The nights of Alexander Kane.
Overview of the nights played so a new reader can start from the latest post.
Welcome to Santa Maria.
In Project Elegy: Shadows of Santa Maria, you step into the dark, intricate world of vampires navigating the hauntingly beautiful yet treacherous city of Santa Maria. A gothic reflection of modern urban life, Santa Maria is divided into distinct districts, each teeming with secrets, power struggles, and supernatural intrigue. In this city, vampires uphold a fragile balance, bound by ancient laws to conceal their existence from mortals while contending with internal politics, rival factions, and their own predatory natures. I’ll take on the role of a vampire striving to reconcile his humanity with the monstrous instincts that drive him, unravel conspiracies, forge tenuous alliances, and survive the perilous nights. It’s a tale of moral ambiguity, eternal grief, and the relentless hunger for control, set against a backdrop of decadence and decay.
All images are generated via ChatGPT, as is a lot of the fiction text, but not all. The scenario is based on and expanded upon the official scenario of Elegy 3.5.
Our protagonist.
Alexander Kane is a reasonably young vampire, around 200 years old, part of the Umbra Lineage - the ones that are inclined to shadow and secrets. He always dreamt of being a writer, and found great confort in poetry, specially haikai - it was this love that drove him towards kenjutsu, bushido and oriental philosophy. After his embrace, Kane spent a few decades learning under his sire - Evelyn March - before setting out to try and carve a path for his own in undeath. He is fond of humans, even though he sees them as lesser beings - think of how a pet owner really loves his pets. It's not so much a conscious decision as one born out of natural, slow detachment.
Kane sees himself as a warrior poet, a philosopher. He is concerned about big questions - peace, meaning and balance... but unlife has a way of forcing him into more practical matters - investigations and problem solving, usually with his sword.
His background elegy - the his "main quest" - is to find out the true about the Epitaph Order vision of peace and understand how it alligns with the true nature of vampires. As befitting, it is a more a philosophical quest than a violent one. The Epitaph Order, in itself, is the religious branch of vampiric society. There is Olympus, the main government branch, structured in a feudal way, and the Epitaph Order, who holds the religious and moral power.
First Night
We began our story in media res, as Alexander Kane, our protagonist, searches for the fledgling gone rogue, Elijah Ward, that is hidden inside a Gym. Elijah has been spreading dangerous rumours about the Epitaph Order, and Kane's sire sent him to investigate. Elijah tries to run, Kane cuts off his legs and learns that the Order strives for absolute control over vampiric society and has, alledgelly, been kidnapping vampires. Elijah is a witness.
Alexander figures Elijah is telling the truth, but his erratic and impulsive behaviour is dangerous. He makes a judgment call and decapitates the fledgling, before returning to his sire with the mission concluded and singing another elegy - making another vow - to further investigate Elijah's claims.
We're also introduced to Evelyn March, whom Kane calls "Mother". She likes to speak in riddles, has a sharp mind and penchant for manipulation.
Second Night.
Part 1. Part 2.
Alexander goes out to the Waterfront District, where Elijah witnessed the abduction. On his way there, he notices the place is unusually empty - not even the clubs are opened. He sees movement inside one of them - a neon-gothic club named The Opium - and knocks. That is the first appearance of Lina "Dusk" Moreno, a performer there. Alexander introduces himself as Pope, a P.I, and asks for information. Lina demands that he solves a problem for her first - getting rid of some troublemakers nearby. "Pope" accepts, deals with them, and goes back to the Opium.
Lina divulges what she knows: suspicious outsiders bothering people, asking too many questions and rumors of missing locals and weird activities near Pier 22. She mentions Nico, a dock worker who interacted with Elijah Ward before his death and might hold further answers. Lina becomes a connection in Alexander's sheet.
At the docks, Alexander finds Nico coordinating a late-night shipment under tense conditions. Utilizing his supernatural abilities and a mix of intimidation and interrogation, Alexander uncovers that Elijah witnessed the abduction of a character named Mateo, who usually kept to himself but apparently had witnessed something he wasn't supposed to.
Alexander than goes to the Downton District, to the Blue Grove Hotel, looking for his friend and informant Donovan "Crow" Mercer, a Kerberos vampire. Asking about Mateo, Alexander discovers that he was a Deimos vampire who'd apparently stole something from suspicious shipments coming around the docks. They put their minds together and, trying to uncover where whatever it is Mateo stole was, Donovan tells Alexander about a rumored "Ghost Box", an unmarked container in the docks that Mateo had mentioned once as a good place to lay low.
