Let us consider the vampire, or Kindred, as they almost universally prefer to be called. Long before my present situation I knew little of these creatures, except to borrow from popular literature and myth. I reasoned that if it were true that the Damned require mortal blood to sustain their immortal, nocturnal condition, then the greatest driving force in their unlives must be to seek and acquire this horrid nourishment before all other concerns. Later, after my first-hand education as to the truth and errors of these assumptions, I discovered I was not wholly incorrect: the Kindred are predators of the first order and blood is a fundamental imperative. However, they are not mere beasts. Most have spent many years, in some cases centuries, perfecting the art of the kill, so to speak. Few require more than an hour or so each evening to satisfy their unholy hunger. Perhaps another hour or more is spent maintaining their haven, wardrobe and possessions; and for those who keep retainers such as myself—and most do, it seems—maybe another similar stretch of time conveying instructions and overseeing the activities of these servants. The math leaves the Kindred with at least a few, if not a number of hours most evenings to do with as they please.

To be sure, much of this “free time” is spent mingling with mortals in order to bend their wills to the desires of the Kindred, whether by direct force or supernatural influence or by less overt means. However, not all of the Damned harbor the ambition to gain a degree of control over humankind and their institutions; but most do, and this can be an important and time-consuming pursuit. Still, even the most power-mad Kindred will find that they are left with many hours of darkness to do with what they will. Some use this to hone their supernatural gifts or to educate themselves in mundane fashion; some to stalk the streets, drinking in the blood-thick air and reveling in their supernatural nature; and some to simply waste the night away in solitary amusement, watching television, surfing the Internet or even trying to beat their high score on the latest computer game.

— Introduction