterbury, and told him of Raphael's sad, sad demise in a far away town. He wanted me to return to Canterbury so he could take the title of Inquisitor away after I told him I felt it was the wrong title for me...and then I admitted I no longer wanted my place in the Lancea Sanctum. The erasal of my membership was quick, and I was told in no uncertain terms to remain out of contact for eternity. I don't know why, but it was a relief. I didn't need to be focussing on that, especially after I had sent my own mentor to final death. I had killed another Sanctified. I didn't deserve to be part of the covenant...and the covenant wasn't necessarily right for me anymore, anyway.

As Leo and Talon arrived, the phone rang. Talon answered it and then hung up, quickly without saying a word. It rang once more and someone asked for me. Hesitantly, I took the receiver. It was Carmine - the man I had believed to be dead in Thetford Forest. He told me to meet him in the fog. That was it. Meet him in the fog. That really doesn't sound ominous at all.

Next thing I knew, Leo had entered the room where I had been with Raphael. His yell at me reached my ears quickly, and I walked in. He asked if the pile of dust was who he thought it was. My flippant response yielded just another snarl and a burst of angrily worded questions. Eventually, Leo calmed, and agreed that maybe my actions were for the best. Somewhat surprisingly, he then went on to suggest that I was a good leader...a leader who could be trusted with authority. Considering the amount of time he had spent yelling and ranting and disagreeing with me over the course of a single evening, it scares me to think how he behaves towards someone he considers unworthy to hold the power they do.

Now...I just need to find out where my tale is leading to. And why has this prophecy of my death not yet been fulfilled...?

Ceinwyn Roberts ["Cerberus"] : "Alone on the Beach"

[Josée's Note: Ceinwyn's struggles with Kindred life and the sheer magnitude of the task she is expected to achieve ("saving the world") begin to get to her, and she comes to a tragic conclusion. Apologies for the mild swearing!]

Alone on the Beach
On the beach, distraught and desolate, Ceinwyn soliloquises.

So this is it? This is what I've been reduced to? A grown woman crying in the middle of a deserted beach - a prime target for Hunters or those wishing me harm. Anyone who wanted to take me or kill me could do so right now and I wouldn't have a chance to resist, and nor would I try. I have nothing to look forward to and not even my dreams can now save me for a few hours from the nightmare I live.

I relied on Raphael to make things make sense...I relied on him to teach me the way of this stupid world, and now I find he may not be what he claims? He evaded every question I asked and I know nothing more about him than I did before. He was the one who sent me to find the first tear. He is the one who caused these stupid wings to grow and cause me all these problems...and yet I run to him when I need solace and a friend in the world, and he leaves me once again. Always. Perhaps I'm just a bad judge of monsters...and men.

Ceinwyn Roberts ["Cerberus"] : "Not Waving, But Drowning"

[Josée's Note: Ceinwyn had been "gifted" a pair of angel wings, which to hide she had had to learn Obfuscate for. She once again turns to her God...this time, to explain herself.]

Not Waving, But Drowning
Ceinwyn explains to her God why she "sold her soul" to the Ordo Dracul

Well, my Lord...it's me. Eleri. As always.

You cleared up a lot of my concerns tonight, my Lord. Mainly by proving them to be true. I was right in that the World seems to believe that the wings mark me as one of Your Chosen. They have even begun calling me that...the "Chosen". But what have You chosen me for? Because if it's the heartache and pain You have shown me so far, my Lord...you can un-Choose me right now. I am not one to be ungrateful of Your Gifts, my Lord...but this has been no Gift. This has been my Curse from the start.

Ceinwyn Roberts ["Cerberus"] : "Troubles on My Mind"

[Josée's Note: Ceinwyn was a Daeva member of the Lancea Sanctum. This is something of a prayer, or call for aid to her God as she returned to her haven in the crypts of Westminster Abbey. The "man she had to bind to her" was another PC called Christopher who she had blood bound to her because she couldn't trust him not to talk about what was going on. The "one who has killed their kind" was a character named Talon, who was constantly getting on her nerves and was something of a vicious, wildhearted Gangrel, and I can't remember who the low morality person was now...]

