Wednesday, 6 November 2019

V5 Chronicle - Faction Profile - The Childer of Marius

During the course of the various stories of this chronicle the coterie has and will meet many characters so I'm therefore creating several profile pages for different groups within my version of kindred Los Angeles to help them keep track. I'll also amend these profiles as new information comes to light and old 'facts' turn out to be less factual than originally thought...
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Marius's Childer
Marius's has sired hundreds of childer over the centuries. Some, in the manner of his clan were simply to see if the recipient of the gift was a survivor worthy of the Gangrel, others were convenient distractions or cannon-fodder to disrupt his enemies, others were merely momentary whims without purpose at all. They are also in the majority female for reasons that have never been made apparent but are the source of most of the more unsavoury rumours that surround Marius Walker's personal idiosyncrasies.

The unlife expectancy of his childer is very short indeed given his tendency to diablerise those he deems useless, a potential threat to himself or simply inconvenient. Some however have become notable kindred in their own right, though each is ever aware of the potential of a visit from their sire being the last thing they experience so attempt to keep on his good side. Others take the alternate approach and endeavour to make themselves so perfect a predator that even Marius would think twice before attempting to add their souls to the mass of black veins that dominate his aura.

This unhealthy and unpredictable mix of fatherly care and utter disregard flavours many of Marius's relationships and makes him notoriously difficult to second guess. Those amongst his children that survive into the modern age are surprisingly loyal to their sire despite the manner of their embrace.

Five of these survivors are of particular note.

Tilly Kelly, 'Mistress of the Swarm'
Aliases 
'She Who Dwells Below', 'The Plague', 'The Terror'.
Clan
7th Generation Gangrel
Known Childer
Quinn
Haven
Various underground haven's beneath the worlds largest cities.
Backgrounds
Allies (Animal Packs: Effectiveness 2, Reliability 3), Allies (Blood Cult: Effectiveness 3, Reliability 3), Herd 5 (Homeless), Herd 3 (Blood Cult), Mawla 3 (Marius Walker), Resources 2 ('Gifts'), Retainer 5 (Quinn), Retainers 4 (Broods of Childer).
Merits
Iron Gullet, Linguistics (French, Spanish)
Flaws
Infamy 3
Lore
Blood Plagued (1: Detection, 2: The Science of the Blood, 3: Trace the Torpid Victims, 4: Curative Vitae), The Bahari (3: Sacrifice the Children)
Derangements
Agoraphobia

One step ahead of a blood cult from whom he'd liberated several ancient tomes that had interested a generous client of his, Marius had made his getaway through the sewers of 16th century Paris. Though his pursuers were merely kine, they were many in number, close behind and morning was a mere hour away. There the fleeing Gangrel discovered a young beggar and prostitute who had made for herself a shelter under the ground and a solution to his problem came to mind.

That she was not long for this world was immediately obvious. She was cold, malnourished and riddled with disease but despite this would serve as the distraction he needed. He drained what little blood she had and then embraced her leaving her with just enough vitae to stave off torpor but little enough to prevent the inevitable hunger frenzy that the approaching horde would no doubt trigger. Satisfied that this would be sufficient distraction to ensure his own safety he continued on his way without a second thought.

It was two decades before he once again found himself in Paris drawn by rumours of an elusive underground predator that the scourges of the prince were unable to locate. Offering his services to Prince Villon he was offered a number of not insubstantial boons to remove the problem that was seemingly beyond the Toreadors own agents. It's possible that the Prince would have been less generous had he known that the Gangrel was hunting a problem of his own creation.

Deep within the sewer network he discovered his victim Tilly Kelly with a horde of ghouls, childer and blood bond slaves that she had created with an instinctive grasp of the basics of her nature supplemented through trial and error. This cult now worshipped her as a subterranean goddess of blood, many being members of the very cult Marius had stolen from the night he'd embraced Tilly. Swiftly establishing his dominance in the manner of the Gangrel clan he taught his childe the more exotic skills that she'd failed to instinctively discover for herself and how to conceal her activities from those who would do her harm. He also explained to her the importance of not annoying Princes who ruled their cities absolutely.

