Lorey: Origin Story

So you want to get to know the real me, huh? No more persona's, no more code names. The real.. Lorey. Well, it's not something I share freely, or eagerly.. but for now, I guess I can make an exception. My life has changed so much, recently, and so rapidly. Maybe it is time to look back.
So, Lorey. Not Belle, Noa, Sarah, Anastasia.. Heh, it's been so long since I've used any of those covers. I'm not even sure if I ever will, again.

I was born Lore de Vos, I'll get to the name change later, in Antwerp, Belgium. Even though we lived in the city, we lived on the outskirts, the 'bad part of town'. My parents weren't rich, far from it in fact. They had been high school lovers, and had me when they were barely graduated. Stubbornly, they insisted on raising me alone, and alienated their families in the process.
They hadn't been addicts, at least not back then, but they used drugs recreationally on occasion. With money running out quickly as they tried to provide me a good life, they started selling drugs on the side, and eventually producing it themselves. This, at least, ensured I was fed and dressed, and nobody asked questions.

I did well enough in school, I liked a lot of the subjects and the teachers seemed pretty fond of me. My peers.. a different story. I wasn't the most social kid, and with me never able take anyone home because of the whole..  drug lab thing.. I guess the bullying was inevitable. So, I tried to survive by keeping my head down, doing my work and pretended I didn't hear them whisper.

My parents were really, really bad at keeping their dealings a secret from me. I mean, in general it's hard to keep a secret from me, even back then.. But even at a young age I knew exactly how they made their money. Eventually, I started to help them out with their business. First I would just help bag product, later I'd help mix the less dangerous chemicals. I remember how uncomfortable it would make them, seeing how quickly I caught on to all this stuff, and how much of a knack I seemed to have for it.

In my first year of high school, however, they started to accept it more. They saw the high marks I got in Science and Chemistry, and would allow me nearly free reign of their lab. It felt.. awesome. Being that good at something, having this one place where I could shut the world out and understand something so well. It wouldn't take long before I surpassed my parents in skill.

But, it didn't last. Somehow, someone must've gotten suspicious, and our house was raided. My mom and dad were locked up and I was put in a foster home. It.. never worked out. They tried to turn me into a normal kid, but with the life I'd lived up until that point.. I wasn't gonna fit into that mold. So I ran, a lot. And they'd catch me every time, and try to fit me in with a different family, until they gave up on that and just started putting me in youth detention centers because I got up to so much trouble.

For me, that turned out to be a much better place to be in. Being around a lot of troubled kids taught me even more ways to survive. It was shockingly easy to manipulate others to get my way. I started to become very good at observing people, at understanding what made them tick. Teaching me how to pull their strings to get exactly what I wanted. Again, I felt great to be that good at something. It made me feel.. in control. But still, I lacked freedom. So when I broke free, I decided to go somewhere I thought they wouldn't find me; another country.

I figured my name, Lore, was too recognizable as Belgian.. so I started introducing myself as Lorey. To the people I trusted, anyway. It was around that time that I began to hide my identity more. Persona's like Belle, Noa.. that's when they came to life.

In my travels north, I didn't get very far. Selling drugs along the way, some of them of my own design, I eventually settled in Amsterdam. Even then, I knew this wasn't far enough to be truly free, but.. I got comfortable. I made a killing in the Dutch capital, and it got to my head. I thought I was untouchable.

During one particular deal, I got careless. I hadn't vetted this 'client' properly, and they turned out to be a lure, a cop undercover to bust dealers. Thankfully, I didn't get jail time. Instead, they placed me in a high security rehabilitation center. I'd never used my own product, but it seemed wiser to let them believe I did.

As much as I hated myself at the time for letting myself get busted like that, that center is where I met her. Maria Vanderhoff. She seemed.. larger than life, back then. Despite being deeply broken inside, she kept up appearances so well.
I was at the lowest point in my life, then. I'd lost the freedom I so desperately craved, with nobody but myself to blame. And despite her own suffering, Maria was there for me. She just had this way about her, that made you believe everything she said. And while she certainly used that power to rally others to do her bidding, she also displayed such a good, caring nature.. Or at least, that's how it felt to me.

Over time, we grew very close, and we became somewhat of a team. I was able to work from the shadows, wrap people around my finger. And she was this figure of absolute authority, that nobody dared to cross. But, we also opened up to each other. We shared a lot of the pain we were carrying with out. In hindsight, we helped each other much more than the therapists in the center ever did, or maybe could.

But one day, she was gone. Someone.. had pulled some strings, and got her released early. Later I would find out that this someone was Van Leeuwen, the vampire Prince of Amsterdam at the time. And for a time, I was lost again. Started to keep to myself again, not talking to anyone unless I absolutely had to. Until the message came that I was to be released early as well.

Somehow, Maria, now a Childe to the Ventrue, had convinced her Sire to let me on as her Ghoul. At the beginning, I was overjoyed. I had my freedom back, and I was able to truly put my skills to the test. I quickly learned Van Leeuwens true nature, however. He never lay a hand on me, but the things he did to Maria.. and I doubt she let me in on the true depth of his depravity. I couldn't sit idly by and let this happen to someone that basically saved my life, and helped me grow into the person that I wanted to be. I pitched a plan to her, to overthrow the Prince and secure her a position of power.

With a little help from a local Toreador, Sebastian, the gave the bastard his Final Death, and me and Maria lobbied hard to get her installed as the new Prince of Amsterdam.

And things were good.. for a while. I was still Maria's Ghoul, as well as assistant and confidante, but somewhere I'd hoped she would've Sired me, after all was said and done. At first I hoped, eventually I started hinted at it and then outright demanding it. But, she always refused.

But then, after a mission with two very disturbed Malkavians gone very, very bad.. I got my wish, sort of. The curse one of them left on me forced Maria's hand. Still, she would not Sire me herself. Instead, she had me Sired into clan Lasombra.. a Sabbat clan.

It.. took a little while to find my way, after that. And I don't think I'm quite there yet. I sought out the Sabbat for a while after my Siring, claiming to have broken away from the Camarilla. It turns out infiltrating an opposing faction isn't the smartest idea when they're all sadistic killers. Again, I had nobody to blame but myself. And again.. Maria saved me.

And that's where I am, now. Trying to find my place in this world, in Kindred society. Playing with all these new strengths and.. powers. Like.. this one. Mhmm..? But of course, that's me you can feel creeping up your back.. Or rather, the shadows I control.

Now, that's enough reminiscing for one night.. I think I'd rather spend those last hours til sunrise demonstrating the true power of clan Lasombra..