CLAN: Malkavian

As with all the major clans, the Malkavians originated in the pre-Deluge city Enoch. Little is known about the clan's early composition, only that their Antediluvian Malkav was a seer Embraced by one of the Second Generation. Malkav was particularly close to two other Kindred: Saulot, the founder of the Salubri, and Set, god to his followers. Some accounts suggest the three shared the same sire, possibly Enoch himself.

Sometime after the Flood, Malkav was ambushed and murdered by his fellow Antediluvians. Most Malkavians believe that he is still alive, only now he exists entirely within the Madness Network (or "Cobweb"), the group mind that all Malkavians share. Some Malkavians speculate that Malkav is Clan Malkavian, and that when Gehenna arises, he will devour the clan whole and reconstitute himself.

The Dark Ages were a difficult time for the Malkavian; still suffering from their fall from grace as an important clan after the collapse of Rome, many of the Kindred feared and distrusted the Madmen. Many more pitied their sad, insane state. Humans, needless to say, also feared the madness of the Malkavians; many were persecuted more for their derangements than vampirism. That is not to say all Malkavians suffered horribly; quite a few became advisors, seers, and jesters to well-placed and powerful Cainite princes. However, the bulk of the clan lived up to the Low Clan status bestowed on them by the more self-important Kindred.

Islamic Malkavians, known as Bay't Majnoon, were more respected than the Christian counterparts in Europe. Many were held as advisors, bodyguards, and even Islamic prophets. Some Majanin took this last position a bit far, breaking off from the main bay't, calling themselves khaqas and forming their own twisted version of Islam that drove their disciples mad. Between this and their claims to supplanting Muhammad as the last prophet, the Ashirra watched them with a wary and unfavorable eye.

Organization
On the surface, clan Malkavian is barely a clan. The majority of Malkavians are only marginally aware they belong to a clan; Sabbat Malkavians generally claim to be Panders. What connections Malkavians generally have are informal and generally paternal, sire-childe relationships being the most common, although Malkavian sires are prone to abandoning their childer.

Scratch the surface, however, and the Malkavians become a smörgåsbord of paranoid delights. Malkavians operate on their own timescale, and will gather spontaneously for incomprehensible events. Malkavians usually don't explain how they know these gatherings are occurring, and when they do the explanation isn't necessarily worth anything. Scratch deep enough and it appears that the Malkavians are highly organized, so highly organized they don't even know they are, and instead they continue to pursue incomprehensible and arcane goals that even they aren't aware are relevant.

This organization is generally termed the "cobweb", "Malkavian Time" or the "Malkavian Madness Network" and is a form of shared consciousness unifying all Malkavians. The strength of the voices varies from Malkavian to Malkavian, however all of them are at least aware of its call and capable of interacting with it. Dead Malkavians' memories live on in the cobweb, and it is implied heavily that Malkav himself is this network. The cobweb is only accessible by Malkavians, and they themselves only marginally understand it - most of them merely listen to the voices, but elders have demonstrated a powerful capacity to manipulate the rest of the clan through it.

Culture
Malkavians have traditionally fulfilled two roles in Vampire society: seers and jokers. In the former role, the Malkavians have relied on advanced Auspex and the Cobweb to provide information. Malkavians being Malkavians, this information is generally jaundiced, incomplete, filtered through cracked lenses or a total lie.
The joker role is somewhat more complex: Malkavians have a clan tradition of pranking. The exact purpose of these pranks is open to debate; they often appear intended to readjust the target's perceptions, but are also often sadistic.

In the Camarilla, Malkavians are tolerated; they are rarely princes but often are important primogen or otherwise figures of authority. Given their obvious insanity, princes traditionally give the Madmen a certain amount of latitude; in return, Malkavians are generally expected to demonstrate enough self-control to not break the Masquerade. This is not a benevolent arrangement but largely driven by fear on both sides: fundamentally, Malkavians are unknowable and the general attitude among princes is that its better to keep them quiet and happy, since unhappy Malkavians have a tendency towards introducing bizarre and inexplicable incidents to the equation. Conversely, Malkavians need the protection of the Camarilla, and have been modified as discussed above to make them more amenable to it.

Lore: Malkavian x1

• You know that the primary Malkavian Disciplines are Auspex, Dementation, and Obfuscate, and that Dementation is unique to their Clan. You have heard, however that some Malkavians possess Dominate as a Discipline, and know that until recently it was only the Malkavian antitribu in the Sabbat who practiced Dementation. (LotN [Rev]: 33; VtM [Rev]: 73)
  
  
• You know that all Malkavians are permanently and incurably insane. You know that this insanity, however, is also said to provide insight and premonitions. (LotN [Rev]: 32-33; VtM [Rev]: 73)
  
  
• You know that the blood of a Malkavian carries some of their curse and that ghouls and thralls of Malkavians often display some form of mental instability. (CbM [Rev]: 64-65)
  
  
• You have heard of the Malkavian progenitor, Malkav, and know that he was reputed to be a great seer or prophet. (LotN [Rev]: 33; CbM: 17; CbM [Rev]: 12-13)
  
  
• You know that Malkavians traditionally engage in the practice of "pranking", in which they play elaborate jokes on others. You know that not all of these pranks are particularly funny. (CbM [Rev]: 43)
  
  
• You are aware that Malkavians have some rudimentary mechanic by which they can mysteriously gather seemingly without having communicated beforehand. (LotN [Rev]: 33; CbM [Rev]: 41-42, 58-59)

