Hopefully this post will help explain what I mean by Ancilla vampire. The vampire world is quite complicated and so political. Gosh if you thought human politics were ridiculous, don't become a vampire!
Rankings
Neonate
Starting from the very bottom of vampire society, a Neonate is a recently embraced fledgling. Neonates are often used as pawns and seen as being of little worth. The Neonate stage is probably the most dangerous stage, depending on your sire and the whim of the Elders around you. As a Neonate you don't yet know the laws of vampire society and it's up to your sire to teach you. You're also relativity powerless, you might have a few natural talents but you won't yet know how to harness them. As such, those of higher status can use you however they please. The only thing keeping you safe is your own wit and the power and rank of your sire. My suggestion for neonates is keep your head down, find someone who can train you up and start garnering power. Do this quickly but not so fast you draw attention to yourself.
Ancilla
The Ancilla vampires are second rank vampires. We Ancilla are below elders but we have more power and influence than Neonates. In the Neonate stage there is very little politics and power-play, you simply do as you're told to survive. However as an Ancilla you now have just enough power to start picking sides and garnering your own little power structure. Ancilla is still a very dangerous position as well, especially if you actively play power games. The Elders are paranoid and you don't want to catch their attention. There's two ways to gain a rank and become Ancilla. Survive a twenty years or become influential. I ended up becoming influential, this was not intentional on my part and it has landed me in hot water. If you wish to make it to Ancilla early, be very careful. Play to the local Prince, do something to make him/her want to keep you around or you might find yourself seeing in a sunrise. I exposed another Ancilla's plan to overthrow the local prince and all the occupants of the city. I also managed to help in driving him out of the city. And though the battle was lost I had made a name for myself. It's now a difficult situation as there is no stated prince or vampire hold in the area, the one Elder left has unwanted interested in me and other vampire factions are moving in on the land, some wish me dead others in their control. Graduating to Ancilla early is a very delicate and risky game.
Elder
To be an Elder you have to be at least 300 years old. It is also preferable that an Elder have power over a domain though this is not a requirement. Elders are dangerous. They have survived being pawns as Neonates, they survived the games of the Ancilla. They're probably dodged vampire hunters and fought with werewolves, seen many wars and survived it all. An Elder is often paranoid and cautious. They have very little regard for the lives of others and become interested only in themselves. Stay on the good side of Elders, no exceptions. If you find yourself on the wrong side of an Elder, hope to hell you've garnered enough support to back you up and smooth the situation over. Do not fight an Elder alone. Ever.
