“Wrong! Your hips are all tilted. Keep them level!”

There is much force to the voice and a slight hint of annoyance as its owner hits Michael on the top of his hip with a 4-feet long wooden staff.

The Russian man is tall, lean and muscular. He looks no more than thirty, but his beard is grizzled and in his eyes there is calm and experience befitting someone much older.

This is the third hour of their training. By now, it seems to Michael as if he has gone through the sequence hundreds of times. Andrey is calm, understanding, but also absolutely merciless with tutoring his apprentice. It’s been more than a year since Michael’s Embrace now, and almost all this time has been devoted to the Clan’s Disciplines and physical training.

“Shouldn’t I be working on the Coils instead of this? I mean, what sort of a Dragon will I become with this training? Sworn of the Shuriken?” – the neonate’s voice carries in it some bitterness, but mostly – fatigue. Michael was never in a particularly good shape when he was alive and his fighting experience didn’t include more than a few common brawls over a girl.

Andrey contemplates something for a moment, as if thinking whether to hit his thick-headed apprentice on the forehead. Finally, he replies with a sigh:

“A break. Come on, sit down.” – after they settle on the wooden floor as comfortably as possible, the older man continues. – “I want to show you something.”

A few moments pass and Michael’s eyes cloud with red as he feels the Beast start beating against its cage, telling him to tear something apart, attack, rampage… And then the sensation is gone as suddenly as it started and Andrey is sitting in front of him again smiling dryly.

“What… was that?” – the words get stuck in the doctor’s throat as he tries to speak despite the exertion it took him to remain himself a few moments ago.

There is a hint of amusement in his Mentor’s voice when he calmly replies:

“That was Animalism. Just on a bit higher level of mastery than you currently possess, Slave Michael.”

Leaning forward, the man continues in a serious tone, his expression making it abundantly clear that whatever he is saying now, he won’t repeat again:

“The Ordo is but an idea, Michael. A concept. The Ordo believes that true change and growth are possible and pursues the road to self-perfection and ascendance. The lesson you need to learn now is the fact that that road doesn’t necessarily lie with the Coils.” – he pauses for about half a minute letting Michael think his words over before continuing. – “It is true, that some mastery with them will be necessary for you to have any respect among the Dragons. But the main benefit of being in the Ordo is having access to all its knowledge and working together with some of the smartest and most insightful Kindred. The Coils are not a weapon, nor are they a defense. They are not knowledge, nor insight. Learn them only when necessary. And never mention this philosophy to other Kindred unless you are absolutely sure you can trust them. A time will come when you will become a mentor yourself. Be careful what you tell your apprentices, don’t enforce an opinion on them, but make sure that they understand fully the consequences of pursuing the Coils exclusively.”

He sits quietly for a time giving Michael an opportunity to think.

“You don’t have to hurry anywhere. You are immortal. But you can be killed. So your first priority should be to become useful to others and improve your survival abilities. The Coils don’t do that. Luckily, you were Embraced by me and are a member of the family that possesses abilities both most useful and most helpful in survival. You can never be caught unawares by the sun, you can tear your enemies up with claws, you can run as a wolf and fly as a bird and, if you devote enough time to it, you can simply vanish, turning into a chill mist that can move through even a smallest crack. With practice, you will be able to command powerful predators to do your bidding and will become an excellent spy because of your abilities. If you are strong enough, you can even attack other Kindred by sending them into frenzy, making them kill their own comrades. This is power. This is resilience. This is what will ensure that your studies can go on forever, not the ability to fast a few nights without blood.”

Andrey leans back somewhat, smiles widely and asks in an ironic voice:

“And now, do you still want to waste my valuable time on teaching you the Coils right now?”

In his later years Michael thought of this night as a turning point for him. That was when he understood that, although his Sire was a powerful Dragon, being Scholar in title and Gods-only-know-what in reality, Andrey wasn’t a normal Dragon in spirit. He spoke too often of consequences, of madness awaiting those not careful, of the nature of the Beast, of the need to maintain your humanity along the road to transcendence to become a true Dragon one day. The young Gangrel ignored his speeches or a while, but, after he became familiar with some of the more unsavory methods Dragons used in their work, he started thinking for himself. There were always alternatives. Alternatives, that were better for Dragons themselves, if they considered all repercussions their actions would have.

They spoke of this shortly before Andrey left New York for good and his Mentor smiled sincerely at the scientist’s conclusions:

“I’m glad I did not make a mistake with you. One day, you may become ready to climb the ladder to truth. For now, make sure you survive and improve your Clan abilities. They will serve you well. I’ll check up on you sometime.”