Know Your Kindred – Tegyrius, Vizier

Name: Tegyrius
Clan: Assamite
Generation: 5th
Embraced: 330 B.C.

For the Children of Haqim, the Vizier caste (aka the “scholar caste”) studies range from theology to particle physics. ‘THE’ Vizier is elected every 63 years to the position.

The current Vizier of the clan is Tegyrius, an ancient legal expert, who has held the title three consecutive centuries.

In life, Tegyrius was a cavalry officer, who rode in Alexander the Great’s armies. Until one day his horse fell over on him and crushed his leg. It was here he was embraced by an unnamed child of Haquim, who told Tegyrius of his nights in the Second City and the role judges had played.

Tegyrius took on the judge role for himself, spending centuries traveling the world, serving as an anonymous neutral arbiter in countless Cainite and mortal disputes. Some Ventrue and Malkavians remember him in the court of Justinian, watching as the emperor codified Roman law. Others remember him at the bloody battles of Constantinople.

After serving one term as head Vizier, Tegyrius disappeared for several centuries. He resurfaced in the 17th century, where he went to Alamut to claim a seat on the Council of Scrolls and later elected again as leader of the Viziers in 1801. He remained at Alamut for the next two centuries, slipping into episodes of month-long torpor due to sheer lethargy.

But Ur-Shulgi’s awakening and subsequent assumption of power has galvanized Tegyrius into action. While reverence toward Haqim was acceptable, blind worship of him as a genocidal god went against everything Tegyrius saw as the legacy of the Second City. The clan wide schism created by Ur-Shulgi’s new policies have some viziers whispering Tegyrius aided al-Ashrad’s bid to join the Camarilla, with plans for Tegyirus to be appointed the first Assamite Justicar.

Tegyrius walks with a slight limp, from a broken hip that never fully healed. He was embraced near the end of his military career, so the grey in his beard and around his temples stands in stark contract with his pure black skin. Tegyrius is a master linguist, who can manipulate his accent.

Source: Clanbook: Assamite Revised pg. 34-36, 99-100

Know Your Kindred – Ur Shulgi, The Shepherd

Name:  Ur-Shulgi, The Shepherd
Clan:  Children of Haqim (Assamite)
Generation:  4th
Embrace: “the night when the stones spoke and the skies cried a blood rain”

Ur-Shulgi is the second childe of Haqim and the first of the Assamite magi.  He is the most efficient war-mage on the face of the planet.  His thought processes are completely incomprehensible to anyone not of his age and power stratum.  He is violence given a physical body.

Ur-Shulgi awoke after a millennia of slumber and shattered the Tremere “Blood Curse” with no more than the faintest exertion.  Casually shredding a ritual cast by the combined might of the Tremere Inner Circle is a good indicator of what he can accomplish should he choose to go all-out.

Since his return, Ur-Shulgi has made it a point to eliminate the Islamic faith from the clan of Haqim.  He sees this “Allah” as a corruption and must either show all those who worship him the error of their ways or exterminate them.  He already purged the “false” Master of Alamut after he refused to renounce his Muslim faith.  Ur-Shulgi and the older Assamites remember the time before Moses.  To them Haqim is their god and the Path of Blood is the only true faith.  They see their grandsires as a bunch of “devilish heathens.”  The younger Assamites know they can not take on Ur-Shulgi and the elders, so they have made plans to leave the clan and flee to the Western nations.

Ur-Shulgi looks like a scarred, burnt child god.  His skin is obsidian-black with a lattice of scars, bits of bone and sinew protruding beneath the skin.  His eyes look like they have either been gouged or burnt away, although he is able to see without hindrance.  When he chooses to wear clothes, it’s usually light colored caftans and robes.  His voice seems to billow up from the depths of a dry desert well (surprisingly Ur-Shulgi is fluent in any modern language in which he is addressed).

Ur-Shulgi normally remains motionless.  If he has to shift position, he does not move so much as flicker from point to point.

– Sources:  Chidren of the Night, pg. 89-91.  Nights of Prophecy, pg. 10.

Know Your Kindred – Tariq, The Silent

Name: Tariq, The Silent
Clan: Assamite
Generation: 5th (now 13th)
Embraced: 1250

With the exception of Kemintiri, Tariq has been on the Red List longer than any other vampire.  For the last 500 years he has been a wanted criminal and exiled from his own clan.  Despite this he still serves his clan as a symbolic martyr and scapegoat.

In the 13th century, when Assamites were taking advantage of the Anarch Revolt and the Inquisition, Tariq made a name for himself as a serial diabolist.  His deeds were so well known that when the newly formed Camarilla won its seven year war against the Assamites, Tariq was used as a political bargaining chip.  The Assamites exiled him, he would be cast out and hunted until the end of his unlife.

