Know Your Kindred – Cristos Mantigo

Name: Cristos Mantigo
Clan: Toreador antitribu
Generation: 10th
Embraced:  1924

Cristos was a photographer, who could not get over the battlefield horrors he had witnessed during World War I.  No longer happy with his life in Spain, Cristos moved to the United States with his wife and infant son.

But America was not the land of opportunity Cristos had hoped.  His wife and son died of pneumonia shortly after their arrival and Cristos found himself working 14 hours a day in a sweatshop, earning next to nothing. The Sabbat’s visit was a godsend.

Surviving his first War Party against a Ventrue elder, Cristos proved to be a good recruit, escaping with most of the elder’s valuables in hand.  Ever since then Cristos has been collecting wealth, as well as publishing several successful photography books under different surnames.

The Last Light is a nightclub Cristos opened.  He uses it as his haven, an income generator and a place where he can select his next meal.

Cristos likes to carry two Glock 17 pistols and a camera.  But under his gruff exterior is the soul of a man who loves people and likes to surround himself with mortals. They still have more life in them than any vampire he’s ever met.

Cristos still has guilt over his family’s death and has secretly taken up charity work, helping new immigrants.

– Source:  Guide to the Sabbat (1st Ed.), pg 94-95.

Know Your Kindred – Rosa Martinez

Name:  Rosa Martinez
Clan: Toreador antitribu
Generation: 6th
Embrace: 1880

Since she was a child, Rosa has been taken care of by Melinda Galbraith. Melinda saw to it that Rosa was educated, had a home and was trained to fight as a warrior. As such Rosa is very loyal to Melinda and would die to protect her. Rosa is well aware of Huitzilopochtli‘s presence, referring to him as “master”  and encourages Melinda to follow his advice.  Rosa is also a follower of the Path of Evil Revelations.

Rosa is a very tall woman, standing 6 feet 4 inches with a very muscular frame. She has sandy blonde hair and blue eyes. The most noticeable feature about Rosa is her clothing – a man’s suit and overcoat to hide the arsenal of weapons she’s carrying.

Rosa terrifies everyone, but her influence only extends as far as her reach.

– Sources: Chaos Factor, pg 58-59.

Know Your Kindred – Melinda Galbraith

Name:  Melinda Galbraith
Clan:  Toreador antitribu
Generation:  5th
Embraced:  1143 BC

Melinda Galraith is considered to be one of the most dangerous vampires in the world, notorious for her cruelty.  Melinda is a stunning woman with dark brown hair and hazel eyes.  She is always dressed in the finest clothes money can buy.  Once the Cardinal of Mexico City, she later became the Regent of the Sabbat.

Although Melinda was really a Toreador, she claims to be a Lasombra for purely political reasons, since traditionally the Regent comes from the Lasombra clan.  Only the Seraphim of the Black Hand know Melinda’s true lineage.

In life, Melinda was a slave girl in Europe working for the Toreador, Helena.  Melinda hated being a slave and promised herself that she wouldn’t let that happen to her again.  Later she was Embraced by Helena and forced into a Blood Bond – another form of slavery.

Melinda traveled to Mexico with Helena and the Conquistadors, where they waged war against the Aztecs.  Then without a word of warning Helena abandoned Melinda.  But Melinda’s memories may not be accurate, as she’s been under the influence of the demon Baali known as Hitzilopoctli.  He slumbers beneath her city and slowly twisted her mind.  She is under the belief that Helena betrayed her.  Hitzilopoctli prepared to make Melinda believe he was her sire and lover.  Melinda still has feelings of love for Helena, but also of hatred for what she did to her.

Melinda went missing for months after a major unexplained disaster in Mexico City that killed thousands. Hitzilopoctli was the force behind the disaster.  Melinda was trying to help him awaken from hundreds of years spent in torpor, but other vampires from the Camarilla interfered and a major earthquake and explosion erupted, devastating the Mexico City region.  Hitzilopoctli disappeared, having either been destroyed or returned to his unending sleep.  And Melinda vanished.

But before the Sabbat could replace her as Regent, Melinda returned and reaffirmed her position of power.  But it was not Melinda who reappeared after the disaster.  It was an entity known as the Red Death, a being who could make itself look like anyone it comes in contact with.  While the Red Death can copy appearances, it cannot capture memories and this false Melinda was exposed as an impostor and killed before the Seraphim.

*Note:  The Red Death Trilogy is now considered to be non-canon.  Here is another account of Melinda’s disappearance:

Since the 2001 Palla Grande, Melinda has kept a terrible secret – she is actually Zachary Sikorsky, a Tzimisce impostor.  Zachary was scheduled to meet Melinda and present her a “costume” for the big ball that night.  But upon entering the room he found her crumbling body on the floor and a strange sign painted in blood on the wall of her dressing room.

Fearing the elders would accuse him of her murder, or atleast make him the scapegoat, Zachary quickly changed his appearance and took her place inorder to save his own life.

