Vampires, Courts, and more in Chronicle

COURTS OF CONSTANTINOPLE
This is a list of the "IMPORTANT" vampires in the city. There may be a few minor ones. But these are the ones that matter.

The Triumvirate - Highest rule
Michael the Patriarch, Self Proclaimed Archangel - Toreador, 4th gen - Beautiful of mind and body, Michael has a dream of a world in which man and vampire can live in harmony. Scholarship and commerce can exist together. And clan status does not demean the actual kindred that stands before him. His rule has lasted for centuries, but madness now claims his mind. he has been alive since the 22nd century before the birth of the Christian Messiah.
Images: Michael as a Warrior (early years), Michael defeating/bonding Dracon (depiction by childer)

The Dracon - Tzimisce - 4th gen - Lover of Michael - Anti-Iconoclast - Once the greatest Warlord of the Tzimisce, Michael has yoked the Dracon bringing him to his knees. With the utmost care, he has wound religion about his mind, and that on the monkish orders, to secretly find a way to break Michael's hold over him. What he has learned far surpasses anything his brethren has learned. And he has sought his great grand child to teach him, one Romanian to another. None should rile the horrors and power that lays in this creature, who no longer remembers the man he was eons ago. he has created the revenant family Obertus, saved the entire contents of the Library of Alexandria, and touched demons.

Antonius the Gaul - Ventrue - 4th gen - Lover of Michael - Iconoclast - Once called Marc Antony, he was embraced during his years in Rome by Ventrue.


The City Three - direct city council - risen within the last decade
Natalya Scyatoslav - Brujah - 7th gen -(russian) once a warrior without compare, she has taken up her noble heritage to rule the city proper.

The Baron - Baron Thomas Feroux - Gangrel - (french) born into minor nobility, the man was embraced by his gangrel mother who frezied upon witnessing his reign of horrors upon his people, raping and pillaging. Lost to the beast of his vampirism, a Gesudian monk of the Tzimisce led the man to find his humanity again, bringing him to Constantinople. Blood bound to the Dracon. He leads the guards and protective forces of the city.

Malachite, the Rock of Constantinople - 7th gen - Beloved friend of Michael - Once named Maleki, he was the chosen of the Church of Byzantium, adored for his virtue and intelligence by Magnus of Lasombra. He was to be so embraced, until his arguments made mockery of Magnus. He was forcefully embraced by a Nosferatu as a punishment to which Michael reacted horribly. The Toreador prince has uplifted and renamed Malachite, placing him in control of much of the city in his name. The entire city of cainites respect this Nosferatu.



BRUJAH:
Theophilus and Dorotheus, 7th gen - a pair that have lost their sire. They once were powerful hands of Natalya, who have become melancholy, lost and seeking signs of Gehenna.
Nerea of Spain - not much to speak of, she has connections to Alfonzo of Lasombra in the Latin district

CAPPADOCIANS:
Lady Alexia Theura, Mistress of Death - 5th gen - the woman is a lover of human kind, with many connections and lovers among the mortal nobility and church. She left from Athens to live in this city, often at the side of emperors, or deep in the clutches of her research.

Markus Musa Giovanni - an exceptional scholar, he is here to help Alfonzo, sent by the family. He has wormed his way into Lady Alexia's company, though she tires of him. He now petitions the Tzmisice endlessly to be allowed into the Library of the Forgotten.

FOLLOWERS OF SET:
Khay'tal - 6th gen - The Party Animal! He has no control over anything in the city, no domain, only one child. He has an endless thirst, chasing the dragon of his appetites. He's just a fun guy to have around.

Sarrasine - 7th gen - child of Khay'tal. Completely different than his sire, Sarrasine was a page to the emperor's court. He is a terribly dangerous young cainite, seeking secrets and power, and slowly getting them.

GANGREL:
Verpus Sauzezh - Crescent Knight of the Gangrel - 8th - (turkish) A blood hunt was called on Verpus and his sire, but The Baron saved Verpus from final death, taking him as an advisor. He has taken a blood oath to the baron.