Troubles on My Mind

Ceinwyn contemplates her Faith, returning to Westminster Abbey

[This is spoken quietly to the sky, on Ceinwyn's long walk back to the Abbey]

What am I? Some kind of martyr for my kind? Lead to a destiny not of my choosing, but one I am forced by others to walk the path of?

I never asked for people to follow me or want to find me for their own ends or reasons unknown. I was nobody - a faceless Kindred doing what I pleased...when my Faith...lead my life to become of utmost importance to the whole damned world. And why? Just...why?

Eleri Ceri James / Ceinwyn Roberts ["Cerberus" World of Darkness Vampire] : Backstory

[Josée's Note: Ceinwyn Roberts was originally a one-shot character in a game that extended into a fully fledged campaign. It drew elements from New World of Darkness Vampire : the Requiem, Old World of Darkness Vampire : The Masquerade and other elements of the World of Darkness as well. I loved this character as I don't think I've ever had a character since with the sheer amount of character development in such a short time. Her story is dark, her journeys are long, and her heart was (generally) in the right place.]

Eleri Ceri James / Ceinwyn Roberts

In 1985 in Conwy, North Wales, Eleri [Elle-ay-er-ee] Cery [Kerry] James was born to Ayrwen and Iwan James. As she grew up, she was considered a charming, if quiet, girl. She was a natural leader and took charge if anything ever got out of hand, but in a polite and graceful manner. She was well-liked in the town, and was known by name, if not sight. Her family kept themselves to themselves aside from the town fairs and fêtes that happened every so often. She did well in her studies (though found her attention drawn more to the boys than the work at hand quite often) and eventually went to study Psychology at Aberystwyth University. She then joined the prison service and worked on becoming a Forensic Psychologist, which she achieved after studying part time for two years. It was in her first year as a fully fledged psychologist that she met her demise.

She had been working with prisoners on a part-time basis for two years, and had had plenty of time to meet many...unsavoury characters. Some of them, she was pleased to say, had met her, spoken with her and changed their lives around. Others did not. She sat for many hours over the three years in a room with murderers...rapists...you name it, she’d come across someone who’d done (or attempted to do) it. She had heard – in great detail – of what some of those people had done and how they had tied every single knot, or traced every single victim etc. Naturally, she always had a prison officer – or at least a probation officer – in the room with her whenever she was talking to prisoners, or they were standing outside and a panic button was close to her palm. This, however, did not save her on that fateful day.

The whole prison was tense that day. Something was wrong...something was going on. There were rumours, she was told, that a prisoner was not what they seemed. Apparently prison officers who had gone into his solitary confinement cell hating his guts had returned with nothing but good things to say about him. He was diagnosed by the prison doctor as having achromatopsia, or photophobia – a severe aversion to light, and had been placed in solitary confinement not because of anything he had done, but because the windows were smaller and caused him less pain. The doctor had recommended that he be allowed to work during the night hours only and that for his sake his nights should be treated like normal people’s days. This, of course, lead to rumours. “He’s a vampire” was the common shout from the cells. “He’s not human”, “He’s unnatural”. Eleri believed none of this, but she had been called in to take a look at the guards who had met him, and at the man himself, nonetheless.

There was definitely something strange about the guards. They were almost enthralled by the man – his notes referred to him as Laurence Renner - as if his crimes had completely vanished from their heads. Eleri jotted down all her thoughts on a pad and felt concerned and confused. She wrote as a recommendation that the guards be allowed to take a few days off to gather their minds together and meet her in a week or so for a reassessment. Then came the turn of Laurence.

He was a new prisoner, one who had only been brought in a couple of days previously. He had attacked, assaulted and then murdered a young girl in a dark street, and then tried to cover it up – and failed. He was caught moving the body and sure enough, the whole country was in uproar. The whole prison population abhorred what he had done (which is saying something given the calibre of people held there...) and he had swiftly become the most hated man in the prison.

Given his history, Eleri was given the option of having an officer stand in on her meeting with Laurence and she gratefully accepted. The doctor was also invited to check that Laurence was treated well by her and was not...Eleri didn’t know what he was there for really. To check for torture? That was the most...logical?...reason she could find.

