"The pull of the fire," Armand agrees, coolly. He studies Daniel. "You've read about it in Claudia's diaries. The old world vampire who walked into the flames in front of her rather than face another empty decade, another century, another millennia. Immortality is no blessing. We are not meant to live so long. It drives us mad, after enough time. So we choose the fire, or we lose ourselves in eternal sleep in order to escape it. We seek the quiet moment, the purposeful death."

He shrugs, a tilt of his head, a rise and fall of one bare shoulder.

"It's true. Sometimes, there is the urge to do.. exciting things. To create the storm rather than wait for it. To orchestrate and witness that which we have forgotten. Mortal pain, suffering, pleasure, joy. Fear. Devotion. The intensity of living." He gestures out at the pool and the house beyond it, warming to his theme. "We cannot ever remove ourselves from humanity, or risk starvation and madness. So we are shackled to it, forced to continue living in this world alongside mortals in all of your drama and discount goods and Taco Tuesdays, garage sales, three drink minimum hangovers. Bound to watch, from a distance, what we can no longer have. No wonder we go mad."