No reply from LikesBlondes on my question of Soul Rot.
Astrid, Astrid, Astrid.....
She is definitely playing for a different team than the vampire hierarchy of the city. Her willingness to break the trust (heh) of vampires by selling Sharon out to the Huntards is proof enough that she is not Team (insert name of the main city's Princeps).
The more I think, the less I think that Astrid is Sharon's Sire. Specifically, one line which several of us have had, not sure issue is the right word, but we have had something with, is when in the morgue, Sharon says "Her kind can look like that"-in this case it was not beautiful, or anything banal like that, it was that she could look Alive, even when she had been driven to mini torpor by what must have been a traumatic car wreck.
I think.... Sharon knows that Astrid can shapeshift. I think she knows that only certain clans can do that.... and I think she knows that Astrid is evil, up to no good, but is somehow constrained from absolutely outing her by something Astrid has on her. There have been hints of Sharon's misspent youth. There is also something that she has done that has caused her problems not only having to do with Andrew's family, but in her location at the start of the novel, she is in the shit house with Marcius, which no doubt Astrid is promoting.
I have really thought about Astrid and Sharon, and whether I believe they have a blood relation, or simply an intense one sided love affair, that almost resulted in a blood bond with Astrid. I believe the later to be true. If she were Astrid's childe I think she would actually know more than she apparently does. Astrid is reckless for sure, but she is knowledgeable and knows how to manipulate the game. Those traits would have been important in a potential childe, so I do not think Astrid would have left Sharon in such a state if she were her sire. At Sharon's age of vampire-ness, she would just barely be out from under Astrid's responsibility for her actions, so that incident with the southern Archon, and her shit with Marcius, would taint Astrid. They do not appear to have any effect on her, so I am calling out now, that Sharon is not Astrid's childe.
Back to my theory of Astrid being a Sabbat like agent, I am full steam ahead on that once again. Tzimisce type clan to boot, and still most likely one who hit Sharon in the woods. We know Astrid was there, from the hunter Gregor being snagged. We know she was involved in a plot to discredit Sharon, for personal reasons, as Sharon while well liked by the Nos, is not a particularly powerful vampire, prior to the group frying the Nos Feral. I think I am going to go one better on my theory now.... Y'all will think I am even crazier.....
So we know that the Greek Pantheon Vampires rule this city. Or Greco Roman Pantheon, as there appears to be a mix of naming conventions etc.
Astrid appears in both Greek and Norse mythology, but her appearance in Norse mythology actually makes more sense to me, as it could be a competing pantheon and she is not Team Olympus.
She is obviously obsessed with Sharon, either wanting to hurt her, or now possibly kill her. She knows that the Nos are friends of Sharon's,,, and those are butt ugly but very good friends to have. Knowledge is power, and these guys are lifted straight from the pages of VtM, so they are flat out information brokers. I think that Astrid got wind of an elder Nos, that was left guarding the Nos Hideout in Scottstown, and that the Nos in question had been down for some time, possibly in voluntary torpor, which elders do from time to time. I think she found out, that said elder had ties directly to Markus, and that she then went to Scottstown, found the Nos, and damaged her. Thus causing the spate of human killings, thus involving the city elders who needed to control that situation, and thus putting Markus in the crosshairs if it came to light that the Nos was not only Nos, but Markus' sire perhaps, or grandsire....This would weaken Markus, which would in turn deprive Sharon of some of her power (probably really her biggest single toy in her closet) which would then allow Astrid to more easily get at Sharon.
Yes, this is a reach.... but there is something in it that appeals to my sense of running a Vampire campaign. It is devious. It will be difficult to sort out... It fuels my thoughts that Astrid is more powerful than we think, not what she seems, Sharon knows some, maybe not all, but some, but can't reveal it, and that Astrid is a fricking Tzimisce spy of the Norse Pantheon.....Yes I have entirely too much time invested in thinking about this....And should do something productive with my life, but I have retired. I have had my kids. My wife is tolerant of my obsessions, and I frankly have too much time on my hands.... but there you go!
Peace!
