Slave of the Ordo Dracul

A "Dragon" of the Ordo Dracul who has not yet learned any Coils of the Dragon and has not managed to get Sworn. All Dragons (theortically) begin their time with the Ordo Dracul as Slaves. A Slave has two jobs: finding a mentor and earning an Oath, both of which are vital to advancing her rank in the Order.

Life as a Slave

Being a Slave is much like it sounds; Slaves handle virtually all of the grunt work for the Order. A Slave without a master is in a very bad place because literally everyone in the order (except other slaves) can hand down instructions to her. As such, the first order of business for any Slave is to find herself a mentor.

A mentor is a windbreaker for a Slave in that they help to deflect the most pointless and mundane tasks away, onto the mentor-less Slaves. At the same time, a mentor expect to get their money's worth out of their student. They are, after all, investing alot of time and knowledge into training their student and they are not doing so out of the kindness of their still hearts. Typically, the more powerful the mentor, the more the student will have to prove themselves. A promising student with their own resources or special abilities (well developed Disciplines, Skills, Merits, etc.) is likely to attract a 'better' mentor and please said mentor, resulting in a generally more effective relationship.

Benifits of being a Slave

Though it can be oppressing, there are advantages to being a Slave. However high ranked members may treat them, they are Dragons, and entitled to the protections and privalages as such. This is especially true for students who have a mentor to watch their back. Other Dragons may make life difficult but when an external force threatens a Slave the Order closes ranks around their lesser members. The same can be true of mentors defending their Slave from other Dragons.

Even Slaves are allowed access to certain resources of the local Order. Reference materials, territory, and potential allies are all open doors to Slaves. Using the freetime (such as it is) that they have to learn more and to develope relationships with other Dragons is time well spent. Other Slaves can make excellent allies, potentially even a coterie, but a smart Slave should also do what they can to impress higher Dragons. Eventually all Slaves plan to move up and, ideally, surpass their current mentor, which will mean they have to find a new one or make their own way. A Dragon may go through many mentors during the course of their Requiem.

Moving up from Slave

There are two ways to advance to Supplicant status: demonstrate that you have attained a Coil of the Dragon to a higher ranking Dragon or get Sworn to one of the three Oaths within the Order.

One option isn't really easier than the other, both present problems for a student. Learning a Coil is more direct and, with a decent mentor, probably takes less time. On the other hand, being Sworn gives a Dragon much more power within the Order than a single Coil. Earning an Oath works differently for the three choices. Depending on the Oath (Axe, Dying Light, or Mysteries) a student may have to almost face final death, discover some mystical secret completely new to the Order, or any number of other difficult tasks with no real assurance of a pay off.

For many students, the solution to this is to simply cheat. A Coil doesn't outwardly change a kindred and their effects can be simulared through other means. By being very sneaky (or picking an inept tester) it is possible to fool the Order and gain rank without doing the work.