Lore: Malkavian x2

• You know that at some point in history all Malkavians practiced Dementation and that in 1997 it was was somehow spread from the antitribu back to the rest of the Clan, who apparently forwent it's use at the time of the Treaty of Thorns. You suspect that the Network might have played a role in this process of "reinfection". (CbM [Rev]: 27-29, 34)
  
  
• You have heard that some Malkavians claim an indecribable sensation known as the calling leads Malkavians toward their childer. You have also heard that the type of madness that plagues a Malkavian is sometimes seemingly passed onto those whom they Embrace, and that broods of Malkavian childer tend to share similar insanities or sometimes even mass delusions. (PGttLC: 137; LS4: 87)
  
  
• You have heard that Malkav's Sire is disputed, but that he is often attributed as being the brother of Set and Saulot (the Setite and Salubri Antediluvians). You further know that Malkav was apparently physically ripped to shreds during the battles that destroyed the Second Generation, and that his childer at the time were said to have collected his body and drunk of his scattered blood. Others claim that this is false, and that he left the Second City intact and travelled to the region of Petra or Jerusalem, where he is still said to slumber today. (CbM: 18; CbM [Rev]: 15, 17-18; FoBC: 5-7)
  
  
• You know some parables common to Clan Malkavian such as "The Fable of Clever Grandsons", in which Malkav pleases Caine through a sacrifice of his ego, and "The Blind Bats and the Elephant" which is supposed to illustrate the Malkavian understanding of objective reality. (CbM: 19, 33)
  
  
• You further know that historically the Clan is said to have strong ties to the region of Greece and Mesopotamia. (PGttLC: 37-39)
  
  
• You know that the Malkavians were allied with Ventrue Rome during the Punic Wars and that the Clan incited and aided in the destruction of Brujah Carthage. (CbM [Rev]: 20-21; PGttLC: 37-39)
  
  
• You have heard of the Malkavian Madness Network (Also known as the Cobweb, the Tapestry, the Greater Dreaming, the Weavery, Metatron etc...). You know that it is a sort of rudimentary psychic hive mind that connects all members of the Clan together, although it is not really organized, definite or predictable in any way. (CbM [Rev]: 41-42, 58-59)
  
  
• You know that Malkavians tradition of "pranking" is intended to demonstrate to others the absurdity of the universe and/or to shatter their perceptions of it, in the hopes that they might come to a more enlightened view. (CbM [Rev]: 43-44)
  
  
• You are familiar with the Reality Buster movement, which seeks to disrupt conventional perception through. The general modus operandi of the group is to employ Disciplines to evoke all manner of hallucinations, delusions and other sensations not in accordance with accepted "reality". (CbM [Rev]: 38)
  
  
• You have heard of "The Gnawed," Malkavians who do not successfully make it through the Embrace and are rendered comatose or nun-functional through insanity. (CbM [Rev]: 39-40)
  
  
• You know that Maris Streck is the current Malkavian Justicar of the Camarilla. (CotN: 43-44)
  
  
• You have heard of the Plague-Bride, an ancient Methusaleh who was said to have been Malkav's consort, and who is said to still walk the earth and spread infection and madness where she goes. (CbM [Rev]: 15-16; PGttLC: 37)
  
  
• You have heard of Nissiku (also known as the Clever Prince), and know that he was an ancient Malkavian from the region of Mesopotamia. You have heard that the Babylonian god Ea, or Enki is sometimes given the epithet of nissiku, meaning "far-sighted", and that rumors apparently endure that Nissiku is also related to the Lakota spider-God Iktomi, the anonymous prankster "Malk Content", and various other identities including: the Devil Hanse, the Fool-Eater and Old Man Hate. (CbM: 64; CbM [Rev]: 16-17; PGttLC: 37 )
  
  
• You have heard the Eater, a being of Malkavian origin that apparently is capable of devouring the names of things and people, removing them from collective memory as a result. (CbM: 26; CbM [Rev]: 17; PGttLC: 37)
  
  
• You have heard of Jane Pennington and the Ankou, two figures who seem to be connected to Clan Malkavian, but would be better called "apparitions" than Kindred. You know that "Crazy Jane" is said to appear in visions to young neonates in the throes of the Embrace and to assist in their transition (Some have linked her mannerisms to those of the Plague-Bride, and consider her a modern incarnation of the Methuselah). You know that the Ankou is a horrific figure that reassembles the Grim Reaper that is said to leave a trail of dead Malkavians in it's wake. (CbM: 8-10, 63; CbM [Rev]: 19, 100)
  
  
• You have at least heard, in passing, of legendary Malkavians such as: the Dionysian, an ancient Greek Kindred with ties to the Bacchic cults of old and allegedly to the Fae; Unmada and his childe Vasantasena, two Indian Malkavians who were instrumental at the Convention of Thorns and in the foundation of the two Sects; and Tryphosa the Sybil, whose prophecies directly incited Rome to attack Carthage. (CbM: 18-19, 61-62; CbM [Rev]: 19-21, 26, 98-99; CotI: 29-33; PGttLC: 38)

Lore: Malkavian x3

• You are aware that after joining the Camarilla, the Elders of Clan Malkavian saw fit to "dampen" the violence of their innate Discipline and chose to adopt Dominate in place of Dementation. You have heard that through some sort of manipulation of the Network, the Sabbat Malkavians managed to "reinfect" the main Clan with it in 1997. (CbM [Rev]: 27-29, 34)
  
