Post by Ashurr on Jun 1, 2008 19:31:44 GMT -5
What does a vampire do in order to prepare herself for
the Coils? Over the centuries, Dragons from across the
world have developed techniques for changing themselves
based on various mortal religious and secular practices,
but a few points remain constant. The first step is
to understand and enact change upon the world, and
these topics have already been discussed in this chapter.
With enacting change, however, comes internalizing that
change, altering one’s self. This, to the physically inert
Kindred, is the first and hardest hurdle to overcome.
Changing one’s self is difficult for mortals, especially
adults. Once a mortal becomes set in his ways, changing
even everyday routines becomes difficult. It isn’t impossible
by any means, but it does require constant concentration,
at least at first, until whichever new patterns he
wants become habitual (and even then, he must often
watch to make sure he doesn’t slip back into previous
behaviors). This kind of change applies to “simple”
things like giving up addictions or improving work habits,
neither of which are endemic to the condition of
being human.
Vampires attempting to learn the Coils of the Dragon
are trying to change some of the physical realities of their
existence. Put another way, a vampire learning, for instance,
the first tier of the Coil of Blood (Blood Seeps
Slowly) is comparable to a human being learning to go
a week at a time without food. It’s not impossible, but it
flies in the face of the way the human (or vampiric)
body is designed.
So how does a Dragon go about this? Where can she start?
the Coils? Over the centuries, Dragons from across the
world have developed techniques for changing themselves
based on various mortal religious and secular practices,
but a few points remain constant. The first step is
to understand and enact change upon the world, and
these topics have already been discussed in this chapter.
With enacting change, however, comes internalizing that
change, altering one’s self. This, to the physically inert
Kindred, is the first and hardest hurdle to overcome.
Changing one’s self is difficult for mortals, especially
adults. Once a mortal becomes set in his ways, changing
even everyday routines becomes difficult. It isn’t impossible
by any means, but it does require constant concentration,
at least at first, until whichever new patterns he
wants become habitual (and even then, he must often
watch to make sure he doesn’t slip back into previous
behaviors). This kind of change applies to “simple”
things like giving up addictions or improving work habits,
neither of which are endemic to the condition of
being human.
Vampires attempting to learn the Coils of the Dragon
are trying to change some of the physical realities of their
existence. Put another way, a vampire learning, for instance,
the first tier of the Coil of Blood (Blood Seeps
Slowly) is comparable to a human being learning to go
a week at a time without food. It’s not impossible, but it
flies in the face of the way the human (or vampiric)
body is designed.
So how does a Dragon go about this? Where can she start?