After removing the head of one of her more useless childer as evidence of the "mighty hunter from the depths that dared to plague your kingdom..." he returned to Villon with a spectacular and utterly preposterous tale of daring do knowing that ironically this would enthral and convince the prince more thoroughly than a more likely but mundane tale would have done. After receiving his reward he spent over a year teaching his childe and her cult the most efficient ways for a gangrel to move between domains before moving on once more.

Quinn, Eldest Childe of Tilly
Though Marius has other childer more highly trained in the killing arts, none can match the terror that the horde of blood crazed followers of the mistress of the swarm can generate. Once arriving in a new city she quickly embraces broods of childer and armies of ghouls while her cult spreads through the disenfranchised mortals who make up the dregs of society. Over the centuries she has learned to channel her strength, speed and resilience into her own Vitae, gorging herself on kine cultists, ghouls who have outlived their usefulness and childer who have displeased her. She then allows her chosen ones to feed from her own body before unleashing them upon her foes.

Though her broods of Childer fluctuate wildly in number and age the oldest survivor of her childer, 'Quinn' has managed to avoid the fate of his brothers and sisters and managed to stay in her good graces for nearly two centuries. Frequent frenzies have resulted in a number of seemingly permanent animalistic mutations but given that he spends most of his time underground these have caused little inconvenience.

Should 'The Terror' and her swarm arrive in a city already inhabited by Marius then the likelihood is that her sire is going to war or that some-one with significant power has decided to employ her services against his advice...

Emmanuella Booth, 'The Pale Lady'
Aliases 
'Mortaria', 'Silent Death', 'Silver'.
Clan
7th Generation Gangrel
Known Childer
Meredith Lang (Ennoia's Hunters Pack Leader) , Rebecca
Haven
Various mansions, penthouse apartments and luxury homes around the world.
Backgrounds
Allies (Private Security Team: Effectiveness 5, Reliability 3), Allies (Team of Investigators: Effectiveness 5, Reliability 3), Contact 5 (Mercurio, International Arms Dealer), Fame/Infamy 4 (International Assassin), Mask 4 (Cobbler, Zeroed), Mawla 3 (Marius Walker), Resources 5, Retainer 5 (Carmen Krueger, Ghoul), Retainer 5 (Gregory England, Ghoul), Retainer 5 (Rafael Davidson, Ghoul), Status 4 (Camarilla), Status 3 (Anarch), Status 1 (Sabbat).
Merits
Bloodhound, Linguistics 6 (Arabic, Bengali, Bulgarian, Chinese, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, Flemish, French, German, Greek, Hindustani, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi, Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Spanish, Swahili, Swedish), Stunning.
Lore
Ambrus Maropis (4: Back Door Panopticon, 5: On Another Grid Entirely), Ballard Industries (3: I Fought the Law and I Won), Descendant of Xaviar (2: Where the Bodies are Buried), Fatima Al-Faqadi (3: Missed Hit), Fiorenza Savona (2: Breakfast with Fiorenza), Fires and Floods and Devil’s Night (5: Puppetmaster), Firstlight (5: Friend on the Inside), Kindred Iconography (1: Iconographer), Lupine Expert (1: Huntsman, 2: Tactician, 3: Soldier), The Bahari (5: First Cursed), The Circulatory System (4: Secure Transit), Victoria Ash (1: Ashen Kiss)

One of Prussia's most skilled and expensive assassins and spies, Emmanuella's preferred method was to use her beauty to seduce her targets and either extract information during post coital bliss or take their lives while they were at their most vulnerable. She was also highly skilled with blade, poison and a number of more exotic techniques of assassination for when a more direct approach was needed.

Though used to the occasional unusual request in regards to methodology the assassin nonetheless had doubts about the sanity of her latest client when he requested that the target be staked through the heart and then decapitated before then being set ablaze. She was also assured that the subject of this bizarre death would be sound asleep during the day that they had specified for the job. Her misgivings were however overcome by the large leather bag of unusually ancient gold and silver coins she was offered for the contract.