  
• You have heard the legend that Malkav was a notorious liar, and that through his deception of the other Antediluvians he nearly caused the death of Zillah, Caine's beloved. You have heard that Caine, in a rage, cursed him and his line, telling him that he should have an infinite number of "truths" to utter thereafter. (PGttLC: 37)
  
  
• You have heard the parable regarding Malkav, Set and Saulot. In this story, Saulot goes on a journey to settle an argument between Set and Malkav over the origin of truth. Gifts are exchanged between the brothers. Saulot gives Set his sword, and in return is given Set's staff. To Malkav, he gives his crown, but Malkav, having nothing to give in return, bites his thumb and draws an eye on Saulot's forehead, hence giving the Salubri their characteristic third eye. (CbM [Rev]: 15)
  
  
• You are aware of Tremere's diablerie of Saulot, and you know that Clan Malkavian nearly joined in the War of Omens along with the Gangrel and Tzimisce to destroy the Usurpers on account of the Malkavian kinship to the Salubri. (CbM [Rev]: 23-24; LS4: 100)
  
  
• You have heard the various historical arguments as to whether Malkav was descended from Ynosh, Irad or Zillah, and are aware of legends from around the region of Nineveh that allude to one of the Second Generation beating it's childe for either saying or refusing to say something of import. You have furthermore heard that Malkav was one of the more active participants in the diablerie of the Second Generation. (CbM [Rev]: 13)
  
  
• You have heard that Malkav's influence in the area of Jerusalem has helped to augment it's religious mystique, and that such incidents as the seemingly mindless butchery of the First Crusade, or the prevalence of Jerusalem Syndrome have been linked to the Antediluvian by Malkavian scholars. (FoBC: 5-7; 27-28)
  
  
• You know that some elders of the Clan claim that Malkavians are behind a disproportionate amount of the baalim, or city-gods, of the Sumerian, Babylonian and Akkadian civilations, and that it is claimed that similar practices amongst other Clans were done in imitation of this phenomenon. (PGttLC: 37-39)
  
  
• You are familiar with various theories regarding the Malkavian Madness Network, including that it is the Antediluvian's method of spying upon all of his children. You also have probably heard some of the debate as to whether or not Malkavian-sired Caitiff can experience the Network. (CbM [Rev]: 42, 58-59)
  
  
• You are familiar (or at least as familiar as you can be) with the bizarre cosmological constructs that underpin the sentiments of the Reality Busters. You know that it is claimed that empirical reality has been cut off from the infinite possibility of true reality, due to various godlike creatures destroying their connection to the rest of the universe, and therefore disrupting the flow of potential which powers magical phenomena. You know that it is the aim of the Reality Busters to restore this connection as fully as they are able, and that there are frequent claims that the Fae also attempt to serve a similar function. (CbM: 17)
  
  
• You've heard rumors that the "Gnawed" are often taken to the lairs of the Clan elders who can no longer subsist on simple human vitae, although you have no means of verifying this. (CbM [Rev]: 39-40, 52)
  
  
• You've heard of the Malkavian Orders of Mystery, most notably the Ordo Aenigmatis, which seeks to understand Malkavian madness through riddles and symbolic enigmas, and the Ordo Ecstasis, which seeks ecstatic experience as a means of enlightenment. You know that these mystery cults are, as a rule, never spoken of outside of the Clan. (LS4: 89; PGttLC: 219)
  
  
• You have heard that each Clan's traditional "coat of arms" was originally created by a mute Malkavian child named Pelinka during the Middle Ages. (CbM [Rev]: 27)
  
  
• You have heard of the "Language of Babel", an argot of Malkvian origin consisting of codes and symbols decipherable only to their Clanmates allegedly. You hear that it is no longer in wide use. (LS4: 93, 112; PGttLC: 38, 82)
  
  
• You've heard that the Malkavians once had strong roots in the Christian tradition, and that certain heretical and widely dismissed claims have been made that the Clan had some sort of direct connection to the personage of Jesus of Nazareth. (LS4: 95-100).
  
  
• You know that Camilla Banes was the Malkavian representative amongst the founding members of the Camarilla, and that she sat on the original Inner Council. (GC1: 51-61; GC2 17-20; GC3 15-16)
  
  
• You have heard stories of some Malkavians who have managed to transcend their bodies and "download" themselves onto the Network somehow. Although you have no idea how this is possible, you know it would account for stories regarding the Plague-Bride, Crazy Jane and the Ankou. (CbM: 8-10, 63; CbM [Rev]: 64, 100)
  
  
• You know that the Plague-Bride, the Clever Prince and the "Eater" were held in archaic times as being the three foremost of the childer of Malkav, or the Coronati, and that they are said to be the three who first drank the blood of the sundered Malkav, eating the red clay of the earth wherever his blood had been spilled. (PGttLC: 37)
  
  
• You are aware that the Malkavians have been credited with embracing such historical figures as: Olympias, Sennacherib and the personage behind the Roman goddess Cybele (CbM [Rev]: 19; KmW: 81-83)
  
  
• You have heard that Rasputin was a Malkavian, although this is disputed by other Clans. (CbM: 60-61)
  
  
• You have at least heard, in passing, of famous Malkavians such as: Anatole, the legendary prophet of Gehenna; Fabriza Contreraz, the influential Archbishop of Miami; Dr. Douglas Netchurch, the famous Kindred hematologist; and Alessio Rinaldi, the "Peacock" Prince of Ravenna. (CbM [Rev]: 96-100; CotN: 28-30)

