Of Roman Sleep

**Aileen McFarlane** · Dec 7th, 2013 04:45 PM

David Regan

Tonight again, Aïleen was in the Library, doing rote digitalizing. It was no glorious work, but needed be done, and it gave her a perfect opportunity to peruse the Library as a whole, and get a feel for what she might find useful in it.

While idly checking the work of the ScanRobot, she sat doing some ligt reading on the matter of Roman funerary rites, since it was an aspect mentioned by David Regan earlier upon which he hadn't expanded. As it turned out, the concept of genius and Parentalia may offer leads of a sort, though it was still very cryptic at best.

Dec 7th, 2013 07:30 PM

David quietly wandered into the library. His nose, firmly in the Latin primer he borrowed a few weeks prior. As he walked, nimble fingers held pages upwards, glancing between desperate chapters as he finalized his understanding of basic tenses and basic vocabulary. There was something comforting about the language, which only made sense given his mastery of French, but it was refreshing after attaining a grasp on a far more dead language.

Realizing that he made it to his destination, David closed the book and checked his note. He had to make sure that it hadn't... well, wander off like his letters, notes, records, and general correspondence had a habit of doing. It hadn't, so a sense of relief washed over the Mortician as he finally took a glance around, spotting Aileen.

Causing David to argue with himself, and perhaps, even his Companion as well. A jumble of questions exploded in mind at once, causing him to freeze: Should he intrude on her reading? Should he say hello? How should he do that? Would she judge him if he did it wrong?

After twice starting and stopping to take a step forward and after considering leaving the library to his fellow Mekhet, the taciturn Libitinarius took the steps forward and offered a, “Aileen? Hi. I hope I'm not intruding.”

**Aileen McFarlane** · Dec 11th, 2013 04:39 PM

OOC

Engrossed in her book, Aïleen had once again not been aware enough of her surroundings to notice the arrival of someone, and she startled as David hailed her. Closing her book in a bang, she breathed a long sigh of relief, and replied her Cousin.

"David. I hadn't noticed you. Again... Sorry, I hope I'm not developping a habit." she said with a self-deprecating, and very apologetic smile.

"No, no, you're not intruding in the least. In fact..." and her smile turned impish as her hand skimmed her book's cover "it's quite the contrary.

Would you happen to have a little spare time, per chance ?" she inquired.

Dec 11th, 2013 05:09 PM

“Sorry,” David apologizes to Aileen after noticing how she startled and immediately he felt terrible for it. He glanced down to his shoes as he took an unconscious step backwards. “I should have,” the thought trailed off as he considered how to phrase it. “Knock as I arrived.” It was an earnest apology, even if the way to phrase it somewhat eluded him.

Turning his attention up and towards the book, recognizing the work, David reached up to ruffle his own hair. “Oh, sure, I have some time.” A rueful joke here might have been said about how they have quite a bit of time to spare. But, it escaped him like a whisper from some other lifetime. Instead, David glanced towards Aileen asking, “Roman practices?”

Taking a seat, a Mona Lisa smile tugged at the edge of his lips, “Anything in particular grab your attention?”

OOC

**Aileen McFarlane** · Dec 12th, 2013 02:50 PM

Aïleen shrugged as a manner of dismissing his apologies. She was the one who was at fault here, and not David. Anyway, as he laid his gaze on the book and smiled, she knew she had found someone to talk to for the next few hours, perhaps.

"Yes, Roman practices, indeed." she acknowledged with a nod. "You remember our former talk about the Soul, its rest, and where Dreams may come from, right ?" she had little doubt he did, and went on without waiting for an actual answer.

"I thought I would broaden my perspective on those issues, you see. The Manes, in particular, for now." it was half a statement, and half a question.

Dec 12th, 2013 05:11 PM

Settling in, David mentally went back over what he knew about the myriad of Roman ritual. It was something he was brushing up on lately himself, centering his study around learning the language. For David, grasping it was key to understanding the people and therefore why. Death was pervasive after all, and along with life, influence how one relates to another person.

At least, that was the theory.

