Name: Bai Xuanjing

Gender: Male

Age: 466

Apparent Age: 30

Place of Birth: Shandong, Great Ming

Species: Vampire.

Coven: Tarepha

Appearance: Xuanjing usually stands at a height of 5'10", though the exact figure has been known to scale both ways from time to time. His body, though slender, has a masculature that seem stretched around an oversized skeleton, resembling a statue carved meticulously with monstrous detail. Befitting his surname, his once golden skin now look as if they have been bleached. His long sharp face has varied between humanly handsome and unnaturally frightening from occassion to occassion, although the bone structure remain the same, and he always wear his long black hair in a ponytail.

Unlike many Tarepha, Xuanjing prefers to live above ground and as such dress in usual upper-class mortal fashion. However he also clads himself in outfits of a subcultural persuasion, all of which include a black snakeskin longcoat. In both styles, he will be seen sporting a pair of sunglasses whenever in a lit room. Behind those glasses reveal yellowed slit orbs which all to obviously are the eyes of serpents. A final testament to his demonic nature is that when he opens his mouth wide enough, two elongated fangs rest on the roof of his mouth which during feeding, will move down to join a set of perfect polished teeth.

History: "The demon called Bai Xuanjing was born in 1543 AD to a family of merchants in a small town in Shandong. No special incidents occurred during the first ten years of his childhood, after which a raid by Japanese pirates left his town in shambles and his family dead. Bai was among the few who survived the raid, possible only with the late arrival of imperial soldiers.

The commander in charge of the counter attack supposedely did not care to provide shelter for the survivors, for an unspecified reason. Instead, a stranger approached and offered the survivors revenge. Those who refused were killed, and those who accepted went with the stranger. No doubt Bai was among one of those who accepted.

The details of what followed is sketchy at best. The information gathering prowess of my friend, the Vampire Lilitv, is extraordinary but when even it cannot shed light on something, the secretive nature of the subject is further intensified. What is known is that Bai was admitted into a secret society called 'The Cult of the Celestial Serpent.' In there, he was indoctrinated into a strange theology and was trained in martial techniques.

The Cult was known to have operated as a mercenary company. During Bai's period, they apparently offered their services to coastal towns as deterrent against pirates. It is spectaculated that they eventually betray their employers by collaborating with pirates from time to time. What is known that they vanished into obscurity by 1565 AD. It is unknown the direction the Cult took after that.

A few years after 1570 AD, Bai was embraced to darkness by the leader, and target of worship, of the Cult. I do not know the identity of Bai's sire, but it is likely he is a Tarepha who styles himself as a serpentine deity. Note that I refer to Bai's sire as 'he' merely for the sake of convenience.

The circumstance that led to Bai's rebirth is mysterious, although the demon himself claimed that he exhibited all the traits his sire desired. I dared not ask Lilitv further regarding this, for I feared I may not be able to comprehend the horrors revealed. In any case, Bai was used as a model member for the Cult and trained in whatever dark arts his sire mastered. And when Bai watched the Ming Empire fall, his sire was convinced that his devotion was unquestionable.

For the whole of the Qing Dynasty, Bai continued to serve with apparent loyalty and in return his powers increased. During the 1911 Revolution, however, Bai eventually turned on his sire and seized control of the Cult. As I was in torpor during this period, I cannot personally verify the authencity of this, but I only have Lilitv to trust. Bai was said to have attempted to seize control of the vampire populace in East Asia, but the presence of vampires much more powerful than himself forced his plans to a halt. For a few decades, he was to content himself with what little power he had.

When the Japanese attacked China during World War II, vampires were also involved. Bai fought to protect his sanctuary, and despite having dispatched a few vampires, was eventually overwhelmed and forced to flee to preserve his unholy existence. The Cult was formally destroyed, and he had to rely solely on himself. In his confrontation with Lilitv, he claimed he swam all the way from Shandong to Demaitre, using the abyssmal depths of the ocean to shield him from the sun. While he did not explain his decision, Lilitv surmised that he had chosen Demaitre knowing that each of the five covens hold equal stake in the city. Such an environment would be advantagerous in seeking self-protection, as hostilities would only ensure a strain on their truce.

Presently, Bai has not made any attempt to vie for power. Perhaps he is bidding his time. Or perhaps, he has found his place among other demons."

Extracted from the diary of Keiran Crow.

Talents:

• Heightened sense of smell mostly employed for tracking.
• Sense of sight allows him to see in total darkness and see the auras of living things, which appear as a red mist.
• Shapeshifting ability allows him to contort flesh, skin, bone, and blood to grotesque forms. However, he has yet to master the more delicate aspects, which will allow him to assume the images of others.
• Superhuman speed which at limits makes him invisible to the human eye, but not advanced enough to fool the more experienced vampires.
• The ability to create a venom that attacks the blood.
• Can go for a month without feeding.

Weaknesses:

• His own eyes are resistant to his shapeshifting ability.
• Blinded even in low light.
• Is not immune to his own venom, and is thus unable to store it within himself for more than five minutes.
• Can only tap into full power when hungry, which occur only in monthly intervals. Otherwise, he will only have half his power level at a given time.
• Can drink only living blood.
• Has all the weaknesses of the Tarepha.