As soon as Laurence walked in, Eleri was on guard. She came across many predators in her line of work...but there was something even more malevolent and predatory about him. He looked about 20-something, but the records in front of her suggested he was older than that...by possibly double. Yet he looked scary, and frightening even in handcuffs...and she had seen many frightening people.

Eleri saw the doctor stand at the back of the room, next to the guard, and she ignored them both. She quickly got down to questioning the man about his mental wellbeing – his condition, and the way he felt about what he had done to the girl in the street. As she continued, and was about to press on to the way the officers had begun to act around him, there was a loud “thud”, and she looked over Laurence’s shoulder. The officer was lying on the floor, and Eleri reflexively stood up, concerned. The doctor assured her that he had everything under control, and she sat back down, her hand reaching for the panic button that had been sitting on her lap...but it had gone.

Now acutely aware of how tight a situation she could find herself in, Eleri stood up...as did Laurence. Standing at 5’6, the 6’1 man towered above her, yet she tried to sound in control as she told him to sit. He jeered at her, holding the panic button up in one cuffed hand. “Or what?” He asked. “You’re going to...panic?” He waved the handset at her. Eleri’s eyes flashed with panic for a second, and then she dashed across the room towards the door in her business suit and heels. She heard no footsteps behind her, so she reached a hand for the door...when the doctor stood in her way. Shouting at him to step aside, as she looked at him she felt the same pang in her stomach as she had when she looked at Laurence; that feeling of being...prey.

She stepped back, and found she had a pair of handcuffs resting against her throat, Laurence sliding his arms over her head as she focussed on the doctor. “Oh yes...” Laurence began, Eleri feeling his breath on her neck as he whispered in her ear. “...I’m not a lone...” he sniggered, “...wolf.”       Eleri gulped, the magnitude of the situation she was in causing her to shake slightly in fear. “So that’s why you’re here.” She whispered, her eyes stationed on the doctor. “His back-up man...his crony...his...bagman.” She spat the last words, and heard a chuckle from behind. “You’re so cute when you’re being feisty, doc.” She heard in her ear. “I could just eat you up.” She felt two needle-like sensations on her neck before a deep, overwhelming pleasure over took her. And then darkness.

Eleri’s eyes flickered open, trying to adjust to the dim half-light. She was lying down...on grass. Outside. There were stars in the sky and she tried to piece her mind back together. Sitting up, she resteadied herself, feeling slightly dizzy, and was shocked to see a man sitting next to her, in a suave evening suit, adjusting his cufflinks; the same man she had been interviewing before...but how was he no longer in an orange jumpsuit...out of prison... uncuffed...and...smart?

In the distance she could hear alarms...a lot of them. Sirens were wailing and the faint sound of helicopter blades was distinguishable. She swallowed and then asked “What did you do...to the prison? To me?” He laughed and shushed her. “Come with me. I promise I won’t hurt you...but you’ll understand everything when you get inside.” Eleri looked at him with distrustful eyes, but followed him through a gap in a bush and then down into a row of houses. He unlocked the door of one, and then beckoned her inside. Despite looking like a run-of-the-mill semi-detached house in the suburbs, inside it was like a bachelor’s mansion. Her jaw dropped and her mouth opened wide. He gestured – almost seductively - for her to enter the first room, and there, lying on the floor of the living room, was the body of the guard from the prison. Eleri gasped and backed away.  Laurence laughed, and took her hand, leading her into his dining room. He sat her down, and it was there that she found out what had happened – the way she was no longer human, how she needed blood to survive...that the prisoners had been right...he really was a vampire.