He intended to only impersonate her until the festivities were over and he would simply slip away into the night.  But weeks and then months went by and Zachary never found a chance to escape from the Regent’s retinue of bodyguards, aides, supplicants and cronies.

– Source:  Chaos Factor, pg 54-55.  Unholy Allies, pg 131.  Unbeholden, pg 3-4, 80, 174, 335-339.  Mexico City by Night, pg. 95-96

Know Your Kindred – Helena

Name:  Helena
Clan:  Toreador
Generation:  4th (previously 5th)
Embrace:  1233 BC

For a time Helena was the most powerful Kindred in Chicago.  Even though she laid in torpor for over 100 years, she controlled the whole city through her mental powers.  But throughout her unlife she has been locked in a 1300 year war with her archenemies, the Brujah Menele.

The two Kindred’s history goes back to Carthage, a city where humans and vampires lived in peace and harmony.   Carthage was Menele’s utopia until Helena betrayed the city to the Romans.  In return Menele summoned a fire storm that destroyed Helena’s city of Pompeii.  The two have since chased each other around the world, until they finally met in hand-to-hand combat on a Civil War battlefield in Illinois.  They traded thunderous blows and sent each other to torpor.

Their bodies were rescued by their retainers and brought to safety.  Although she laid in torpor, Helena was still able to use her Auspex and Dominate to continue her fight against Menele and in the process manipulate others to shape Chicago as she desired.

In 1990, Helena finally awoke from torpor.  The psychic warfare continued between she and Menele, until in 2000, Menele used the Daughters of Cacophony to sing a song that sent Helena back to torpor.  The spell did not last long and Helena awoke again.  Her hatred of Menele and her willingness to pay any cost for even a weak and convoluted form of revenge had her teaming up with the demon-worshiping vampire, Barbaro.  Helena aided Barbaro in a dark ritual which sent her through the Abyss and to summon the ancient Baali – Nergal, Prince of Hell.

In exchange for greater power, Helena gave a part of her soul to Nergal.  She hoped he would aid her in destroying Menele, but Nergal refused.  Instead he gave her the location of Menele’s haven, where she would have to lead any assault herself.  Helena was not happy to receive so little after paying so much.

Helena went to Montreal, where she made a deal with the demon Metathiax to obtain the Kaymakli Fragment – an engraved disk with ancient writing about the end of the world.

Despite some set backs, Helena finally found Menele, who had just come out of torpor.  After already killing the !Toreador Mercy, a wounded Helena collided and fought violently with Menele.  Helena sank her fangs into Menele’s neck and he in turn sank his fangs into her chest.  A combination of images and memories flooded between the two old enemies as they consumed each other’s blood.  In the flurry, a shocking revelation flashed before both their eyes.  The struggle ended and the two engaged in a passionate kiss.  The sun began to rise and shine into the room.  The two Kindred rolled away from each other to escape the light.  Helena grabbed the Fragment and left with a new sense of duty.

Helena now hopes the Kaymakli Fragment will lead to Lilith, the Dark Mother, Adam’s first wife and ex-lover of Lucifer.  Helena hopes Lilith will help her find a way to regain her soul.

Most Recently, Helena was last seen on a sail boat near the Red Sea.  Upon learning that the Gangrel Warlord Karsh was appointed the Camarilla’s new Imperator, Helena, with the Kaymakli Fragment in her hands, set sail for Zanzibar to visit an “old friend.”

To be continued…

Sources:  Chicago By Night, pg 102-103.  Nights of Prophecy, pg 37-40. VTES Storyline Tournaments.

Know Your Kindred – Rafael de Corazon

Name: Rafael de Corazon
Clan: Toreador
Generation: 5th
Embraced: 1182

Many Toreador see Rafael as the symbolic heart of the clan. Though he is not the eldest, most poweful or most talented of the Toreador, he is the most influential. He won their hearts and minds during the Inquisition.

Rafael de Corazon is the author of the 5th Tradition – “Thou shall not reveal thy true nature to those not of the blood.” His passionate speech reached even the most closed minds and prevented the Kindred from launching an all-out-war with the mortals. Instead they covered their tracks and many believe it was Rafael who saved their kind from extinction.

Rafael is exceedingly vain, loathing anything that is more beautiful than himself. As such, he surrounds himself with people of lesser beauty.

He is also a mediocre artist and was not respected by the other Toreador. So he used his power to damage and embarrass them. Since he can not create great art himself, he uses his wealth to sponsor many talented artists.

Rafael hates the anarchs with a passion and wants to destroy them.

In life Rafael was a simple altar boy, resented by the other boys for his beauty. He used his favor with the bishop to lash back as his bullies. This was his first taste of power.

Rafael found little success as a priest, as he lacked the talent and knowledge needed for the job. Passed over again and again for important positions, he began to oversee the creation of mosaics and illustrated manuscripts. Rafael claimed credit for the finest pieces the monks created and threatened anyone who challenged him.