Acknowledging that he did remember their last talk with a nod, David considered the Manes. “The whole of the Di Inferi are interesting both for their breadth and depth. The relationship the Romans had with the Dead and the Manes themselves, are especially interesting given our own states.”

Undoing the button to his sleeve, he begins to roll them up to his elbow. While David liked having sleeves, he always found himself getting them out of the way of his wrists.

“Even today,” David offers, “the seeds of thought that spawned the Parentalia, exist today. Dia de Los Muertos celebrations are probably the most obvious.” The secret smile that tugged at his features endures, “I was able to see the small one here.”

Done with rolling up his sleeves, he turned his attention towards Aileen.

Carefully as he might, David starts to dissect and lay out some beliefs to tease at Aileen's thoughts. “The first thing to consider, like Egyptian belief, is the relative proximity of the Underworld. I suspect,” a bit of emphasis on the word, “that the myths of the Underworld arose from the simple Night.” But he digresses, “The point is, that the Underworld was close. Allowing in their beliefs, for the Manes and the di Inferi travel back and forth between our world and their own. Note also, that like Egyptian belief, if a Roman wasn't given a proper burial the Shade was stuck here, unable to cross the River Styx.”

“I have to wonder if the Roman Kindred of the time considered themselves Manes,” the Mortician muses. “Watchers of their families. With the hope that one day, they might become Lares while fearing those who've become Lemures.”

David lets silence reign for a moment before asking, “What are your thoughts, having just read it? What are your reactions to it?” If he was honest, he was quite a bit interested in what Aileen's initial thoughts were.

General Knowledge Check

**Aileen McFarlane** · Dec 19th, 2013 04:34 PM

Being in the middle of reading about those issues, Aïleen didn't yet have really formed articulated thoughts about it, and expressed her doubts.

"Well... there are room for plenty of interpretations, no matter how you look at it." She started with, before going more in depth while settling deeply in her chair.

"Of course the closeness between the Egyptian and Roman mythos is puzzling. It could easily be inferred that they both refer to the same phenomenon, colored by their own cultural beliefs of the time. Giving credence to this is of course the importance of the rituals, and the ancestors. From what I know, some dark Africa religions still stick to this belief." though she couldn't place it yet, Aïleen was sure she would be able to summon its name back soon.

"It is more likely that the Kindred of the time created the myth of Manes and Lares around them for their convenience, than to think that the mythos pre-existed them, and that they fit in. At least, that's my opinion. But those are only... external relations with the dead. I find the concept of Genius very intriguing.

What if our situation were our body lacking some abilities, but being sustained by our Genius regardless. Blood would be its offering. And the Sleep would be the Genius leaving us for some reason to be determined if we wanted to fight it..." also, the Dreams which seemed so exterior, at times, could be peeks into the Realm of the Genius, or something like that.

"But I don't know what you might think of it ? Do your practices cover such things ?" she asked, genuinely interested in her Cousin's reply.

Dec 19th, 2013 08:06 PM

Quiet and taciturn was in David's nature. He was always more of a listener rather than a speaker and for a little while, he turned that attentive ear to Aileen's reaction. “The closeness of the Egyptian and Roman mythologies are interesting and more interesting still, when you go into Roman Egypt and the modifications they made to their rituals.” That, a subtle direction for Aileen to pursue later. “Their closeness shows in stark relief with their differences: Egypt thought cremation was anathema, while Rome the opposite.”

Meshing his fingers in front of him, David regarded the floor beneath him as he considered his next response. “According to the Romans, everything had a soul – A Genius. Unlike the Egyptians, who divided the human soul into nine parts, the Romans believed in a singular Genius.” David nods thinking on her doubts and what she's expressed, “You might be right that as Kindred, we retain our Genius which allows us this balance between life and death. Blood was not an unheard of offering in Roman times, after all.”

“Perhaps a thought experiment then?” David suggests nodding once, “What if the Ka held very similar attributes to the Genius? Why would it leave? To Egyptians the Ka wanted offerings and would leave should those offerings be left wanting. How would this relate to the Genius?” David questions Aileen looking towards her for the answer.