At this point, the front door clicked open, and Laurence stood up and welcomed his “friend”...the Doctor...in. She was then told that the doctor was in fact this vampire’s “thrall”, whatever one of those was, and that he was bloodbound to Laurence. It was then that a small moan got the three of them moving. Entering the room first, Laurence asked Eleri to remain outside, so as not to cause the man to have a heart attack. He spoke softly and graciously to the police officer, but there was an edge to his voice...the same edge he had had before Eleri lost consciousness. The room went quiet and then Eleri heard her name. Walking in, she saw a scene like none she had seen before. Her co-worker was completely relaxed and content. Even when Laurence announced that Eleri was to take her first drink from him, the officer did nothing to resist. Laurence asked for Eleri to feed opposite him – from the other side of the law enforcer’s neck, while the ghoul was forced to drink from a wrist. It was an indescribable feeling and one that Eleri loved, especially feeding alongside others. When they were suitably satiated...and the body was – given the amount of people feeding at once – drained, Laurence explained what had happened in the street with the young girl. He had found her, beaten and abused, after a long night and no vitae. He did what any – she was told – starving kindred would...and fed from her. However, given his huge hunger and her tiny frame, he had fed not unlike the three of them had from the officer and had found himself with a body to dispose of...which was how they came to find him with a body. Eleri asked him to let her find a dumping ground for the body, and he refused, saying that she was now his “childe” and therefore he had a duty to protect her. He told her that the ghoul would deal with the body – no doubt a doctor with mortuary experience would happen to come across an extra dead body or two, and that they were moving to London in a matter of days, until the case of the missing police officer, psychologist and escapee were declared cold.

They slept shortly after, and when the next night came, Laurence (who she had now found out was operating under an alibi, and his real name was Elliot Mardon) and Eleri (who had now given herself a new alias and new wardrobe – and had become Ceinwyn Roberts) began preparations for moving. The Doctor was handing his resignation in so he could move too (apparently ghouls could be dangerous if left without their masters for too long) and slowly but surely, the vampiric group moved from Conwy to London, stopping off each day at yet another of Elliot’s contacts’ homes. Elliot introduced Ceinwyn to Kindred contacts as his childe, and to mortal contacts as his girlfriend. This was not untrue, as during their long journey to London, Elliot and Ceinwyn had both been drinking of each other’s blood during the journey, forming a two-way blood bond, partly due to lack of feeding stops and partly due to Elliot’s need to “own” Ceinwyn, and Ceinwyn’s growing affection for Elliot. Ceinwyn had also become a second regnant to their accompanying ghoul, as it was thought at least then, if either of them had to go away without him on business, he would at least still fall under the effects of the bond.

It was on the third and final night when they sealed their dual blood bond, that Ceinwyn found out a large secret about her sire. He was a member of VII. This meant nothing to her until he explained that he was part of Cerberus...a group of vampires set on protecting the humans from the kindred – and occasionally the other races. Ceinwyn suddenly understood his laughter at the phrase “lone wolf”. He told her that they needed people capable of not just hitting things with sticks, axes and other pointed objects, but people like him and her; people capable of thinking before acting, people capable of creating plans and backup plans with the ability to organise others. Ceinwyn grinned. That was exactly what she was – a  thinker, a planner...an organiser and leader. She agreed to join them and to help with protecting kine by eliminating those who had strayed from the path they were set upon in the kindred world.

It was then that she found her niche. Having worked with some of the most brutal, terrible minds in the kine world, she had a way of planning brutal, terrible things for those who preyed too heavily upon them. She was an organiser and it was clear to see that she was damn good at it. However, those who worked with her came to find that unless her “beloved” – her bloodbonded pseudolover Elliot or her ghoul (whose name she never really bothered to find out) – told her she was doing something wrong or had not catered for every eventuality...or anything else negative about her, her work, or (woe betide you) said something negative or scandalous about Elliot...that those people who dared were either shouted at, at a volume of at least 260 decibels, or were given the task to set up the more dangerous aspects of her finest plans...meaning they faced final death or torpor every moment they did as they had been shouted at to do, but if they did die or get torpored, they were hailed as heroes for being stupid enough to actually go out and do it in the first damn place.

She was very quickly told by Elliot that she should find herself a covenant to nestle in – one where she could benefit from their patronage and use their skills to her advantage. It was at that point that she joined the Lancea Sanctum, taking on the role – without the knowledge of the covenant – of not just wolf to the mortal sheep, but of hunter to the kindred wolf.

 For the first time in her unlife...unlife felt good.