Isabel Manrara - Carrion Thief - leads a thief group called The Carrion - only hit the Latin District

LASOMBRA:
Magnus, Custodian of Orthodoxy - 8th - hagard and old, incredibly overweight and sickly looking, the man spends all of his time among the company of hidden cainites or in the church, as close as can be to Michael. This man runs the Lasombra, barely holding domain away from Alfonzo.

Bishop Alfonzo of Venice - 7th - (italian) A man of scholarship and immense wealth, Alfonzo seeks to use those around him for political means and ends. He has spent years as a priest, advisor to kings, and holds his own power within the New Rome. If there is a political power to befriend, it is him...but with extreme care. The man is as dangerous as sleeping with a cobra. He can be found running the Latin District.

Sarah the Chaste - 9th - A nun embraced by Magnus, she once aided in leading the mortal populace and created the cult of Michael. Now she realizes so many mistakes made and is desperate for aid.

Bishop of Gabriella of Genoa - 8th gen - the only Latin to survive the laughter of 1185, she is disgusted by her lasombran fellows and trying to oust them from power. She has a growing disgust for the city as a whole, and may be working to destroy it from within.

MALKAVIAN:
Gregorius Dimities, Muse of Performance - 6th - 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.

NOSFERATU:
Fra'Raymond - Leper Knight of St. Lazarus - 8th - Taken in by Malachite, he was dying from leprosy, aiding his fellows, all taken in and harbored secretly in the city. Fra'Gerard (The Hospitaller) was the first to find and welcome him and others so afflicted, sending them all to Constantinople. He accepted embrace knowing full well the story of Nosferatu, and now leads the efforts within the city.

RAVNOS:
Gregory, The Wonder Maker - 9th gen - No one would ever look upon this man...and think him a deeply devout man of the book. He has traveled many lands, from his humble beginnings within the Great Library of Alexandria and now within the Library of the Lost among the Tzmiscie. He is the favored seeker and recreator of all tomes for the Tzmiscie, holding dinners in private with the Dracon. Unknown to any in the world, he has the original book The Book of the Fifth Essence, written by the ancient Trojan Aretus (mage), translated into greek by Aristotle. He has been learning the secrets and using them slowly. The world believes all knowledge lies in the Obertus. None know the truth...it is in this man's head.
Languages: Sumarian, Akkadian, Prakrit/Sanskrit/Senzar (ancient sanskrit), Latin, Egyptian/Hieroglyphs, Aramaic, Ancient Greek, Mishnaic Hebrew and many others (Linguistics x5, Academics x5)

TOREADOR:
Petronius the Arbiter - child of Michael, 5th gen - Petronius was a Roman satirist during the age of Nero (who burned rome to the ground). He wrote numerous works, gaining the eyes of the Toreador, and finally embrace. He became the muse for Michael, but over the ages finally took up true work as a politician in the city. The work has taken a toll, wearing the man away.

Anthemios of Tralles - child of michael - 5th gen - mathematician, architect, completed Hagia Sophia.

Pakourianis the Dove - child of michael - 5th gen - talented painter with a fascination with birds.

Gallasyn, the First Fallen - 8th gen - An aspiring sculptor, he never quite gained a place within the city, and decided to leave as Michael's influence was killing creativity. When he returned, Michael was furious, and asked if any in court would take sponsorship...oddly enough Khay'tal of Set did. Gallasyn is now a pawn of the setites.

TREMERE:
Theresa Kymena, Priestess of Dreams - She once had magics of ephemeral and of the mind, now she is just a debased creature of the blood. Tossed aside, and sent elsewhere, she had a worldchanging dream of Saulot's diablerie by Tremere. She has followed these dreams until arriving in Constantinople and taken in by Gesu in quiet. She now leads in secret the Dream Circle of the Salubri, using her ages of experience to discover what has happened, and what can be done.

TZIMISCE:
Gesu, the Divinity Within - child of the Dracon - 5th - the child was embraced under an omen witnessed by Tzimisce himself. His embrace led to a dream, dark and forboding, leaving the youth with a horrible fate of knowledge. In waking, he embraced his brother Symeon. To those that disturb him, he is a brat of a young man, which he uses hoping to return to his peace and never be disturbed. He has called out into the night, hoping to find others to aid with his dreams. Yet, he and his brother have led the Obertus, giving their sire peace to find his own path.