Lore: Malkavian x4

• You are aware that the Malkavian Discipline shift was not, in reality, a matter of choice, and that a massive conclave of Malkavians was held in the city of Domazlice, where six Methusaleh's (Addemar, the Black Hag, the Dionysian, the Plague-Bride, Tryposa and Unmada) caused a "block" to be placed in the minds of their brethren, psychically shutting them off from the powers of Dementation. You are aware that people in the know about this "prank" historically regard the Camarilla Malkavians as the technical antitribu of the Clan. You further know that, in spite of propaganda to the contrary, it is unlikely that Sabbat Malkavians were the true cause behind the "reawakening" in 1997. (CbM [Rev]: 27-30, 34)
  
  
• You have heard some versions of the story of Malkav, in which he is driven mad after either sleeping with Lillith or after having her unveil to him certain forbidden "truths." You know that in these myths that feature Lillith, Malkav is said to have infected Set and Saulot with his madness as they tried to comfort him. (CbM [Rev]: 13; CtB: 47; PGttLC: 37)
  
  
• You have heard legends relating that prior to Malkav's rending he was visited by an angel or angels of the Lord, who imparted unto him certain revelations that were meant to secure Caine's repentance, and that he then approached Caine and spoke to him. Caine, in rage, was said to have struck him down for this attempt and to have then cursed his descendants with insanity. (LS4: 101, 117)
  
  
• You have heard that the Malkavian Madness Network is not just the device of Malkav or a part of the Clan curse but rather that it is Malkav himself, who exists now in shards throughout the minds of all his progeny. You know that the Coronati, by devouring Malkav's blood, allowed him to exist in them and in all they Embraced. You know that they are said to never meet, such as that should something attempt to kill them, all of the original fragments of Malkav will not fall at once. (CbM [Rev]: 12-13, 42, 58-59; PGttLC: 37)
  
  You have heard in Jerusalem in the late 12th century, the waterways and fountains of the area were said to have turned red with blood, and that many elder Cainites report having had strange and terrible dreams at the time. You have heard scant reports that it was during this time that something was discovered beneath the city, and have heard rumors to the effect that Malkav was active at this point in history. (FoBC: 19; 27-28)
  
  
• Even if you are not a member of one of the Orders of Mystery, you know of the rough ranks of progression through one of these groups. You know that the each order is led by a deacon, a Malkavian who claims to have been present at Malkav's original "rending", and that the majority of each order is made up of mystai who graduate from the entrant's rank of initiate after a year of study. You also have a fair amount of familiarity with the litany and practices of both the Ordo Aenigmatis and Ordo Ecstasis, and you've heard tell of the (hopefully) now defunct third order, the infernalist Ordo Maleficus. (LS4: 95-100; PGttLC: 219)
  
  
• You know that some truly believed that the "Language of Babel" was, in fact, related to the biblical myth of its name, and that at the time that the tower of Babel fell, Duma, the archangel of silence, descended upon the earth and blessed seventy-seven members of the Clan such as that they would remember the first tongue. (LS4: 93, 112; PGttLC: 38)
  
  
• You have heard of two nearly unknown and utterly minuscule bloodlines of Clan Malkavian: The Mnemosyne and the Jocastatians. You know that both groups are said to specialize in Noddist scholarship and to practice ritual diablerie, but you know little else. (CtB: 47)
  
  
• You have heard of Elmolech, a demon bound into a human body by a gathering of Malkavians after it had tried to possess the body of Geniveive of Limoge, an elder of the Clan. You know that Elmolech has hence been cursed to wander the earth eternally, and that several Malkavians claim to have had brushes with it. (CbM [Rev]: 22)
  
  
• You have heard of Adonijah, the Biblical son of David who allegedly had (and has) some manner of relation to Clan Malkavian and it's founder. You have heard all manner of contradictory rumors about this individual, but know that he is said to still be wandering the earth - albeit not as a Cainite. You have heard that he was entrusted with something extraordinarily precious. (FoBC: 23-25)
  
  
• You've heard of the Book of Andreas, a lost religious text that makes the claim that Christ had a Cainite disciple in his company - a Malkavian named Andreas who was exhorted to seek Caine out and beg forgiveness, and thereby achieve redemption before God. You have heard that this sripture formed the basis for a highly heretical military-religious sect known as the Brotherhood of the Crooked Cross, which claimed to worship the divine trinity in the form of Caine the Father, Christ the Son, and Malkav the holy ghost. (LS4: 89, 93; PGttLC: 39).
  
  
• You've heard of the obscure Biblia Negra, an Spanish translation of certain works set down by an Arab author. You are aware that it is said that the text has certain startling Noddist sentiments to it regarding the intentions of sixty seven beings of great power that sleep beneath the earth. You are aware that the original translator was a Malkavian, and that all known owners of the text have succumb to some form of insanity or paranoia. (LS4: 95).
  
