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Introduction
Nature of the Amaranthites No one is certain where the Amaranthites came from, or if they were once as human as we. Yet they are one of the oldest races that have shadowed humanity for untold centuries. Mysterious and reclusive, they have nonetheless left their mark upon the world. These beings may have given rise to the vampire myths of Asia and Europe. They are seemingly immortal and possess a wide range of supernatural abilities. We have studied them since the fall of the Holy Roman Empire, but they have existed for much longer than that. Study of these Amaranthites has always been one of our most important and hazardous endeavors. As a result, extreme caution is always taken when dealing with them. Unfortunately, this has meant that their research has been a long and involved process. It was not until the 1920s that we obtained a fairly clear understanding of them. On January 22nd, 1921, a man named William Kanigher approached our Order with information concerning the Amaranthites. He spent several days with Knights who specialized in studying the immortal. The resulting notes and depositions that were taken eventually became the basis for the document entitled: The Bloodless. It is one of two texts that we use to prepare members for any project involving the Amaranthites. The following is an excerpt from Kanigher's conversations with our Knights. Beware the eternal my friend. It's simple really, in all its wisdom; three words. a word of truth. Beware... I learned a lot of things from Eiran, but that's the one I remember most. "Trust is a luxury," he used to say, "don't be so quick to barter yours out. Eternity is dangerous. It's unequaled in its potential for evil, and in its potential for power." Luckily for people like you and I, eternity is self destructive. It's just too bad that when they go, they'll probably take us with them. Amaranthites are a race of immortals you see. They are guilded puppeteers, living just below the surface like spiders in the walls. Of the ones left, most are openly against us, and nearly all are insane. Immortality does that to most of the you see. After a thousand years of living the same life, the days become slow torture. Eiran used to say that, "One season piles up on the next; face after face, wine after wine, lover after lover. It is difficult to continue. Some years..." But you know what gets me? Most of them who haven't been killed are obscenely rich and powerful. They disguise themselves as human nobles and profit on us. They go to great lengths of excess to amuse themselves. Only, they find that each expensive new entertainment has got to be even more twisted, unique, or dangerous than the last. But I'll see the end of it. All of it. Some people call them vampires, or the Bloodless, or Pyreli, or Sith. Whatever you call them, don't make too many assumptions. For every rule that you think is binding my friend, there's a dozen exceptions. Sure, some don't like crosses, but you know, a lot of them a pretty religious. And those who have accepted the Art of Dark and Shadow may have some problems with sunlight, but most don't. The only thing that you can assume about them is that you know very little about them. They hide themselves carefully. After all, they're not stupid. And after a few centuries I guess it's hard not to be good at keeping a low profile. It's nearly impossible to tell the difference between one of them and one of us. They appear as human as you or I, and their intellect is unmatched. Plus, every one of them each other on a personal level. They share information every few decades about the whereabouts of us hunters. It makes my job that much more difficult. They are also able to sense when others of their race are nearby, which makes it very difficult to hunt them if you happen to be one. And that's where I come in. My Ordinate, Eiran, was one of them, but he was one of the twelve charged with killing them all. He understood that his best chance of getting at them was through us. And so he and the other Ordinates began training people like you and me to hunt the Amaranthites and destroy them. He understood the threat that his brethren posed to the world. He is the one you have to thank for the knowledge that I bring. He also committed suicide a month after completing my training. The Amaranthites appear totally human upon observation. They rarely use real their "real" names and they usually re-invent themselves every few decades. In addition to the Arts that they use, they also have the ability to slowly change their appearance if they choose, their physically forms shift at about the same growth rate as a human child. Any Amaranthite can identify any other of course, but to a human it can be nearly impossible to see the connection between one of them today and what they may have looked like a hundred years ago. They can alter skin tone, height, weight, birth marks, voice intonation--everything really. Though no one within the Order has seen it first hand, there are reliable stories that some Amaranthites will choose to mimic an actual human being. Once the resemblance is complete they invariably kill the human and take their place. However, very few of them will tolerate anything less than a perfect form. They are unusually vain in this respect. While some Amaranthites stay in touch with the ever changing world around them, many have become attached to certain periods in history and continue to wear long outdated styles and fashions. All Amaranthites seem to have the ability to heal wounds at a remarkable rate. A scratch might heal over in a matter of seconds, a small cut in perhaps only a few minutes. For a relatively serious injury (like a broken bone or a bullet wound), they might need a few days. However, not matter how grave the injury, an Amaranthite Lord would never seek the aid of any mortal agency.
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