Symeon, His Brother's Keeper - child of Gesu - 6th - political and strong, this cainite is a quick witted and wily man to face. He travels as envoy between the Obertus and Romania, seeking a secret deep within the Carpathians. In his travels with his sire The Dracon, he found a young mage and embraced him, Myca. Symeon is a deadly opponent, political and experimenting, becoming more like his grandsire every year.

Myca Vykos - the monster, Caine's Angel - 7th gen - child of Symeon - Found and claimed during a raid deep in the Carpathians by the Dracon, Myca has the dark intellect of the Balkans coupled with the magics of his past as a member of the Order of Hermes/House Tremere, a warrior mage. Once a mage, a history he keeps in deadly quiet, he accepted embrace to further his own studies into the strange and occult and in hatred against his former house. The Dracon gave the man to his child Symeon who embraced him after extended torture and information gaining regarding the Tremere. Since embrace, he has broken numerous laws among the Tzimisce, using his arts upon other clans namely Toreador and Setites and enjoying their parties. He has a horde of ghouls in secret service, acting as the devil's advocate in the library. The man has more secrets than the entire city put together. The Dracon often watches the lad, his ancient ways awakening in the process.

Noddist scholar, scientist, historian and later the Sabbat's chief torturer. Was named Myca Vykos and renamed Sascha Vykos, who he paraded as his child during the dark ages. Was male, then genderless around the 15th century, and now female. Myca Vykos was an apprentice in the Tremere covenant of Coeris and rival of Goratrix in life when Symeon embraced him and brought him to Byzantium. He swore eternal hatred to his former house when the Tremere became vampires.

VENTRUE:
Caius, Emperor of the Night - 5th, Child of AntoniusOne of the bloodiest of politicians and disciples of Constantine, Caius was a mortal the Triumvirate could understand and embrace. Antonius took the lead in recruiting the man. Although he thrived in leading the cainites in controlling the city, he sought Michael's side as vizier. He sought a conspiracy to kill Michael's former lover which ended with estrangement and heartache, his sire Antonius' resentment, and public apologies.

Anna Comnena, Quaesitor and Chamberlain - 7th gen - A warrior conqueror at heart, she is bound to the service of the city. She yearns to war, to take arms, and take full control of all. But she is held in a rough situation that forbids action. She works through Belisarius.

Belisarius, Military Prefect - 5th - Child of Antonius - One of the greatest military minds ever to war. He left due to the petty squabbles of Constantinople, and has only returned after battles spent in other countries and wars. During these wars, he fell in love with Shabah of Assamite and misses her tremendously when called back to Constantinople. Now he serves the men she is bound to kill.

There are about 4 other ventrue, mostly in positions to help handle the city.

HIDDEN - must locate to know
Shabah - Envoy of Alamut - Assamite - always in dark robes, heavy viels over face and hair, hands covered in henna tattoos - quite an exotic and lovely woman, she seems a gentle and graceful lady - rarely ever seen only when she wishes to be.

The Three - very little is known of these terrible looking cainites, horribly disfgured in exactly the same way. One is serene, one aggressive, one quite social. They meet in secret with Malachite, and tend the most dedicated of scholarship and history of religions in the world. To meet them is considered a rare and enlightening experience.

Zelios - Nosferatu 7th - Embraced: 1020 - Zelios is a master mason, an expert in both architecture and the occult science of geomancy. Zelios can enter a structure and know where it’s weakness is, or where any secret passages or hidden rooms lay, even if the owner does not. Many of the sites he chooses to build on are part of a pattern. Zelios is drawn to locations with intersecting lay lines. Many of the minor improvements he gives to an existing structure are designed to focus on unseen geomatic energies. Zelios first made his mark in the Old World, altering and enhancing the defenses of many European castles.