  
• You know that Camilla Banes was alleged to have been involved in some way with the Antediluvian of the "Clan of Death". (GC2 17-20; GC3 15-16)
  
  
• You've heard of some of the fairly obscure Malkavians of note, such as: Lamdiel, a famous prophet of Jerusalem; "Le' Enfant Perdu," the former Prince of Antwerp; and Quentin King III and the six Knights of Boston, who rule over Boston and the surrounding areas and who all seem to share in the delusion that they are part of an Arthurian Romance. (CbM [Rev]: 19; LS4: 94)

Lore: Malkavian x5

• You are aware of the contents of the legendary dialog between Caine and Malkav in which Malkav sought to redeem him. and you know that key to the argument was Caine's refusal to answer the question "Why?" when it was posed to him by Malkav - presumably in relation to his motivation for killing Abel. (LS4: 100; 117)
  
  
• You have heard a story, Bahari in origin, that Malkav and Arikel (the Toreador Antediluvian) were the children of Lilith, and that they had a third sibling named Nahema, a woman called the Dark Muse or the Demon Queen of Madness. You know that after the deaths of these three, that Nahema was said to still speak to the blood of her siblings, and that it is her whispers that actually transmit the madness network. (CtB: 64)
  
  
• You know that one of Malkav's childer, similar in power to the Coronati, was diablerized beneath Jerusalem, and that the Antediluvian was on the verge of potentially waking in 1197 AD as a result. You have heard that Malkav himself does not lie beneath the city, but rather that the riddle to his final resting place is somehow related to the Latin phrase "Et in Arcadia Ego," made famous by the painting 'Les Bergers d'Arcadie' by Nicholas Poussin - a notable puzzle piece in many conspiracy theories. You can suspect that this clue might be related to the ocassional brushes the Clan is said to have with the Fae. (FoBC: 27-28, 31)
  
  
• You have heard that the pure blood of Malkav is said to have miraculous qualities, and that imbibing it can heal the injured and mad, even to the point where it may turn back wassail. (FoBC: 25 32)
  
  You are aware of the ritual diablerie practiced by (presumably) all three of the Ordos in the event that initiates prove themselves unworthy. You also have made some connections between the three Coronati and the three orders of Madness. (LS4: 95-100; PGttLC: 219)
  
  
• You are familiar with the Mnemosyne, and are aware that they possibly can claim some manner of connection with the Dionysian. You know that their interest in scholarship has some manner of mystic compulsion to it, and that they have a seeming rivalry with the Jocastatians. You have heard of Aristotle de Laurent, who is amongst the most prominent of their line and works with various Camarilla notables on issues of research. (CtB: 47; EV: 202; Nod: 6)
  
  
• You are familiar with the Jocastatians, and are aware that they do, in fact, practice ritual diablerie upon their elders as a means of obtaining knowledge (not entirely dissimilar from acts ascribed to the Salubri). You know that several Jocastatians claim membership in the Sabbat. (CtB: 47; Nod: 182-183)
  
  
• You have heard that Camilla Banes had contact with the Antediluvian Cappadocius and that certain prophecies she has made about him have proved eerily accurate. (GC4: 97)

Anatole
Gen 10th - Travelling, originally from France

The lord works in mysterious ways, and this is particularly true concerning the Malkavian Anatole. Recently Embraced in France, Anatole was chosen for his ability to see the movements of God on Earth; or at least, his sire thought so.

In any event, Anatole is devoutly Christian, and spends much of his time in contemplation of the Cainite's place in God's world. His Derangement, a tendency for random hallucination, often causes him to see symbols, people and objects that do not exist, though to Anatole's mind, these hallucinations are quite real and reveal God's presence. Exactly what powers the Malkavian neonate possesses is unknown, but he has been known to repel Cainites with powers resembling True Faith by calling out to angels whom he sees in his fractured mind.

A former guardsman on his city watch, Anatole has also picked up appreciable skill with sword and shield, which, when combined with his impressive array of Disciplines, make him quite physically adept. Those Cainite elders who observe his actions are concerned that a disproportionate number of his Disciplines are not within the province of the Malkavian clan. As to where he learns them, Anatole isn't telling.

Anatole typically keeps the company of the Lasombra Lucita, and acts as a strong right arm to her as they move through Dark Medieval Europe. He has also been seen with an entourage of monklike pilgrims, who are commonly believed to be either ghouls in his service or his herd.

Gregorius Dimities, Muse of Performance
6th Gen - Constantinople

What little is known of this man's past seems more like a fiction or song sung in a tavern. He has rewritten himself and those around him in subtle and terrible ways through the skill of his mind and power of his blood. He appears frail and terribly thin, with thinning hair and eyes touched in sadness. He wears the wildest of clothing, and can entertain peasants as if kings. He is a personal friend and held closely by Michael the Patriarch.

This Malkavian has secretly murdered every single blood brother and sister that enters the city. Guesting Malkavians are sent away within a few years, to ensure his domination. To what end remains a closely guarded secret.

Rainer Seigel
8th Gen - Travelling, originally from Vienna

Austrian by birth, Rainer was a huntsman for a nobleman of moderate bloodlines. He hoped to rise ever higher among those of his homeland. He married well, sired sons (no daughters), supported his kinsman and yet...he remained ever in the middle. He hungered for so much more. And so did he turn to the simplest of tactics. Murder.

Rainer turned his huntsmen skills upon the nobles and youths that stood between his liege and his dreams. Such a simple man, with few needs found himself mired with nightmares that hounded his every waking thought. Never again would he sleep well.

It was during a long bloody night of work, covered in the remains of a a young man and his keeper, that he found death. A vampire cornered the hunter, unable to turn from the fresh scent of spilled vitae. So did Rainer meet the creature that would soon become his sire.

