Jean, a dandyish vampire who had been "turned" during the Napoleonic Wars and never quite let go of the aesthetic, sauntered in. He adjusted his silk cravat, looking entirely too polished for a Tuesday morning in a gray industrial town.
The following is a story inspired by the world of the 2021 Russian series Вампиры средней полосы (Vampires of Central Russia), centering on the delicate balance between ancient bloodsuckers and the modern bureaucracy of a sleepy provincial city.
"We don't kill," Slava said firmly. "My family follows the rules. We drink from the hospital surplus—Jean sees to the paperwork." Central Russia's Vampires (2021) subtitles
"It’s called style, Svyatoslav. Something you haven't touched since the Rurik dynasty," Jean retorted, checking his reflection in a blackened spoon.
In Central Russia, being a vampire isn't about capes or castles. It’s about family, survival, and making sure the neighbors don't notice you’ve been thirty-five for the last century. And in Smolensk, family always comes first—even if they’re already dead. Jean, a dandyish vampire who had been "turned"
"Then you have a rogue," Irina said, her eyes narrowing. "And according to the law, if the killer isn't found by the next full moon, the 'Life for a Life' rule applies. I'll have to take one of yours, Slava. Starting with the youngest."
"Jean! If you use my surgical silk to mend your designer trousers one more time, I’ll bury you in the vegetable patch!" Slava bellowed. "We don't kill," Slava said firmly
Svyatoslav Vernidubovich, or "Grandpa Slava" to the few who knew his true nature, sat in his cramped kitchen, nursing a mug of lukewarm pig’s blood mixed with chicory. To his neighbors, he was a grumpy pensioner with a penchant for historical trivia and a stubborn refusal to fix his leaky sink. In reality, he was the eldest vampire in the region, a man who had seen the Golden Horde come and go and still thought the invention of the internet was "a bit much."