Achmet the Dreamer - 7th gen Salubri - Shabah is working to smuggle in Achmet. One of the remaining few enlightened left on the planet, he has spent his entire existence seeking Golconda. He believes the path to it lies in the dreams of the cainites held in torpor. He has attracted a small and secretive group of followers, in particular Theresa Kymena of Tremere, Irene Stellas of Ventrue, and Gregory of Ravnos.

Genealogy

All Vampires: http://vampirerpg.free.fr/Genealogy/

Ravnos: http://vampirerpg.free.fr/Genealogy/Ravnos.html
Malkavian: http://vampirerpg.free.fr/Genealogy/Malkavian.html
Followers of Set: http://vampirerpg.free.fr/Genealogy/Setite.html

Further information and background for NPCs you all are taking special interest in!

Khay'tall, Followers of Set

Khay'tall, a Neurian tribdesman, was a slave to a Roman garrison commander stationed in Jerusalem and was present when the Christian Messiah was nailed to a cross on a hill outside the city. He watched as the man hung there, suspended like a banner of flesh against a wooden standard, and wondered what sort of god would demand such a sacrifice from his children. He would soon have his answer.

Kha'tall's master, Comus Setevrius, was well known for throwing extravagant feasts and orgies. The young slave, always forced to serve at these events, quickly realized that some of the visitors were more than human. He watched as some fed in an almost frenzied manner on other guests and, though he remained silent, he was aware of the almost slavelike devotion others paid to their vices.

One evening, Khay'tall approached one of the regular guests, and Egyptian man named Nehsi-- who he knew to be one of these supernatural beings -- and petitioned to be made like him. When the Egyptian amusedly asked why, Khay'tall stated that he realized that nobody was truly free. Everyone was a slave to something, where it was vice, religion, hunger, or other men. If he was to be slave to something, he wanted to be a slave to something of his own choosing. Stunned by the perception displayed by a servant, Nehsi took Khay'tall as his own and taught him the way of the Setites.

Khay'tall was kept as a ghoul for nearly a century, learning all he could about the shackles of mortal vices, before Nehsi Embraced him. He was then sent to serve in the Temple of Set in the Roman-conquered city of Carthage. It was in North Agrica that Khay'tall met the recently Christianized Michael, and discoursed with him on the necessity of vice. Khay'tall convined the ancient Toreador that anything worth building had to be able to withstand temptations of corruption--otherwise it would be a slave to something greater. During the debates, Khay'tall felt that he had already won, for he heard the passion in Michael's words and knew that the patriarch was already slave to his own dreams.

In later years, when Constantinople became home to the Triumvirate, Khay'tall began a secret correspondence with Michael to determine the best time to visit the city. When the word was finally given, Khay'tall entered Constantinople under the protection of Michael, to the surprise of everyone, and even gained scion family status. Since then, Khay'tall has been doing his best to prove to Michael that everything is corrupt, and that the snake of Eden is not an outside force that interferes, but is the inner weakness intrinsic to us all.

But to all in court, he is nothing more than a fool and addicted to his lavish parties, nothing to consider once if even twice.

Appearance: Bearing the tribal scars of the Nuer (several aligned rows of dots that extend from one cheek to the other across his now), Khay'tall's skin still retains its dark luster while his black pupils seem to fill his entire eyes. His hair, braided and groomed, is dyed red with henna. His powerful figure is mostly hidden beneath dark robes that are inlaid with intricate patterns, but his build is betrayed by his broad shoulders. He delights when Toreadors become entranced by the serpentine patterns on his garbs.