Once embraced, the huntsman outfitted two horses and followed his sire into the dead of night. For years they traveled together, city to city, court to court. What they shared those long years, none know. Yet when Rainer would arrive to a court or city, he knew someone within the boundaries or found someone that owed him a blood debt.

His sire, Farkas Daine, trained him with the very lessons of courtiers, history of the Romans, and warfare of Goths. When bent to a task, the two never left the dogged pursuit until they had tasted the very marrow of bones or complete works of an entire people.

Finally he left for a few errands of his own, a time from Farkas to find his own way, his own child. During one such journey, his path took him into the highlands of Ireland/Scotland. For a year, he sought to understand the people upon the very fringes of the Courts of Avalon. The vampire returned with a child his own...and a strange brooding frustration.

As the years passed, Rainer pressed his child to lessons from himself and those he is beholden to. Sometimes she was left to learn a language; other times she had to translate glyphs upon stone. When collected, he asked question after question, pulling her to a new land, ever moving south and east. She had never met Farkas.

Farkas Daine, The Archon
7th Gen - Greek

(No this is not the idea of the Camarilla Archon)

An aging man, Farkas spent his life as the hand of the Athenian courts through enforcement of their edicts and killing any who sought to overturn the court. His heart and mind belonged to the sole idea of government and the law. Every man, woman, and child before him laid upon that law with unbending force. Yet as the years progressed, Farkas twisted how best to uphold legislature to a point of killing the very men that wrote it. His will was unstoppable.

A series of clues lead him to the greatest investigation of his life, regarding intrusions of Rome into the affairs of the Greeks. Disgusted that men in his court would curry such favor, he followed these clues and doggedly sought the truth. In this pursuit, he uncovered the falsehood of the trail and the trap it led to. Rather than die, the Malkavian that set it embraced him on the spot.

Terrorized by the unholy gift and the curse of madness, Farkas could not stop this painful need to find lawbreakers and deal with them appropriately. Yet the limits of truth and pain had radically changed. He traveled court to court after turning in his sire for crafting a vampire in a court where laws forbid it. Everywhere he traveled, the courts sought his influence and knowledge, his ability to investigate and hunt, and anonymous offer he gave to rid them of vermin while he did the dirtiest of deeds.

It was in Vienna investigating the sudden disappearances of Salubri members and a strange vision and call he received of their imminent danger that he found a man like himself murdering for his lord. For months he followed Rainer, judging his soul, before finally embracing him.

Archon, he called him, though Rainer never uses the title publicly. They have parted ways, but follow each other court to court, providing swift justice.

THE PLAGUE-BRIDE

Who do we know are his? Only a few. One is named -- without a name, but named -- in fragments of lore and memory, a faraway voice that thrums from Mesopotamia.

She was smooth and fair and kind. She was a temple harlot who soothed Malkav just as Shamhat tamed the beast of the wilds. She cooled his forehead with water and oils; she brought him nourishment when he thirsted.

An old song that names Zillah as Malkav's sire claims that Malkav loved Zillah, and that he eventually joined with the others to destroy her. If this is true, then perhaps he saw something of his beloved yet ultimately unattainable in this sweet woman. And he took her for his own... and eventually, for such was his curse, he discarded her. Her mind was broken into razored shards by his touch, and he pushed her from him in regret -- if indeed Malkav could ever feel regret.

But her story does not end there. There are many tales of our forefather rending apart his own childer in fits of rage. He did not destroy her in like fashion, though. I have touched drifting memories of her face, of her gentleness, and of her hunger. Her voice flits around tales of the Plague-Bride, the Methuselah who wears his fever like a crown. ?

It was Malkav's sweet harlot who began the creed of infection, you see. She loved our Father terribly, and came to love the portion of him that resides in her, and in all of us. And her sense of charity never dimmed.

She is the Plague-Bride. She appears in our stories and memories as a willing contagion, bringing the gift of Malkav's disease to those she takes pity on, though her gift is sure to destroy them. She visits newborn childer at times, and dabs at their brows and eases them though the fit of the Becoming.

NISSIKU, The Clever Prince

Another ancient was a creature of Uruk-of-the-City-Squares, a man who knew Enkidu the wild man and who kept court with Ninurta the warlike and Erra the pestilent. he was a being of great cleverness and humor, prominent among the Igigi, who ruled in the land between the rivers by night. Nissiku was his name, and his name meant "the clever prince."

The name was well-chosen -- or perhaps the name chose him. Nissiku was born a trickster, or so it is said. He was a charlatan who feigned oracular ability, or perhaps he was a nobleman who enjoyed playing at fits of delirium, or perhaps he was only a madman with the gift of charm. The songs are so vague, but they agree on too many things...

he came into the family; he was one of the first. When he drank from Malkav and was reborn... perhaps he drank too deeply. His Sight reached beyond reality, and his too-clever fingers were able to follow. I hear tales of the Clever Prince reaching though the skin of the world and drawing forth the cold, sharp-edged things that lie beyond the soft, loving mirage. Malkav abandoned him soon after his rebirth, it is said; I wonder if the father did not see too much of himself in his childe.

A thousand names and faces bob like flotsam in Nissiku's wake. I hear the Gangrel mutter "Iktomi," and I think of Nissiku. Iktomi, Devil Hanse, the Babylonian, Fool-Eater, Old Man Hate -- they all catch at the same memory. I am certain that the Clever Prince has survived to these times; though I have no proof, I can feel the moth-winged brush of his laughter on the back of my vanished neck. Somewhere out there, he is quietly walking to his next destination, his eyes fixed on the back of his next target's neck, ready to seize the Lie with both hands and pull it apart, releasing whatever is straining at the boundaries. He has work to do.