After preparing the specified tools required for this unorthodox job she headed to the large mansion house within one of the most expensive areas of Berlin that she had been informed was her targets location. She stealthily slew the exterior guards, bypassed numerous locked doors and found the target was indeed asleep in the basement where as instructed she drove the sharpened stake through their heart. Unfortunately for her the Gangrel she had been sent to bring final death to had taken the precaution of moving their heart elsewhere within their torso and awakening suddenly and in a berserk rage tore out the throat of his attacker before the effect of daylight forced him back into slumber.

Marius Walker awoke at night fall covered in blood and with a wooden stake protruding uncomfortably from his chest, his would be assassin was slumped in the corner with a hastily applied and blood drenched tourniquet around her neck. Emmanuella was in shock from loss of blood but was inexplicably alive despite the savagery of the assault. Marius licked the wound closed before finishing the job he'd started during the day and then impressed by the force of will it had taken to stay alive, embraced her.

Unlife was little different than her mortal existence had been as her sire explained to her the basics of kindred society and how as long as she avoided sunlight, fire and assassins with stakes her abilities would be exponentially enhanced as one of the kindred. He passed onto her his own experiences transitioning from a mortal mercenary to an undead one as well as the fundamentals of the more useful vampiric disciplines to one of her profession. The only boon he asked in return was that she use her new talents to locate and destroy the one who had sent her to kill him, which she promptly did.

She has spent the subsequent three centuries perfecting her skills performing kills for both kindred and kine across Europe and the America's and has amassed a vast fortune and a client list including some of the most influential vampires across the Camarilla and Anarch domains and beyond. Most presume her to be Toreador or Banu Haqim, perhaps even Ventrue but few associate the sophisticated and beautiful killer with her true parent clan, a fact that amuses her sire considerably. With a personal security team made from the elite of a number of the worlds armed forces, a group of expert investigators and three ghouled assassins who perform jobs she deems unworthy of her attention she is a force to be reckoned with. The fact that the title of foremost kindred assassin is usually attributed to Fatima Al-Faqadi is a source of some irritation to her and it is unwise to mention her great rival directly to her face.

Any rumours of her appearance in a city at the same time as her sire is usually considered a dire portent that the body count is going to soon make an alarming upturn though sometimes it may merely be a coincidence that her contract takes her to the same locale as her sire's current residence.

Eleanor Braun, 'The Sorceress'
Clan 
7th Generation Gangrel
Known Childer
Evalyn Peck, Luella Gilmour and Maisey Burke
Haven 
None Known
Backgrounds 
Mawla 3 (Marius Walker), Resources 2
Merits
Beautiful, Linguistics (French, German)
Flaws
Infamy 3 (Tremere)
Lore
Descendant of Xaviar (2: Where the Bodies are Buried), Hesha Ruhadze (1: One of Hesha's Works, 2: Something Hesha Wants, 3: Museum of the Faithful), The Bahari (1: Dangerous Reputation, 2: Ritual Scarification, 3: Sacrifice the Children, 4: The Womb’s Blood, 5: First-Cursed).

Eleanor Braun was a mere hedge witch and herbalist who had the misfortune to be gathering forest herbs during a night that Marius was in need of sustenance. Impressed with how the young woman had managed to survive within the notoriously dangerous and bandit filled woods, he returned a small quantity of the blood he had taken from her and vowed to return in a month or two to see how she fared. Circumstances conspired to interfere with the vow and it was closer to two years before he found himself once again near the hamlet where he'd embraced the woman.

He discovered that rather than utilise the gifts of her clan she had instead adapted her mortal magical abilities and now called upon ancient covenants with spirits, commanding them to fulfil her desires, as well as drawing heavily upon astrology, the use of amulets and talismans, and especially ecstatic practices. He knew enough of the occult to realise that she was effectively using the original form of blood magic practised by all Kindred before it became lost to European vampires in the Dark Ages, albeit in a very primitive form. Her innate mastery of the arcane was quite remarkable.

Realising that her use of such powers would put her at risk from the Tremere clan who had grown possessive of the gift of blood magic he approached her and taught her the abilities of her clan as well as other physical disciplines she may require in order to defend herself. He briefly considered taking her soul so as to add her new abilities to his own but as his knowledge of Thaumaturgy was basic at best he decided against it reasoning that the potential for unforeseen results outweighed the minor advantages he'd gain from the diablerie.