Key Abilities/Info!
Gen 6th
Embrce AD 104
Phys: Str 4 Dex 5 Sta 5
Social: Charisma 6, Manipulation 7, Appearance 4
Mental: Perception 5, Intelligence 5, Wits 4
Talents: Expression 4 (Acting, Debate), Alertness 2, Brawl 3, Dodge 2, Empathy 5 (Truths, Painful Memories, Emotions), Intimidation 3, Leadership 3, Subterfuge 4
Skills: Etiquette 3, Crafts 4 (Herbalism, Illicit Drugs), Melee 4, Ride 2
Knowledges: Academics 3, Hearth Wisdom 2, Linguistics 4 (Profanity), Occult 4 (Cainite Lore), Politics 6 (Cainite, City), Theology x3
Disciplines: Auspex 3, Celerity 2, Dominate 4, Fortitude 1, Obfuscate 3, Potence 4, Serpentis 5
Backgrounds: Allies 4, Contacts 5, Herd 5, Influence 3, Resources 4, Retainers 5, Status 3

Gregory, The Wonder Maker, Ravnos

In 623, Gregory Lakeritos was among the Akoimetai monks sent to Alexandria to duplicate important records from the Great Library of Alexandria. A believer in the Tzimisce quest for enlightenment beyond the physical plane, he was attracted to the most esoteric and mystic of tomes. Gregory unearthed from among the countless books a manuscript called The Book of the Fifth Essence, which he discovered to be a Greek translation - by Artistotle the mage no less-- of an even more ancient Trojan text by Archmage Aretus. The alchemical work postulated the existence of a dynamic natural element known as "ether" and the possibility of using it to shape the world and create unimaginable wonders (the precursor that created the Techocracy and the Sons of Ether traditions). His mind became filled with the possibilities of a new facet of natural science and the marvels it could create.

Wandering the night streets, clutching his copy of the text, Gregory attracted a troupe of Alexandrine Ravnos and was Embraced. Gregory spent several years with the Ravnos caravan as it slowly traveled about the empire. When the troupe arrived at the gates of Constantinople, Gregory realized that the city was still his home. The wanderlust of most Ravnos was not his--his journey would continue in his mind.

The Tzimisce, however, were less than pleased with their ghoul's disappearance, and the Dracon himself felt that Gregory had abandoned his true path. he was going to be ejected from the city until he astounded them with a simple creation. A presented them with a small mechanical bird that he had created with Aretus' text, through extrapolating the science and magic from the text. The Ventrue Caius saw it as a work of art that would please Michael, and convinced Antonious to affor Gregory an audience with the Patriarch. In this meeting, he gained a faithful new friend in Michael, protection from the clans Toreador, Venture, and Tzimisce, and regained his faith from The Dracon for further work he presented.

For centuries there after, he has spent what time he could in the Great Library of Alexandria and of the Lost in Constantinople creating masterpieces of alchemy, tomes with copies for himself and the Tzimisce, and writing his own works further expressing his intellect and beliefs for all time. From his hands, many new wonders were crafted and welcomed by Michael in Hagia Sophia. A room has been dedicated to his wonders and that of others.

Currently, he has been receiving letters and requests without a name placed upon them requesting a series of intricate potions and crystal devices made from the mixtures. Unknown to him, these are the words from Achmet of the Salubri. He also is training a protege called Zoe. She is only a child, not a ghoul or vampire. However, she has terrible plans for the simple man, as her avatar nears awakening. She poses an extreme danger to him, although he never sees it.

Appearance: Gregory wears long robes of red and gold and adorns himself in intricate marking of his knowledge. He wears a set of heavy brooches and rings that are actually magically enhanced crafts he created from the tome. This is all to hide the twisted body the Tzimisce left him with during his time as a ghoul.

His Wonders: He has long since honed his craft to create tiny mechanical beasts, to the point they seem made of only flowing metal. His birds are still his favorite, which take messages and spy on others for his amusement. Those that spend time with his wonders cannot help but feel uplifted.

Key Abilities/Info!
Gen 9th
Embrace AD 626
Physical: Str 2, Dex 2, Sta 3
Social: Charisma 4, Manipulation 3, Appearance 1
Mental: Perception 4, Intelligence 4, Wits 6
Talents: Expression 3, Alertness 4 (sight), Athletics 2, Empathy 5 (harbored pains, deepest happiness), Ledgerdomain 3
Skills: Animal Ken 4 (birds), Crafts (metal work, perfection, alchemy) 7, Performance (music) 3, Survival 1
Knowledges: Academics 5 (ancient works, translations, mage texts), Hearth Wisdom 3, Investigation 3, Linguistics 5 (24 languages and counting, all ancient, lost languages, mage languages, koldunic), Medicine 3, Occult 6 (ether creations, mage avatars, mage and cainite history, Egyptian gods), Science 5 (metalurgy, physical mechanics, alloys)
Disciplines: Animalism 3, Auspex 5, Chimesrstry 5, Fortitude 2
Backgrounds: Allies x 5 (Tzimisce Clan, Michael the Patriarch), resources 3

