The Arai Groom's Guild
Proper selection, cultivation and control of a Herd are skills most Kindred take for granted — until something goes wrong. More forward-thinking vampires will seek the counsel of a professional Groom on such matters, for she will be able to apply training and experience to ensure that the result is pleasant and trouble-free. The Guild of the Nosferatu Alder Morio Arai, Groom and Meister of Medicine, produces exemplary candidates for this position.
The subject is not a popular one (especially among self-righteous, “humane” types), so the Guild is relatively small. There are rarely more than one or two students enrolled at a time, but the Meister is not an ambitious vampire. He seems perfectly satisfied with the close Mentor-student relationship that such a small school provides, and his students have never complained.
To appeal to the Meister for enrollment, a prospective student must prepare a handwritten letter of petition in Latin and have it hand delivered by a mortal the student considers an attractive blood source. If the Meister is satisfied with the letter, he will feed on the mortal and dismiss her, arranging an interview with the applicant. At the interview, the Meister will ask for an explanation of the student’s choice of messenger. He will also allow the student to make an argument on her own behalf, and then render a decision.
If he accepts the student, Alder Arai requires that the student learn conversational Latin, to make sure she understands and can keep up with the medical terms he tends to pepper his lectures with. He brings the students along on medical examinations of one or more of the herds he is tending to, and encourages each of his students to begin assembling a Herd of her own.
As the Herd is founded, Alder Arai will walk the student through the selection procedure, helping her weed out potential troublemakers or other undesirables, and ensuring that all who remain are healthy and attractive (in their own right) for their master.
As the exercise continues for the first few years, Alder Arai checks in on the student and her Herd frequently, examining the mortals for deterioration. He instructs the pupil on techniques of encouragement and penalty to assist in shaping the character of the Herd and maintaining its cohesiveness.
When the student thinks she is ready, she presents her Herd to Alder Arai for a final examination. He observes her interaction with the mortals, and decides if the student has done a good job with them. If so, the student may become an apprentice with the Guild.
Apprentices must expand the scope of their operations and consider desires that are not their own. They will receive assignments to procure mortals who meet specific requirements, often with a time limit. More than once, the apprentices will have to cultivate the mortals in question, since it will be nearly impossible to find ones who meet the provided criteria.
When the apprentice appears to have learned everything Alder Arai has to teach, he presents her with a gift: a superior mortal specimen that he knows matches the tastes of the student perfectly.
Graduates of Alder Arai’s Guild are actually referred to as “Arai Grooms,” and are proud to bear that title.
The subject is not a popular one (especially among self-righteous, “humane” types), so the Guild is relatively small. There are rarely more than one or two students enrolled at a time, but the Meister is not an ambitious vampire. He seems perfectly satisfied with the close Mentor-student relationship that such a small school provides, and his students have never complained.
To appeal to the Meister for enrollment, a prospective student must prepare a handwritten letter of petition in Latin and have it hand delivered by a mortal the student considers an attractive blood source. If the Meister is satisfied with the letter, he will feed on the mortal and dismiss her, arranging an interview with the applicant. At the interview, the Meister will ask for an explanation of the student’s choice of messenger. He will also allow the student to make an argument on her own behalf, and then render a decision.
If he accepts the student, Alder Arai requires that the student learn conversational Latin, to make sure she understands and can keep up with the medical terms he tends to pepper his lectures with. He brings the students along on medical examinations of one or more of the herds he is tending to, and encourages each of his students to begin assembling a Herd of her own.
As the Herd is founded, Alder Arai will walk the student through the selection procedure, helping her weed out potential troublemakers or other undesirables, and ensuring that all who remain are healthy and attractive (in their own right) for their master.
As the exercise continues for the first few years, Alder Arai checks in on the student and her Herd frequently, examining the mortals for deterioration. He instructs the pupil on techniques of encouragement and penalty to assist in shaping the character of the Herd and maintaining its cohesiveness.
When the student thinks she is ready, she presents her Herd to Alder Arai for a final examination. He observes her interaction with the mortals, and decides if the student has done a good job with them. If so, the student may become an apprentice with the Guild.
Apprentices must expand the scope of their operations and consider desires that are not their own. They will receive assignments to procure mortals who meet specific requirements, often with a time limit. More than once, the apprentices will have to cultivate the mortals in question, since it will be nearly impossible to find ones who meet the provided criteria.
When the apprentice appears to have learned everything Alder Arai has to teach, he presents her with a gift: a superior mortal specimen that he knows matches the tastes of the student perfectly.
Graduates of Alder Arai’s Guild are actually referred to as “Arai Grooms,” and are proud to bear that title.
Type
Guild, Professional