Though the abilities to change shape and control the creatures of the forest interested her she was primarily concerned with the quest for true occult knowledge and searched for such wisdom unceasingly. She became the bane of poorly guarded Tremere chantries and the repositories of mortal mages as she took by trickery or force what she could not gain through trade and service. She has also been known to deal with the cult of Set who now call themselves 'The Ministry' and is said to know Hesha Ruhadze personally.

It was over a century before she encountered her sire once more. He was drawn to her location by tales of a kindred witch hunted by a local Tremere regent from whom she'd stolen several significant items of magical significance. Mere days after his arrival, the regent and his followers were brutally massacred while pursuing their quarry through a local wood where they had been told she was hiding in a nearby cave network.

In the modern age and in the wake of the shattering of the pyramid she hides her ancestry claiming to be an independent Tremere and trades her abilities for shelter, refreshments and other necessities. She and Marius have developed a bizarre game over the last century whereby she visits Marius each year on the anniversary of her embrace and demands that he either give her a gift or take her soul. So far she has received something on each occasion though it is a dangerous game considering her sires own beliefs.

Kesara, Nessa and Ria Perez, 'The Circle'. 
Clan
8th Generation Gangrel
Haven
Modest accommodations in any city where they are working or melded with the earth (always together)
Backgrounds (All)
Mawla 3 (Marius Walker), Resources 2 (3 or even 4 when working for some-one of note), Status 3 (Camarilla and Anarchs)
Merits (All)
Beautiful, Bloodhound
Lore (All)
Descendant of Xaviar (1: Martyred Ancestor, 2: Where the Bodies are Buried, 4: Monstrous Bat), Firstlight (1: Evasion Tactics), Lupine Expert (1: Huntsman, 2: Tactician, 3: Soldier), Sect War Veteran (1: Survivor, 2: Active Participant, 3: Trophy Kill, 4: No Vampire’s Land), The Bahari (2: Ritual Scarification, 3: Sacrifice the Children, 4: The Womb’s Blood, 5: First-Cursed), Victoria Ash (1: Ashen Kiss)

The three sisters now known as the circle were embraced upon Xaviar's orders by a childe of Marius for some long forgotten mission of infiltration. Myriads of submerged directives were implanted in their minds ready to be activated at the appropriate time for acts of sabotage and destruction against the Sabbat which would unfortunately almost certainly also result in their own final deaths.

The plan was however a spectacular failure. Either as a side-effect of the vaulderie ritual or some idiosyncrasy of the sisters minds, the directives were never activated and they wholeheartedly embraced the Sabbat cause. Deciding that the subtle approach wasn't working Xaviar sent Marius to track down the three packs and destroy them using whatever methods he deemed necessary and eliminate the failures along with them. Once the first pack had been discovered busily massacring a small settlement of farmers he was amused to discover that his grandechilde was now their leader, her implanted knowledge enabling her to rise amongst the Sabbat ranks.

He diablerized all of note, slaughtered the rest and staked the sister for future interrogation, figuring that some use might have come from their mission, after all. Within four months the three packs had been granted their collective final deaths and the three torpid sisters were taken to one of his havens for revival and what in modern times would be called deprogramming. Keeping his creative interpretation of his sires command to himself he used several major boons to have the directives within their minds bypassed or removed. He then subsequently used them as an information resource till he had learnt all they knew of the Sabbat and then with his usual lax attitude to parenting released them to continue their unlives as they wished.

The three have acted as one since then, hunting, feeding and killing together as a pack. Their habit of driving their prey to a chosen site of destruction by closing in ever decreasing circles (a tactic often mistakenly attributed to sharks) has earned them the nickname by which they are now most commonly known. The three are skilled trackers and when working as a team are almost impossible to evade in either urban or wilderness environments. They have had considerable success as scourges and hounds for any willing to pay for their services and it is these abilities that they trade for the feeding rites and boons necessary to survive comfortably amongst other kindred.