Following Donovan's intel, Alexander locates the Ghost Box at the far end of the docks. Its unmarked exterior and the unsettling feeling it emanates confirm its identity. Inside, Alexander finds a makeshift haven used by Mateo. The container holds a cot, supplies and hastily scraled notes; a map of the docks marked with patterns and schedules, suggesting Mateo was piecing together a conspiracy; a photograph of Mateo with an unknown group at the docks. Looking at Mateo's journals, Alexander found references to a soft leather pouch adorned with silver arcane runes that contained a fragment of silk-like fabric, capable of revealing hidden truths. The artifact, stolen from an Epitaph shipment, is hidden in the University of Santa Maria's philosophy archives, within a forgotten cabinet.
Alexander decides to spend the night inside the Ghost Box.
As those events unfolded, there was a random event: Isabelle Grayson, at the University of Santa Maria, uncovered cryptic references to the Epitaph Order in historical texts. She does not know what is the Epitaph Order, but still found it risky and secured the findings in a hidden drawer, setting the stage for her deeper involvement in the unfolding conspiracy.
Third Night.
Part 1. Part 2. Part 3. Part 4.
Alexander begins the third night by diving deeper into Mateo's notes and research. He found a picture of Mateo with a female deimos named Jazmin - they seemed romantic, and even happy. Alexander continued digging and uncovered that the Epitaph Order was not only dealing with contraband of arcane itens, but also having secret meetings with vampire hunters. He decides to share his findings with Evelyn March, his sire - and stuffs what he cans: notes, maps, journals, etc - into a duffel bag.
When he arrives at Evelyn's haven, he finds her innebriated - apparently, his sire decided to feed from drunk mortals. Alexander doesn't know if she feels more or less scary in that state, but they converse for a bit, she stress upon him the dangers of the investigation he is conducting and how bad it would be for the Epitaph Order if word got out of their involvement with hunters. Pressing his luck, Alexander asks Evelyn to use her contacts and see what she can find out about the Order's dealings. She agrees and Alexander leaves her haven.
Alexander next heads to the University of Santa Maria, decided to recover the poach hidden by Mateo. He asks Isabelle Grayson for help entering the philosophy archives - she's a contact, an informant, and someone Alexander genuinely cares for. Isabelle agrees to help him recover whatever mysterious artifact he is supposed to find, but as they walk through campus, she gets sidetracked - turns out she is a rising academic star, and a small crowd of students demands her attention. She gives the key to the Philosophy Archives to Alexander, and he has to enter alone.
He finds Room 128 with the door ajar, and a mess inside - papers on the floor, and the cabinet door already open. Someone's taken the item, but left the pouch - the leather, marked on the inside by the object it once contained, shows that it was no "piece of fabric", but actually a knife. Alexander stores the pouch in his duffel bag and investigates the room - there's a few drops of blood on the floor, and a tactical boot print left on a paper in the floor. He concludes that whoever was there before him were probably a hunter hired by the Order.
Alexander leaves and plans on asking Isabelle help to acess the lobby cameras and to translate the runes and sygils on the pouch, but the crowd around her has just increased. He decides to avoid drawing attention and, before leaving the University District, leaves a note at her desk containing the symbols and asking her to help him identify them. He says he'll be back the next night.
Unsure on how to follow up on his leads, he decides to head back to The Opium Nightclub, in the Waterfront District, and talk with Lina "Dusk" Moreno, his contact there - if the hunters have been meeting with the Order around the docks, perhaps one of them decided to get a drink at some point.
Once he gets there, the club was a cathedral of orchestrated chaos. He hated it, but clubs will be clubs. He found Lina performing, and waited for her act to finish before approaching. She demanded a favor before asking questions: the Opium wasn't paying as it used to and she'd like for him to get her a gig somewhere else using his contacts. He agreed (and eventually found her a spot to perform at the Blue Grove Hotel, thanks to Donovan) and she allowed him backstage, where they talked.
He talks with Lina and finds out that the guys he's been looking for have been at the Opium that very night, harassing customers - and asking about him. They even used his real name, and so Lina discovered he's not really called Pope. She shared with Alexander a card left behind by the leader, Angel Jackson - the hunters were with a group called STAKE, that operates as security and private investigations agency.
Alexander asks for one last favor: to sleep in the basement of the Opium, and she agrees.
Fourth Night.
Part 1. Part 2. Part 3. Part 4. Part 5.