Rafael was embraced by Callisti y Castillo, a mysterious noblewoman the other clergy said was a pagan witch. She was taken by Rafael’s beauty and the illustrations he claimed to have made.

Callisti took him to her lair and embraced him. When she asked him to make more drawings, he tried, but they were mediocre at best and he admitted deceiving her earlier. She almost killed him in anger, but he begged for his unlife, arguing that his lies were a form of great art. This excuse amused Callisti and she spared him.

Eventually Callisti traveled to India and left Rafael to run her affairs while she was away. He wasted no time in exploiting her power, using her authority to propose treaties, form alliances, launch territorial wars and create numerous childer.

– Source: Children of the Inquisition, pg 35

Know Your Kindred – Victoria Ash

Name:  Victoria Ash
Clan:  Toreador
Generation: 8th
Embraced:  1650

Victoria Ash is a singer, dancer and one-woman spectacle.   She had a number-one pop hit on the charts for one week in 1997.  The song entitled “The Unique Technique,” was played everywhere – on radio stations, in supermarkets, even on late night TV.  But the song vanished as quickly as it appeared.  Nonetheless, Victoria had everyone in the world listening to her.   It only took her three centuries to get that far.

In life she was the bastard daughter of an alewife.  When she was 13, she ran away with a solider who later abandoned her.   She then became a prostitute, selling sex to soldiers.  But she separated herself from the other women with her beauty, singing voice and the fact she was very good at her work.

Her singing attracted the attention of a vampire and known pimp named Maximilian.   He made her his ghoul to preserve her beauty.  Within five years she was the campaign concubine for Louis II, Prince de Conde.   War and conflict between England and France continued and Maximillian was nearly killed by a rival Toreador guild.  Victoria managed to save her sire’s life and they fled to the Netherlands.   Once Maximilian recovered from his injuries, thanks to Victoria’s blood, he repaid her by embracing her in 1650.

After returning to England in 1660, Maximillian was killed by his former rivals.  Victoria barely managed to escape by stowing away in a ship heading to the New World.  She was one of the first Kindred on the continent.  She’s spent the last three centuries getting to know America.  She enjoys its wealth, selfishness, hypocrisy and honesty in equal measures.

Victoria is extraordinarily beautiful and she knows it.  Even male Kindred who have long forgotten the passions of the flesh turn their heads when she enters a room.  Victoria has one flaw on her body, a small mark branded on her neck by a Tzimisce named Elford.  Victoria tries to avoid looking at it in the mirror and wears hairstyles that cover it from view.

Sadly Victoria’s life came to an end during the nights of Gehenna when a Nosferatu named “Samuel” slit her throat and carved her to pieces in an attempt to frame his mortal enemy, the Gangrel Beckett, for her murder.

Sources:  Clanbook: Toreador, pg 93-94.  The Final Night, pg 69, 172

Know Your Kindred – Rafael de Corazon

Name: Rafael de Corazon
Clan: Toreador
Generation: 5th
Embraced: 1182

Many Toreador see Rafael as the symbolic heart of the clan. Though he is not the eldest, most powerful or most talented of the Toreador, he is the most influential. He won their hearts and minds during the Inquisition.

Rafael de Corazon is the author of the 5th Tradition – “Thou shall not reveal thy true nature to those not of the blood.” His passionate speech reached even the most closed minds and prevented the Kindred from launching an all-out-war with the mortals. Instead they covered their tracks and many believe it was Rafael who saved their kind from extinction.

Rafael is exceedingly vain, loathing anything that is more beautiful than himself. As such, he surrounds himself with people of lesser beauty.

He is also a mediocre artist and was not respected by the other Toreador. So he used his power to damage and embarrass them. Since he can not create great art himself, he uses his wealth to sponsor many talented artists.

Rafael hates the anarchs with a passion and wants to destroy them.

In life Rafael was a simple altar boy, resented by the other boys for his beauty. He used his favor with the bishop to lash back as his bullies. This was his first taste of power.

Rafael found little success as a priest, as he lacked the talent and knowledge needed for the job. Passed over again and again for important positions, he began to oversee the creation of mosaics and illustrated manuscripts. Rafael claimed credit for the finest pieces the monks created and threatened anyone who challenged him.

Rafael was embraced by Callisti y Castillo, a mysterious noblewoman the other clergy said was a pagan witch. She was taken by Rafael’s beauty and the illustrations he claimed to have made.

Callisti took him to her lair and embraced him. When she asked him to make more drawings, he tried, but they were mediocre at best and he admitted deceiving her earlier. She almost killed him in anger, but he begged for his unlife, arguing that his lies were a form of great art. This excuse amused Callisti and she spared him.

Eventually Callisti traveled to India and left Rafael to run her affairs while she was away. He wasted no time in exploiting her power, using her authority to propose treaties, form alliances, launch territorial wars and create numerous childer.

Sources: Children of the Inquisition, pg 35