Tariq was once a proud Muslim warrior who defended his homeland against the Christian forces during the Seventh Crusades.  He was captured and tortured, but never let his captors get the better of him.  He insulted them and called them cowards.  They responded by cutting out his tongue. Waiting for death, Tariq awoke to find a man standing over him.  The stranger had been watching Tariq and was very impressed with his devotion and valor.  Tariq was Embraced and he fully dedicated himself to serving the Assamite clan.

The mid-13th century was a time for the Assamties.  With the anarchs and elders fighting one another, the Inquisiton and the birth of the Sabbat, the Assamites were free to roam the world, diablorizing Kindred at will – and Tariq was the most notorious killer of Kindred.  After the creation of the Camarilla, a Blood Hunt was called on the Assamites and a seven year war was waged.  Despite heavy casualties, the Camarilla was on the verge of discovering the Assamites’ most sacred haven – the Alamut.  To prevent this from happening, Assamite elders agreed to a truce and the clan was subjected to the now famous Blood Curse, making vampire blood poisonous to them.

Tariq escaped the curse, as he was out on a covert mission at the time.  When he tried to return to the Alamut, he was greeted in the wilderness by some of his clan mates.  They gave him the bad news and informed him that he was to be exiled.  As the most notable diabolist in the clan, he was to be the scapegoat for all their crimes.  He would always be on the run and would never be able to return to the Alamut.  Tariq nodded and agreed this was best for the clan.  Before he left, the Assamites attached a spirit guardian to Tariq – a wraith who would always alert him when danger was near.

The Assamites publicly rebuked Tariq and promised the Camarilla they would help hunt him down.  But infact they have done nothing.  Even in exile Tariq is a benefit to the clan, allowing them to occasionally kill off an enemy and frame Tariq for the crime.

Tariq’s spirit guardian proved to be a valuable asset.  The spirit was so helpful, it was virtually impossible to ever surprise Tariq.   The Tremere Antitribu began to seek out Tariq, hoping to recruit him into the Sabbat.  After years of failed attempts and many slain warlocks, they discovered Tariq’s spirit guardian and were able to sever the connection.  Tariq was finally captured and subjected to every torment possible.  But after months of torture, Tariq refused to bend and the Tremere antitribu gave up in disgust.

Instead of killing Tariq, they performed the Ritual of Quenching the Lambent Flame, a spell that effectively reduced him to a 13th generation vampire.  Now a weak neonate in a world full of enemies, Tariq was dumped into the middle of Camarilla territory.  But he refused to give up.  With over 500 years of experience behind him, Tariq began a series of attacks on Camarilla havens, destroying the fearful vampires who couldn’t escape in time.  News of these attacks spread and many began to believe the Red Lister had gone mad.

Djuhah, the Black Hand Seraph, learned about Tariq’s plight and sensed an opportunity.  He assigned a pack of Black Hand elite to recruit Tariq at all costs.  The pack was to refer to Tariq as their “Dominion” (pack leader).  So for now it would appear Tariq commands a permanent Black Hand column.  For his part, Tariq is aware his spirit guardian has been figuratively replaced by this column of Assamite antitribu.

Tariq is a striking fellow with light eyes and jet-black skin.  But since his encounter with the Tremere antitribu, his ageless face has begun to wrinkle and his hair is starting to turn gray.

– Sources:  Children of the Night, pg 15-16.  Kindred Most Wanted, pg 68-74.

Know Your Kindred – Jamal

Name:  Jamal
Clan:  Assamites
Generation:  4th
Embrace:  Unknown

Jamal was a warrior from Africa who rose to prominence among the Assamites in the 12th century.  Jamal distinguished himself as a leader, master swordsman and archer during the Crusades.

But during the Anarch Revolt, Jamal would suffer his greatest failure.  The Eldest sent him on a mission to destroy the Tzimisce elder Dracula, who was standing in the way of the proposed Assamite-Tzimisce alliance.  Jamal disappeared for a century, returning to the Alamut bearing the scars of a vicious battle.  He spoke to no one, except the du’at and Eldest of his defeat, and they never made the details public.

Five years later the Treaty of Tyre was signed with the Camarilla and the Eldest committed suicide to expiate his shame.  Jamal, then the oldest active fourth generation Child of Haqim, assumed the Black Throne in 1497.

Jamal proved a cunning and effective Eldest.  But his practice of the Muslim faith troubled many Assamites who followed the Path of Blood.  They didn’t believe a mortal religion could  reconcile with Haqim’s codes.

