03/02/00

This second installment of our weekly feature on Activision and Nihilistic's upcoming RPG, Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption, focuses on Serena, the mysterious and dangerous vampire who will eventually join the main character Christof in his centuries-long quest. Her slim frame disguises her zealous manner and her deadly combat specialties. Each week we'll be back with an extensive look at one of the main characters in Vampire - but for now, we'd like to introduce Serena.

Serena in her natural habitat.

Name: Serena
Clan: Cappadocian
Sire: Garinol Cappadocius
Generation: 10th
Embrace: 1130AD
Apparent Age: 20

Background: Serena belongs to the Cappadocian clan, which is known to other vampires as the Clan of Death. The Cappadocians are widely considered the most scholarly of the vampire clans. The clan lives hidden in the catacombs beneath Petrin Hill Monastery, where the Cappadocians continue their ancient research of death and vampiric un-life, all while the monks on the surface unknowingly go about their trite daily duties.

Listen to Serena speak in these .MP3-format sound files. "...reap the harvest of unliving..." [29.9kb] "...feast on the soft, warm blood..." [45.3kb]

Like any vampire in the Cappadocian clan, Serena is fascinated by or even infatuated with death and the study of its secrets. As such, Serena is a student of the discipline called Mortis, which is described in further detail on the following page. She studies under the council of the clan's sire, Garinol Cappadocius, who has unlocked the ultimate secrets of life and death and passes the knowledge down to his most trusted vampires. Because Serena's love for her discipline is absolute, she is a loyal subject to her clan and seeks to uphold its traditions and principles to the best of her ability.

Serena is presented to Christof as a gift and an instrument to aid the Promethians in Prague after Christof performs a valuable service for her clan. Although she sides with Christof only because she is ordered to, she eventually grows to respect Christof's intentions of her own volition.

Serena dressed to kill.

Appearance: Serena first comes across as a slender, attractive woman with long, straight bluish-black hair. However, a closer inspection of her fair skin shows it to be of the distinctive pallor of the Cappadocian vampire clan. In fact, Serena's skin is so pale that it's almost translucent. Serena's black eyes and telltale claws and fangs also reveal her true nature, which is why Serena prefers to hide her features in the folds of a thin, darkly-colored robe when traveling among humans. Serena isn't quick to speak, but her soft and wispy voice has an intensity that suggests her true power and her lust for blood. As such, she can sometimes make even her companions feel uneasy.

Next: Serena's deadly prowess