Reaching into his pocket, David retrieves an old, old coin. One he shows to Aileen, showing the Genius of Libitina. Another reminder that both cultures tangibly represented people and concepts. “Though Kindred of the ages might have manipulated funeral rituals, remember what the core of these rites were supposed to represent: filial piety. The Roman pantheons were modeled on the Human Family and further, Libitina is an indigitamenta, or nom de gurre, for Venus herself. I hope this can be applicable to my own practices.” A thought crosses David's mind and he asks, “Perhaps this is telling for how the Kindred of the time saw the mortal populace?”

**Aileen McFarlane** · Dec 27th, 2013 05:04 PM

Again, sorry for the delay, and thank you for your continuing patience !

David's talk was as usual both informative and thought-provoking, which Aïleen found a very pleasant mix. She hadn't been aware of the differences in perception about Cremation, and found it shed a new light on their Family's weakness, and root. If they indeed came from Egypt, it would make sense for them to have spawned and enforced the tabboo on cremation. She filed it in her memory for future talk with Ashek.

As they once again broached the topic of the Soul, and its nature, various hypothesis came to mind. "Regarding Ka and Genius...

There are several possibilities. The easiest is that the understanding of the Soul by the Egyptians was deeper, and that the Genius is just a rough and vulgar approximation. Or the opposite might be true. The Egyptians might have lost themselves with their many parts of the Soul, and there's only one thing, the Genius.

As for the link with offerings... what if we were hosts to powerfuls Ka, or Genius, that didn't want to depend on offerings, but be able to satisfy themselves their own needs, and who are ready to take a more active control of our bodies to do so..." which could be a very apt way to describe their Beasts.

Looking at the coin handled by David, she was mesmerized by the object. Something tangible by which to bond with others sharing the same beliefs. She envied that. And it made her lose track of some words said by her Cousin.

"I...'m sorry. You said that perhaps those rites could be used to infer the beliefs for the Kindred of that time, right ? And especially their relation to the mortals ?" she wasn't sure she had heard right.

"Filial piety... yes, it is something that could come naturally. But it would be interesting then to see how and why it's gotten lost now." and she gasped and stood there silent, as she realized that she had just denied him the purpose of his Lineage. Perhaps it wasn't so dead, or perhaps it was a dying breed...

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that." she hastened to add, but it was too late.

Dec 27th, 2013 06:55 PM

“What if...?” David said, thinking aloud, “The Embrace traps our Genius with the Beast? The Genius was also what the Romans thought of as Human Reason, after all. What if the Beast was believed to be something separate and they were locked in a tug-of-war? Blood offerings, then, sustained as well as kept a sort of balance.” Obviously, the winner of the tug-of-war would keep dominance and if the Genius would fall, frenzy would be the result. “This could link back to the dichotomy of Lares and Lemures.” For that however, David looked to the Supplicant of Terror for her thoughts.

Handling the coin in his hand, David thought of the night he received it from Johan. It was a ritual full of all the solemnity that one could have between two people. The coin was a symbol of his admittance into his Vampiric family and a reminder of the cause that he now carried the burden of. The coin was more than the sum of its parts and more than just the relief of Libitina.

Aileen's words however, were sharp and David sighed deeply. He deflated a bit as he closed his thin fingers around the coin spiriting it back into the pocket from whence it came. David's now free hand, scratched at his hair as he gave a bit too much thought to what he wanted to say, “I...No, what I meant was that ...” A pause as though words were having a difficult time being found, “Funerary Rites are a result of love for the deceased and for those left behind.”

David's gaze looked downward before adding, “Grandsire's work found that Torpor seemed to be a death of sorts. One where our souls were soothed by observances that exemplified this love for the quote deceased. This work, formed the basis for our family line. It's this that I hope is applicable to my practices.” His voice dipped even further in volume, “I don't think it is lost.”

The Mortician however, confirmed Aileen's hearing, “Yes, though funerary rites of the day might have been manipulated by Kindred, it might show something about how they see the families they've left behind.”

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2013-12-12 15:53:45		David Regan rolls 9 to Int + Occ + Nexus Potency (Of Roman Sleep) (10 Again)		6, 4, 3, 5, 3, 5, 5, 4, 10, 6		1 success

Of Roman Sleep

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