THE EATER

Names. Always, it returns to names. Malkav -- the name of madness. Caine -- a word for a monster whose name is the name of the greatest curse every spoken, a name so terrible it would blister your flesh worse than the sun and devour your body with hunger should it ever catch you.

Consider yourself lucky, childe. We are blessed among the bloodlines, for to us names have less power. A thing that has one name to the whole world may have another name to you, or to your cousin. We are more free from names, from being one thing at all times, from being logical and sturdy and imperishable. To be dependent on names such as the others are, that his a weakness.

One of the childer seized upon that weakness, you see. The power he stole, that he ascended to, that he devoured, was the secret of eating names -- of swallowing them entirely and feeding on the power they grant. He could eat the name of a person, and that person would falter and die, and everything that lived in that person he would digest and incorporate into himself.

I know that this story is true, for I have heard him. Sometimes, in the silence of the mind that comes on you when you search for a precise word that you cannot quite remember, you hear him. I did. Others did. We heard him, far away, chewing on things that become forgotten; heard the scrape of teeth like knives against the paper-skin of names.

I haven't heard him in years. Perhaps he caught me listening, and withdrew to continue his feeding more quietly. Perhaps he sleeps now, digesting the power of a name that we should all know but now cannot recall. Perhaps he tried to devour a name too great or wicked for him, and choked on it. There's no telling, of course. No finding him until he chooses to find you. For of course, when he learned this great secret of eating names, of biting chunks of reality itself free from the world and gulping them down -- the first name he must surely have eaten was his own.

THE ANKOU

Every clan has its tales of ancient terrors stalking the night, creatures that kill their grandchilder without remorse or pity. One such legend, at least among the Malkavians, is that of the Ankou.

The Ankou is the Reaper itself -- a thing of grave earth and rust, of rot and wormwood. Where its legend has filtered into human lore, it is depicted as a remorseless, lifeless monster that silently treads lightless country roads and farmlands with ox-cart and scythe, coming upon its victims as suddenly as a sickness, cutting their lives from them, and heaving them into its cart. And it is in this form that it will sometimes appear in a Malkavian's dreams or visions, if always fleetingly.

Those Malkavians who know of the Ankou treat its legends with equal parts reverence and loathing. The most reliable visions hint that it is a Methuselah -- not one of Malkav's direct childer, but a grandchilde and faithful servant to its 4th generation sire (who, perhaps, thankfully, remains nameless). If rumors can be trusted, it was birthed in the days when agriculture was a budding art, and was perhaps even slain and Embraced as a sacrifice to some earth-goddess. However, its duty to the earth did not end with death.

Its powers are seemingly so great that it can roam Lupine territory unmolested, or even vanish from one place to appear miles away. It can also, if tales can be trusted, travel with its spectral cart invisibly and intangibly through even the most bustling market -- visible only to its victims, and even then only as a faint smell of corruption and a heavy blow from behind. Vampires, particularly Malkavians, are known to vanish from their hunting grounds without a trace all the time -- but sometimes after a disappearance, the word drifting among the clan, repeated in whispers, is "Ankou."

BRUDE, The Sentinel
(Rome, Italy)

Brude grew up among Rome's destitute in a large and unstable family. His father suffered a crippling injury in the prime of his life, reducing his ability to provide, and many of his brothers and sisters subsequently fell in with various criminal elements within the city. Brude longed for escape, finding it only in dreams, where he imagined himself an agent of the Emperor, driving Rome's enemies from her borders and maintaining the glory of his beloved homeland.

Sadly, Brude's dreams came true. After his parents were killed in the fires of Nero's rule, a temple to Zeus took him in and gave him the education he needed to become an operative for the Senate. Brude's superiors in the group praised his powers of investigation and observation, eventually bestowing upon him the chance at a top assignment. The Roman Senate had come into evidence that a cadre of merchants were smuggling artifacts out of the country, and all previous agents assigned to investigate the matter had thus far vanished without a trace. Brude saw the assignment as his greatest challenge, and he prepared for it with zeal, eager to defend Rome from the boorish outsiders who would plunder her treasures.

Brude fared better than his predecessors had in this endeavor -- all the way to a gathering of Malkavian elders who had been pulling information about the city from the artifacts they had been exporting. Impressed with his tenacity and will (and recognizing the potential tool inherent in a Roman native), the head of the Malkavian cabal Embraced him. For Brude, the Embrace was a religious experience, fulfilling all the prophecies that had been instilled in him during his upbringing. His mind perceived the Malkavian cabal as representatives of the Gods who had taken the artifacts to protect them from the wicked forces that threatened Rome from within. In turn, the Malkavians saw Brude as the perfect tool to protect their interests in the insular Roman Empire.

Brude monitors the activities of the Cainites in Rome, watching them for signs of treachery, while keeping tabs on how they feed and treat the Roman people. He keeps a relatively low profile, preferring that others marginalize and underestimate him, thereby allowing him to move about more freely. Although he has managed to keep out from under the scrutinizing eye of his clan elder, Lamdiel, Brude has drawn unwanted attention from Khay'tall, who has taken a keen interest in his considerable patriotism. The Setite elder is quietly assisting Brude's efforts, while slowly bringing him into Rome's social limelight. He sees in the Malkavian the political tool that can finally bring his own dreams to fruition.