They have also been known to trade on their grand-sires reputation as a fixer of problems in order to consolidate their positions in cities where their social skills are insufficient to gain traction in Elysium. They subsequently owe Marius more boons than they could ever repay. He however seems to find them amusing, which is more than can be said for their sire who hasn't been seen for over a century.

Mary, 'The Mother', 'The Children of the Wolf'
Clan
7th Generation Gangrel
Haven
Mary always sleeps melded with the earth.
Backgrounds
Allies (The Children of the Wolf: Effectiveness 5, Reliability 3), Fame 3 (Kindred), Herd 5 (Blood Cultists), Mawla 3 (Marius Walker), Resources 4 (Gifts from the Cult), Status 3 (4 with Gangrel, 5 with The Bahari)
Merits
Beautiful, Bloodhound, Dark Mother's Song 2, Gardener 5.
Flaws 
Infamy 3
Lore
Descendant of Xaviar (1: Martyred Ancestor, 2: Where the Bodies are Buried, 5: Experienced the Antediluvian), Low Clan (1: Thick Hide, 2: Cursed with Pride, 3: Uncanny Kinship, 4: Trade Amongst Equals), Lupine Expert (1: Huntsman, 2: Tactician, 3: Soldier, 4: Trophy, 5: Ambassador), Rudi (3: Gangrel Advocate), The Bahari (1: Dangerous Reputation, 2: Ritual Scarification, 3: Sacrifice the Children, 4: The Womb’s Blood, 5: First-Cursed).
Animal Features
Enhanced Senses (Sight, Smell, Taste), Talons (as Feral Claws)

The children of the wolf are a bizarre cult of Gangrel started by an unknown kindred who worshipped the Gangrel Antediluvian, Ennoia as not only the first true Gangrel but also claimed that she was the mother of all the lupine race too. This latter piece of information had led them into many conflicts with various werewolf tribes as the cult believed that it was their duty to spread their beliefs to kindred and lupine alike. Though the unlife expectancy of the average cult missionary was quite low, the children had gained a surprising number of followers in both Europe and the Americas.

A century ago, however the most senior members of 'The Children' were introduced to an ancient kindred text known as 'The Revelations of the Dark Mother' by a childe of Marius. Convinced of it's validation of their own belief system the Children of the Wolf almost overnight became a sub-group of the Bahari and a darker set of tenants began to be spread. Though many Lilitu cults are effectively matriarchal, the children hold no such restrictions upon leadership roles. Such positions are held by those who have bought the most converts into the cult with any disputes being resolved using the traditional Gangrel method of ritual combat. The only prerequisite for membership is to be of clan Gangrel, and to be able to endure the rites of pain and conflict that all neonates must.

Though true membership is only granted to the clan they also create cults of mortals who learn only a pale reflection of the mothers true teachings. None Gangrel are on very rare occasions given membership but must content themselves with being considered lower caste members at best and expendable at worst. They are however often full and willing participants in the other aspects of the Bahari's methods of worship.

That being said the most senior 'mother' of the children of the wolf is still Mary, the childe of Marius who bought the teachings of the Dark Mother to them as all converts are considered ultimately to be a result of the wisdom bought to them by her. Mary's origins are a mystery to all and some elder enemies of the children have suggested that she is both initial founder and leader of the cult and that they are a long-term plan and weapon created by Marius to spread his influence throughout the whole of his clan. Mary however claims her only allegiance is to the Dark Mother and given the fervour of her cult this is hard to dispute.

The occasional visitor to their temples or gatherings has noted that though most kindred refer to them as the 'Children of the Wolf', they more often refer to themselves as the Children of Ennoia or sometimes the 'Chosen of Ennoia'. This may indicate that they are not simply Bahari, but also ancestor worshippers as well.

The Temple of Enlightenment
The Temple of Enlightenment - HQ
Haven
The Temple of Enlightenment, Downtown LA, Haven: 3 (Cell 5, Hidden Armoury (Multiple), Holy Ground, Library 5 (Occult), Location, Luxury, Postern 3, Security System 5, Shrine 3, Warding 1, Watchmen 5)

The 'Temple' has been actively recruiting members with it's philosophies of self help through meditation, martial art style exercises and diet and is considered by most outside observers to be more like a gimmicky health club than a religious organisation and to a certain extent this is the face that they show to the public. The temple leaders themselves claim that in order to help others you must first be pure in body and mind so as to have the strength necessary to give yourself in service to others. They also offer a wide variety of services typical to luxury health clubs and those who avail themselves of such services are left relatively free from exposure to the temple's religious philosophies other than the occasional leaflet.