The night begins during the day. Angel Jackson and another hunter ambush Alexander while he sleeps, but he manages to wake up and kill them both - not without getting severely hurt: he's a lot slower during the day.
Alexander uses his newly advanced Sixth Sense power to read Angel's mind before the hunter dies, and finds a lot of useful information:
STAKE is the hunter group that has been dealing with the Order of the Epitaph.
The Order sent the hunters after him, but they wanted him alive. Angel doesn't know why. There are more hunters after him besides the two he just killed.
The real leader of STAKE is a shadowy figure named Victor "Ironjaw" Dresner.
Angel is not aware of the true nature of the Order of the Epitaph, and neither are the other hunters. As far as STAKE knows, "The Order" is an intelligence agency that assists them in their war against vampires and other supernatural creatures.
The Order's member that's been handling the dealings with STAKE goes by the alias of Harbinger. He's a man, but Alexander doesn't recognize his face.
Angel knows about Elijah and Mateo. As far as he knows, Elijah was marked for execution, but someone else offed him first (oh, the irony), and Mateo was a vampire that The Order asked to be captured because he'd stolen an artifact and crucial information, and The Order wanted to interrogate him.
Angel also knows that The Order was dealing with arcane artifacts.
Angel was the one that recovered the knife from Mateo's cache at the University. The knife has already been given back to The Order.
Alexander feeds on Angel until he's dry and goes back to sleep.
Lina "Dusk" Moreno arrives shortly after Alexander wakes, and she is obviously distressed by the massacre. Through persuasion and revealing his vampiric nature, Kane prevents Lina from contacting authorities. Intrigued by power, Lina requests to be turned - Kane manages to stall her and offers her his blood. She accepts and drinks, thus unknowingly blood-linking herself to Kane. She's currently at the first level of the blood-link, meaning she "wishes to impress, be accepted by and be closer to her provider". Alexander acquires Lina Moreno as a mannequinn, and I buy the asset with exp.
On his way to meet Donovan "Crow" Mercer at the Blue Grove Hotel in Downtown, Alexander is notified that Hierophant Seraphina Corvinus, head of the Order of the Epitaph, wishes to meet him - this was a random event. At the hotel, he updates his friend, gets clean clothes, asks for a clean-up crew at the Opium and entrusts to Donovan the duffel bag containing Mateo's research. He then goes to the meeting with Seraphina.
Hierophant Seraphina acknowledged Alexander’s skills, describing his actions as a demonstration of instinct and promise. However, she warned that he was ruffling feathers he should not ruffle, and that unchecked instinct led to chaos—a condition the Epitaph Order could not tolerate. She extended an invitation: join the Epitaph Order and serve as a stabilizing force in vampiric society.
Kane pressed for clarity: what did the Order truly seek? What was its relationship with hunters and the arcane objects Mateo had uncovered? Seraphina’s answers revealed the Order’s philosophy of balance through control. Hunters, manipulated as tools, were used to maintain order among the Kindred without sparking internal conflict. The arcane objects, too dangerous for general use, were secured by the Order to prevent their misuse.
Alexander asked her what would happen if he refused her offer. She was clear: “Then I will make you say yes. And if I cannot, then I will remove you. Your sire, your friends, everyone connected to your investigation. I cannot allow this city to be thrown into chaos, Alexander. And I will do whatever is necessary to prevent that.”
Left without much choice, Alexander agrees. She forces him into a blood-link to guarantee his loyalty, names him Hand of the Hierophant, and gives him his first mission: sow chaos and discord among the Agorean Movement, a rebel faction of vampires against the Queen's rule and operating out of the Industrial District. She handed him a detailed dossier of their activies, and sent him on his way.
At the end of the scene, Alexander was left with 0 Spirit - which meant that he was completely demoralized and crushed. Wishing for some sort of confort, he surprised himself by going to Lina "Dusk" Moreno. They talk, she invites him home, and they spend the night together in shared intimacy. He feels better and rests in her bed during the day, protected by blackout curtains.
Fifth Night.
Part 1. Part 2. Part 3. Part 4.
Kane begins his night alone in the soft amber light of Lina Moreno's apartment, surrounded by traces of her vibrant presence. He wanders around the place for a while, like a ghost, and feels melancholic as he remembers that the affection he showed him is artificial, born out of the blood link.