The Dracon
4th Gen - Tzimisce

The Dracon's family has served the Tzimisce clan for centuries. He was born as a revenant of their most warlike lines. He gained the favor of a Tzimisce elder through guile and wit and was especially favored for his accurate analysis of the threats posed by other Cainites. He warned that their homeland was doomed to serve a Roman Empire.

This was a bold statement -- not only because it spoke poorly of his clan's ambition, but also because The Dracon's master was not truly of his homeland. The original masters of Dracon's homeland were defeated in a Trial by War by an ambitious Tzimisce foreigner. The original masters harbor a great hatred for these foreigners, considering them bastard childer of their great and glorious line. Nonetheless, the Dracon's quick grasp of culture offered him an opportunity.

He became an ambassador to Rome, ostensibly for the purpose of diplomatic relations, secretly to gather information. During the empire's rise, the Dracon's diplomatic relations with the Cainites of other clans gave them hope. The Roman Ventrue did not recognize the authority of most Tzimisce throughout the northern and eastern reaches of the Empire, making elaborate attempts over the last two centuries to establish their own domains within these lands.

When the Roman Ventrue Senate proposed the plan of instituting domains and a coterie of Cainites to rule them, the Dracon was in the prime position to exploit them. The Ventrue referred to this Council of Ashes as a way to "resurrect the extend the glory of Rome to a barbarous land." Though none but the Ventrue truly believed in this idealistic plan, Dracon was given the Embrace by his master so he could infiltrate the Ventrue coterie. The arrogant Ventrue, swayed by Dracon's politicking, ultimately granted him the title of Dacian Prefect.

Dracon regularly conversed with the rulers of the other domains. He quickly gained a reputation for diplomacy and civility, and he reassured the recognized rulers that certain factions in his clan wished to maintain diplomatic relations with the other clans. At the same time, he knew that communication among the members of this coterie would be its greatest weakness. Thus, he bound the messenger of the seven rulers, a Gangrel named Elijah, into a Blood Oath. The information allowed Dracon and his secretive Tzimisce allies to scheme against the council's rulers.

Betrayed by treachery, the Council of Ashes was dissolved within a few decades. Though Roman settlers were still building the cities desired by the Roman Ventrue, only four out of seven rulers remain. The Dracon remained on good terms with the other three, and he secured his domain. Until the Ventrue decided to abandon their diplomatic relations with the Tzimisce, Dracon's authority was recognized by Roman Cainites and Germanic Tzimisce alike.

It was during this grand display of politicking and power that Michael the Patriarch encountered the man. His dream burned brightly, and was given to the Dracon over a series of meetings. Unable to turn the Toreador elder away, he sought this dream through warfare and conquering of Constantinople. Bloodshed and politics bound him further into the grip of the Toreador until it seemed Michael would lose all control over his dream. It was then he took the man as his lover, binding him through blood and breaking his spirit with telepathy. For countless centuries, the Dracon has been a caged animal, a slave.

Appearance - There is no mistaking his consanguineous heritage, with his long black hair and jet-black eyes, elegant nose and cruel mouth, delicate features and resolute cruelty. His demeanor is the perfect combination of aristocratic barbarism.

Myca Vykos - the monster, Caine's Angel
7th gen - child of Symeon

In his mortal days, Myca Vykos was a student of the Tremere house of the Order of Hermes, a loose-knit group of magicians and thaumaturgists. He and his rival, Goratrix, belonged to a covenant of studious magi nestled in the Carpathian mountains. Returning to his chantry, Myca was taken painfully with his group of travelers and magi by a Tzimisce raiding party.