Constantly projecting his consciousness into the darkest parts of the city has taken its toll on Brude. Whenever others encounter him, he typically appears worn out and somewhat displaced, as though he is unsure of his surroundings. Engaging in actualy dialogue with Brude has a tendency to catch him jarringly off-guard. Otherwise, he is a young, attractive, olive-skinned Roman, whose eyes dart from place to place as though he were surrounded, or perhaps taking some sort of mental stock of the situation.

OCTAVIO

This Malkavian was born in the lands of Aquincum. As a mortal, he was a shaman who somehow touched upon the dark hearts of demons and became infused with madness. He wandered Aquincum for years, attempting to warn the Romans of the demons amongst them. The legions were kind enough to feed and clothe the lunatic, but paid him little heed. After he learend to speak Latin, they finally understood what he was saying, but they dismissed it as mad ravings. he took the name Octavio since he firmly believes that eight portents will herald the awakening of a great demon and the demon's ascendancy over the world.

Embraced by a Roman Malkavian, Octavio subsisted quite well on the soldiers and townsfolk. Still, his ties to the dark soil forced him to commit several vile acts, culminating in the staking and diablerie of his sire. Time passed and Octavio eventually found his way to Rome itself.

Octavio is tall and well muscled. Red hair, wild and uncombed, falls below his shoulders, and his bushy beard reaches the center of his chest. His blue eyes smolder with fanaticism and often have an otherworldly shine. He certainly looks the part of an ancient god of thunder and lightning.

AELFGIFU the Seer

By the late 11th century, the War of Princes was just beginning. The Cainites were powerful across Europe, and should have been poised to bring back the unity lost in the fall of the Inconnu. Instead, the sect itself was at risk of splintering into fragments. The followers of each hero believed that they were the true Inconnu, and that they should be leading the others. When their claims were denied, they rallied behind their hero, and they fought. ?

For a few decades around the turn of the 12th century, it seemed that the Inconnu would destroy themselves in internecine conflict. An Inconnu seer, Aelfgifu, had a series of visions of where this would lead, visions of European cities drenched in the blood of a hundred, tiny nocturnal wars, where monsters even darker than vampires came from the wilderness to wipe out the remaining Cainites and feast on the kine. Stirred by her vision, she began traveling in Europe, calling on the Inconnu to cease their fighting and unify. Quickly, her call took the concrete form of a call for a great council of the elders of the Inconnu, at which all disputes would be resolved and the Inconnu formed into a single force to lead the Cainites and defend against the even greater threat of the monsters of the wilderness.

The First Council met within a few years of 1142, by modern reckonings. Most accounts hold that it was held in the catacombs under Rome, in the old center of the Empire, surrounded by the bones of the Imperial dead. Aelfgifu stood before the assembled elders, and told them once more of her vision and of the only chance she saw for avoiding such a fate. Then she stepped back, to allow the debate to begin.

The beginning was easy. The assembled elders quickly agreed that the Inconnu should be unified, bringing all of the Cainites of Europe and, later, the world, under a single set of rulers. The inevitable following question was that of who should lead the Inconnu, and here the expected deadlock set in. Each of the elders, ruler of a city, believed that he should lead the whole covenant, and no one was willing to give ground. Throughout the debate, Aelfgifu remained silent, seated on a simple chair in front of shelves filled with the delicate corpses of the ancient dead. For most of the debate, her eyes remained on the floor.

The Princes of Paris and Cologne strode into the center of the hall, intent on fighting to determine precedence, and Aelfgifu briefly raised her eyes. Abashed, the two elders returned to their seats, declaring that they would not sully this honorable location with violence. The Princes of Greece made to leave, declaring that the Council was a sham, and Aelfgifu looked briefly at each of them in turn.

Each returned to his seat, muttering that despite the best efforts of others, he would ensure that the debate met with success. The Prince of Rome itself declared that, as the Council was held in his city, he would? At which point he realized that Aelfgifu was looking at him, and concluded his sentence by saying that he would guarantee the Council's safety for as long as it took to reach a decision.

After many nights of debate, a decision was reached. ?Each of the assembled elders was declared an Elector, and the Electors would choose an Emperor for the Inconnu from among their number. The Emperor would be the first among the elders of the covenant, with the authority to settle disputes between them but without the authority to intervene in issues within the realm of a single elder. The Emperor would also be responsible for the strategy by which all the Cainites of the world were to be brought under the control of the Inconnu.

The votes were made to Aelfgifu, who was herself neither Elector nor candidate, and the successful claimant announced. He was anointed with blood, robed in Imperial purple and presented to the Electors, who as one swore fealty on his behalf and on behalf of their followers.

After electing the Emperor, the Council continued under his guidance. The titles held within the Inconnu, and the criteria on which they should be awarded, were standardized. ?Titles awarded during the War of Princes were regularized, and the systems of the covenant in different domains brought into line with one another. The debates occasionally became slightly heated, but, in general, the assembled elders were content that the title of Elector out-ranked all but that of Emperor, and so were happy see their underlings nominally demoted as the price of covenant unity.

The First Council dispersed a success and conflicts within the covenant halted, as elders enforced the law in their own domains and referred inter-domain disputes to the Emperor. The Inconnu began their push to bring the rest of the Kindred under their sway, and for a time they seemed destined for success.