Unwilling to mar what feels like sanctuary with the troubles of the night, he heads to the Blue Grove Hotel to meet Donovan "Crow". After a bit of teasing from both ends - specially because Donovan already knows that Kane is working for the Hierophant - Kane asks for a place to work and uses Donovan's suite as a workplace as he pours over the intelligence about the Agorean Movement's activities in the Industrial District. The main problem there is that the Agorean's have managed to land an alliance with the local lycans, based on the promise of safety for the lycans's kin if the District becomes Agorean territory. The intelligence also points the Simple Life Diner as a hub for the local Lycan pack - Lycan's packs are usually family-centered and organized around members of the family that share the blood, some who are able to transform and some who are not.
Kane heads there next, to sit, observe and plan his next move. During his stake out, he identifies a point of tension - Valentina Pérez, local waitress and member of the family, seems to have problems with the other lycans. After witnissing a tense altercation between the waitress and some of the pack, he notes her vulnerability and decides to wait for her to leave and follows her home.
Her anger and frustration are palpable as she walks to her modest home, lingering outside and lighting a cigarette instead of entering. The heavy weight of her life, caught between loyalty to her family and resentment toward the pack, is written in her every movement. After ensuring her safety from prying eyes, Kane steps forward, using his calculated charisma to engage her. Valentina’s initial suspicion is strong, but Kane’s calm demeanor and his insight into her emotional turmoil begin to lower her defenses.
Their conversation unfolds, revealing Valentina’s dreams of becoming a doctor and her growing disillusionment with the Lycans’ restrictive expectations. Kane shares fragments of his own story—how he resisted his sire’s control and carved out a life of independence—subtly guiding her toward the idea of breaking free from the pack’s grasp.
Recognizing her desperation for freedom, Kane proposes a path forward: to destabilize the Lycan-Agorean alliance, creating the chaos she needs to escape and pursue her dreams. He promises support, including financial aid for medical school, if she takes this opportunity to sever her ties. Kane provides Valentina with a contact—Lina Moreno, under her alias “Dusk”—to coordinate a meeting the following night, away from the pack’s influence. The promise of autonomy sparks hope in Valentina, though it also creates a deeper bond of trust between her and Kane—a bond that Kane finds unsettling.
Content with the fact that he may not have to kill Valentina and pin it on the Agoreans to conclude his elegy to Hierophant Seraphina, Kane returns to Baroness Evelyn March's haven, narrowly avoiding dawn. They don't meet.
As he settles into rest, Kane reflects on the night’s successes. He has sown the seeds of division among the Lycans, identified a key ally in Valentina, and advanced his mission without direct conflict. Yet, he is also keenly aware of the emotional risk Valentina represents—a reminder of his own humanity that he cannot afford to indulge.
Sixth Night.
Alexander Kane starts the night at Baroness Evelyn's March haven. When he awakes, she's leaving and they don't have a lot of time to talk. Kane realizes that something is up, but is not crazy enough to ask.
He then goes to the Waterfront District to see Lina "Dusk" Moreno, his ghoul, to see if Valentina called to set the meeting. She did. He spends a few minutes relaxing with Lina, before they head together to the meeting point - he is unsure about taking her with him, but she insisted.
When they arrive at the meeting point, a quiet spot by the docks, they are interrupted by two lycans. Initially hostile, they revealed their shared disdain for Kael Ironfang’s alliance with the Agoreans and sought to sever it.
The lycans demanded Alexander prove his goodwill by divulging Valentina’s role in the plan. To protect the mission and his own survival, Alexander betrayed her confidence, revealing her desire to leave lycan life. They drag her away, her trust in Alexander shattered.
Hidden nearby, Lina Moreno observed the entire interaction. Horrified by how easily Alexander threw Valentina under the bus, she confronted him afterward, accusing him of cruelty and manipulation. Lina questioned her place in Alexander's life, fearing she too was disposable. Her anger and fear drove her to demand space - but in a moment of moral descent and lost humanity, Alexander grabbed Lina and force-fed her his own blood, deepening the Blood Link to ensure her loyalty - "You asked in, remember? Now you're in. Forever."
Leaving the docks, Alexander Kane returned to his sire's haven, and finally met her. He sought counsel from the Baroness and presented her the plan to aid the lycans in overthrowing Kael and severing the Agorean alliance in the Industrial District. Though dismissive of an alliance with the lycans, Evelyn agreed to meet with them the following night, viewing the disruption of the Agoreans as strategically valuable.
Evelyn congratulated Alexander on his lost of humanity. She told him: "It pleases me to see that you are finally embracing your true nature." To symbolize his lost of humanity after betraying Valentina and force-feeding his blood to Lina, Alexander lost a permanent point of Spirit. His maximum is now 4.