His abilities and magics held the Tzimisce from consuming him immediately, dragging the man across the mountains and their battles with the chantry to the Dracon. Myca revealed to have a dark intellect, hailed from the Balkans with their ferocity. He also held deep secrets and information for the very people the Tzimisce hunted: the Order of Hermes/House Tremere. Intrigued, the Dracon gave him to Symeon.

Symeon embraced him violently and painfully after extended torture and information gaining regarding the Tremere. Since embrace, he has broken numerous laws among the Tzimisce, using his arts upon other clans namely Toreador and Setites and enjoying their parties. He has a horde of ghouls in secret service, acting as the devil's advocate in the library. The man has more secrets than the entire city put together. The Dracon often watches the lad, his ancient ways awakening in the process.

Myca returned to Byzantium with Symeon, where he makes his home to this night. Not long after he had received his own Embrace, Myca learned that his former Hermetic house had managed to become vampires as well. Only they had done it with the aid of Goratrix by destroying a Tzimisce vampire and infusing themselves with his blood.

Myca was livid - would Goratrix constantly haunt him? Was there nothing that he could achieve that his rival could not? Myca swore himself the eternal enemy of his former house, and suffers no Tremere who cross him to leave with their unlives intact. He constantly wars with his past deeds, as several of the Tremere who have inroads into Eastern Europe have established those with his assistance during his days as a mortal magus.

But Myca has not taken an overt, warlike stance against the Usurpers. Instead, he quietly gathers information and observes as history unfurls from his haven in Constantinople. He knows that he has eternity to destroy the damnable Tremere, and his patience is only matched by the viciousness that seethes in his betrayed soul.

Myca is a Noddist scholar, scientist, historian and later the Sabbat's chief torturer.

Zelios, The Master Mason


Throughout Eastern Europe, Zelios has gained great renown. After being raised by wealthy merchant parents in the 11th century, Zelios turned away from pursuing a life of comfortable privilege in favor of developing a useful craft. He traveled Euruope and beyond, learning the art and science of architecture. At first, his passion was more of an avocation than a vocation. His insight displayed his talent, for with a few words of advice to an architect or engineer, he could improve both the safety and aesthetics of any design. Soon he was knowledgeable enough to serve as an advisor to wealthy nobles and expert architects.

Unfortunately, Zelios's insight was a little too good. Much of his revelation came from an intuitive understanding of principles typically unrecognized by mortals. The layout and location of his best designs often took advantage of nearby ley lines, and his feel for design corresponded to elementary principles of geomancy. This in turn attracted the attention fo a few enlightened Cainites who realized the potential in the young architect.

In particular, Zelios's acumen attracted the notice of a Nosferatu with an appreciation for his art. Many Nosferatu lairs were sorely in need of improvements, and the thought of employing an architectural genius to assist the clan was irresistible. The embrace affected Zelios in a most peculiar way. To begin with, he gained a talent for subtly influencing the designs employed by mortals, elevating their achievements from mere competency to brilliance. With eternity set before him, Zelios expanded his travels to learn from the greatest architectural artists of the age.

Through his influence, a great many castles have been built, and a great many have been drastically improved. Zelios has traveled all over Europe, building fortresses for Cainites whose wealth or whims appealed to him. Moreover, Zelios specializes in constructing hidden rooms, allowing Cainites to remain in torpor by day and avoid the few places frequented by mortals at night. This gives him unexpected advantages over powerful Cainites. He is always aware of weaknesses, secret passages and hidden places, ones of which even the castles' owners remain oblivious.

For the last few decades, he has been traveling throughout Eastern Europe, undertaking several projects in Hungary and Transylvania. There is seemingly never enough time to fully realize his passion for creation, yet Zelios is indefatigable in his efforts. Slowly, the walls of the greatest Transylvanian castles rise.

Zelios's skin has become slate grey. His features are exceedingly angular, almost unaturally so. There is no softness to his face, and his eyes are a dull gray. When deep in thought, his visage is a stony mask of contemplation. When inspired, the features animate, quivering and twitching, surprising many who watch the transformation. Relaxation does not interest him much, as hard work is the fulfillment of his passion.