In the end, Jamal’s faith would be his undoing.  When ur-Shulgi arose, Jamal refused to recant his faith in favor of utter devotion to Haqim.  Ur-Shulagi staked him and impaled his body above the Black Throne for a month.  After draining his body of all its blood, ur-Shulagi scattered Jamal’s ashes across the sands of Petra.  But the message did not intimidate the Muslim Assamites as ur-Shulagi thought.  Instead they now use Jamal’s name as a rallying cry.

– Source:  Clanbook: Assamite (Revised), pg 95

Know Your Kindred – Fatima Al-Faqadi

Name:  Fatima Al-Faqadi
Clan:  Assamite
Generation: 6th
Embraced: 1102

Fatima is widely regarded as one of the most proficient killers among the Children of Haqim.  Yet she lives in exile from the rest of her clan.  Like Jamal, she too is a dedicated Muslim, who regards Haqim as only a guide for affairs on Earth.

After completing a contract to kill the Sabbat Cardinal, Ambrosio Moncada, Fatima received word from her sire that she must choose between Allah and Haqim or face destruction.  She never returned to Alamut and simply vanished.  Ur-Shulgi declared her a renegade and must be destroyed.  Fatima cares little about this now.  After a year of meditating in a cave near Mecca, she renewed her faith in Allah.

Fatima is the definition of beauty.  She is very graceful and posses a lean, muscular build and large, almond-shaped eyes.  Usually she dresses in a manner that suits the current contract she is pursuing.  Otherwise she wears traditional Arab garb.

Fatima was a former lover to the Lasombra Lucita.  The two sparked a romance long ago during the Crusades.  But the two women were often at odds.  Over the centuries they’ve fought for and against each other.  Although their affair has ended, Fatima still has strong feelings for Lucita and has often saved her life.  When the Elders put Fatima on a contract to kill Lucita, she leaked word back to Lucita of the impending danger.  When Fatima showed up to strike, Lucita was ready and sent Fatima to torpor.  It is the only contract Fatima ever failed to complete.

When other Assamites engage Fatima in combat, they found themselves staked and shipped to Baghdad with the warning “mercy is sharper than any knife” ringing in their ears.

In the final nights of Gehenna, Fatima was visited by Haqim himself.  The invisible Antediluvian whisked around her unseen, like a desert wind.  Terrified beyond belief, Fatima bravely explained she had no regrets about her faith.  All she ever did was to serve her clan and give glory to Allah and also to Haqim when possible.  After she was done the Antediluvian circled around her, then vanished.  Fatima was very grateful and fell to the ground crying tears of joy, for Haqim had declared her worthy.

– Source:  Clanbook: Assamite, pg 95.  Children of the Night, pg 80-81. The Final Night, pg 293-294.

Know Your Kindred – Thetmes

Name: Thetmes
Clan: Assamite
Generation: 5th
Embraced: 25 B.C.

Thetmes was a young Egyptian recruited to fight against Cleopatra and her Roman allies. The battle ended in defeat and Thetmes was sold into slavery as a gladiator. He excelled in the ring and caught the eyes of many wealthy spectators. He was eventually sold to a rich Syrian who offered Thetmes the opportunity to join the Web of Knives.

Thetmes rose to lead the Web and many thought he epitomized the stereotype of the Assamite assassin – no longer a solider or gladiator, but an artist whose chosen craft was death.

After the disastrous assault on Vienna in 1529, that saw the destruction of 30 warriors and a dozen sorcerers. Thetmes returned to Alamut and challenged the Caliph who commanded the assault to an unarmed fight to the death. The duel lasted just long enough for Thetmes to shatter each of the Caliph’s major joints and twisting his head from his shoulders.  He presented the crumbling skull to Jamal before it turned to dust. Thetmes was then named the new Caliph of Alamut.

Thetmes was at odds with Jamal‘s adherence to the Muslim faith, but he never censured anyone who professed Muslim beliefs. When ur-Shulgi returned, Thetmes disappeared. Rumors spread that he was killed in a manner similar to Jamal, or that he was on a covert mission for the Eldest. Infact Thetmes is ur-Shulgi’s right hand man. Thetmes is troubled that during one of his many periods in torpor he missed Haqim’s last appearance. Thetmes believes serving ur-Shulgi will atone for that shortcoming.

Thetmes carries himself like a hunting cat: eyes constantly in motion and his body is still. When dealing with non-Assamite vampires, he uses Obfuscate to blur his features and uses cosmetics to lighten his jet-black skin, downplaying his age and clan in order to create a false sense of security.

– Source: Clanbook: Assamite, pg 96.