Know Your Kindred – Virstania & her Gargoyles

Name:  Virstania, Mother of Gargoyles
Clan:  Tremere
Generation:  8th
Embraced:  1111

Virstania was the youngest apprentice in the Tremere order to earn the rank of mage.  But because she was so young she was not able to form friendships with the other magi, who saw her more as a curiosity than a colleague.   Instead she turned to creating her own companions and made several constructs she kept as pets.

After one of them escaped her lair and caused a stir in the servant girls quarters.  Goratrix found the creature and believed Virstania was ripe to aid him in his next project.   Virstania was Embraced and after a year of tutoring at Goratrix’s side, she was put to work hatching the first of the Gargoyles.  She bathed them in unwavering love and they responded to her as baby chicks to their mother.

When Goratrix was exiled to Paris in 1133, Virstania felt she had lost her only friend.  She retreated to a cave near Ceoris and continued her work to perfect the Gargoyle race.   As the years passed, Virstania has come to care more for her creations than her fellow Tremere.  She hoped to someday make them an independent race of their own, one that both magi and Kindred will fear.

When the Gargoyles finally went rogue, they look Virstania with them to teach them Thaumaturgy and care for their needs.

– Sources:  House of Tremere, pg 92-93. Transylvania By Night, pg 135.

Name:  Luma, Stone Beauty
Clan:  Gargoyle
Generation:  9th
Manufactured:  1183

Luma is one of the most aggressive Gargoyles, but also one of the most charismatic.  Other Gargoyles automatically heed her commands.   The males all wish they could copulate with her but are too frightened to approach without permission.

Luma knows more than she lets on.  She’s already gotten two younger Gargoyles to enter into a blood oath with her.  She cares for her mother Virstania and encouraged her to allow spies to watch some of the Tremere officers should the day come when they would be at war with the clan.

Luma is slender with the serene lovely face of an ancient Greek statue.  Her skin glows a faint yellow, an effect only visible in the dark.

– Source:  House of Tremere, pg 93, 102.

Name:  Saxum
Clan:  Gargoyle
Generation:  8th
Manufactured:  1123

Saxum is the dominating leader of Virstania’s gargoyles.  He is the oldest surviving Gargoyle.  He assists Virstania in her experiments, acts as Gargoyle leader, passing her instructions to the others.  He breaks up fights, hands out food and conveys complaints to the Great Mother.  His loyalty is to her, not the Tremere.

Saxum is an exemplary specimen of the basic Gargoyle type.  His facial features are strongly chiseled.   His stone skin is smooth, like marble and his musculature impressive.   His wing span is longer than any other, at 10 feet from one tip to the other.   He proudly wears a gold-trimmed robe given to him by Virstania.

– Source:  House of Tremere, pg 102.

Name:  Fidus, The ShrunkenBeast
Clan:  Gargoyle
Generation:  8th
Manufactured:  1187

Fidus is too weak and deformed to act as a guard, so he never leaves Virstania’s side.  Fidus is the smartest Gargoyle, able to read and understand magic.   He’s even given Virstania useful magical advice on a few occasions.

At only four feet tall, Fidus has a bowed neck, tiny eyes and small, twisted wings.  He drools uncontrollably and speaks with a lisp that others may find comical.

– Source:  House of Tremere, pg 101-102.