MALACHITE, The Rock of Constantinople
7th-generation Nosferatu

Malachite is the chosen name of Maleki, a former prelate in the Orthodox Church of Byzantium. As one of the more talented members of the ecclesiastic order, Maleki made a blood oath to Magnus himself and was promised a place within the trinity of the Magnus Lasombra, replacing Peter the Humble. Unfortunately, Maleki made a grave error when he publicly contradicted his sponsor, a deed that would not go unpunished.

Amid the Iconoclast controversy of the eighth century, the monastic orders were disbanded and their members ridiculed for supporting the veneration of icons. Not privy to the machinations behind the scenes, Maleki, though a staunch supporter of Iconoclasm, believed that the harsh treatment of the monks was nothing more than an attempt to usurp their financial position in the Church. He spoke out against their ill treatment in a move that damaged Magnus' standing with the other families. "If Magnus cannot control his apprentice," they inquired, "how can he run a family?"

Magnus swiftly retaliated, not by killing Maleki (for no lesson would have been learned), but by having him embraced by a Nosferatu. Michael was outraged by the act and quickly took Maleki under his wing, trying to undo the psychological damage wrought by Magnus' treachery. Maleki, renamed Malachite, was given family status and the right to embrace two others. From that time since, the Nosferatu and the Magnus Lasombra have dealt with each other indirectly whenever possible.

Malachite is unlike many of his clanmates in that he is not ashamed to show his face by firelgiht. He regards his position as important and believes he should act in an appropriate manner. To do otherwise would be to admit defeat to both Magnus and, more importantly, Michael.

SHABAH, Envoy of Alamut to Constantinople
6th-generation Assamite, walker on the Road of Blood

Assamites are commonly thought to never embrace women, that they believe it improper to afflict women with the curse, but some exceptions are made. The woman who would become Shabah was embraced by an untraditional Assamite who saw in her a spark of greatness. A member of a trading clan in the Atlas Mountains of North Africa, she was abandoned by her sire and soon afterward seen staggering across the landscape by her family, who had believed her dead. They fled from her "shabah" (Arabic for ghost), and in the process gave her a new name.

Angered by her fate, Shabah tracked her sire through the mountains - thus passing his test - and was brought to Alamut for trianing. The Old Man himself sanctioned her existence as an experiment and bid her to journey to the West to learn the ways of the other descendants of Caine. During her journey, Shabah met with Byzantine Ventrue Belisarius, at the time a traveler as well. The two became friends and eventually lovers, sharing a mutual blood oath and traveling as vampiric husband and wife for most of the ninth and tenth centuries. Eventually, however, Shabah was recalled by her clan, and the curse of tainted love drove the companions apart.

Shabah's familiarity with the West and the disguise provided by her gender (others believing all Assamites to be male) made her an excellent choice to perform assassinations in the European world. She killed the Byzantine Emperor John II Comnenus in 1143, not knowning that he was Belisarius's protege.

More recently she petitioned to travel to Constantinople. Her clan was faced with the challenge of Salah ad-Din and by the Toreador and Baali lords of Damascus. She argued that the Byzantine court would be a useful tool against the clan's Muslim and crusader enemies. Since her arrival in the city in 1188, Shabah has been trying to find common ground with the paranoid and insane vampires of the city. She has also had to restrain several Assamite visitors from hunting Byzantine Cainites for their potent blood.

Shabah's greatest joy has been a reunion with Belisarius, who is now a Byzantine prefect. Their love has been rekindled, but Shabah feels guilt over John II's death. Helena, a childe of Belisarius who witnessed the killing, has recently begun blackmailing the Assamite and has ordered her to eliminate the Genoese Lasombra Gabriella and Belisarius by Alamut. Shabah has hesitated and remains unsure what to do.

But a new issue has arisen as Achmet of Salubri and Michael the Patriarch are using her in their own machinations to meet.

Unless solely in the company of women, Shabah wears a full-body black veil that is embroidered with gold. It leaves only her jet-black eyes visible. Beneath her veil, Shabah bears the combined beauty of the predator and the artist.