This if true would be a laudable set of goals or a cynical business model depending on your point of view...of course the inner circle of the temple has far darker goals in mind.

The Revenents of Clan Tzimisce
Unknown to most of Los Angeles the cult in the mountains of Santa Monica led by mages of the Verbena order and then by kindred of House Tremere were quite familiar with the ways of vampires already. Long before the Verbena indoctrinated them into following their own ways they were effectively slaves to an insane and sadistic kindred of Clan Tzimisce.

Their leader and family elder over many years had learned techniques of mental fortitude that allowed him to fight the blood bond binding him to his regnant and taught these ways to the most trusted of his Revenent family in anticipation of escaping his service. Stockpiling weapons and supplies they waited only the most opportune moment to depart.

The Assassin - Clan Gangrel
For two decades they waited, now near despair that their torments would never end until unexpectedly the castle of their lord was visited by a stranger of the Gangrel Clan claiming to require shelter. Though both Gangrel and Tzimisce knew that the stranger was an assassin sent to destroy the master of the castle they both nonetheless kept to the ancient laws of hospitality and it was three nights before the assassin made his move.

While the Tzimisce's most trusted servant was occupied with this turn of events and those still loyal to their lord threw themselves into the path of the rampaging Gangrel they took the opportunity to leave, never looking back as they had little hope of their ancient master being defeated by a mere animal such as the stranger. Had they waited they would have been able to witness the final death of the creature they so hated but by the time of the Gangrel's surprise victory they had long gone.

Ghoul High Priestess
Using any means necessary the now master-less Revenant's made their way across the land as a travellers, surviving many hardships, saved only by their own supernatural abilities they eventually found their way to the America's. Approximately a century ago they came to the attention of Mages of the Verbena order, and familiar as the travellers were with the bloody rituals of the past the mundane bloodletting and fluid requirements of the Verbena were trivial in comparison and given the offer of a permanent home they took it.

By the time the remnants of Clan Tremere made homeless by their Regent Strauss took the commune for themselves the tribe had already learnt all that they were capable of utilising from the mages techniques and were more than happy to learn what they could from a new mistress. Now those leaders have abandoned them in favour of the newly rediscovered chantry from where they originated.

Now leaderless once again they met to decide their future and would no doubt have abandoned Los Angeles were it not for the surprise appearance of their Tzimisce lords most trusted ghoul servant appearing at their commune along with her new master. Assured that they were not to become slaves once more but to be given the opportunity to enjoy lives with access to resources long denied them they pledged their service to a new master. Before they burnt their former home to the ground they unearthed the bodies of their own and their various masters and mistresses victims and scattered them around the complex hoping to fool any casual observer into believing that the Cult of the Bloody Hand had ended in this place.

The followers of the church now worship the ancient figure of Lilith, the Dark Mother and wholeheartedly embrace all the tenants of her cult. The inner circle consists of the Revenant's own elders and all significant positions are occupied by the rest of the family.

The cult is actively recruiting celebrities and political figures through brainwashing, blackmail and a variety of methods favoured by cults around the world as these techniques have been tried and tested and in many ways perfected by kindred and their followers.

With the arrival in Los Angeles of Marius's childe 'Mary', leader of the Gangrel Lilith cult known as the Children of the Wolf, the organisation and it's Revenents have effectively become the mortal instruments of her will.
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Should you be interested in the chronicles and stories associated with these pages then links to them all can be found HERE.
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Acknowledgements
I've used pictures of real people to represent some of the characters and art for others so in no particular order Marius Walker is Tony Curran, Tilly Kelly is Anna Paquin, Quinn is Oliver Parker, Emmanuella Booth is Anastasia E.G., and Eleanor Braun is P.J. Harvey.
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