Assamite (Low Clan)

[Tami]

Assamite



The crusaders brought back many tales from the holy land, some of which concerned a band of fanatical killers. The word the Europeans coined for these silent murderers was assassin. The Cainites, however, already knew of a similar but more dangerous threat from Araby – the diabolist of clan Assamite.

The vampires of the West had encountered the Assamites long before the crusaders. Some say that the conquerors who set out for the East – Alexander, for example – were pawns of the Cainties who feared the Assamites. Rumors aside, the Assamites are dreaded for good reason – they seek to better themselves through the practice of Diablerie.

According to Assamite teachings, one must lower his generation in order to become closer to Caine, and therefore heaven. The truest method is, of course, Diablerie. Murder was simply part and parcel of the way, and they became skilled of necessity. They even began a practice of accepting blood, from other Cainites. Although honor bound to defend their clanmates, the Assamites had no compunctions about slaying any foreign vampires.

Recently, the crusades have stirred up a new rash of assamite activity. Many of the clan have watched their herd and living family suffer at the hands of the marauding Westerners, and they thirst for revenge. As Islam takes root in the lands of the Middle East, and Western atrocities hover ever closer, the Assamites are now more than ready than ever to drink deeply of the European vitae, whether contracted to do so or not.

Sobiquet: Saracens

Appearance: there are no known Assamites from any other culture than those of the east _ Arab, Moor and the like. Consequently, most have the distinguishing characteristics of the “Saracen.”: Swarthy skin, aquiline features and dark hair and eyes. Unlike other Caintites they do not grow paler in death. Instead, their skin becomes darker over the years: very elder Assamites are nearly ebony Skinned

Haven: The clan elders live in Almut, a hidden fortress atop a mountain somewhere in Asia Minor. Neonates who operate in Europe chose the most inaccessible, remote and private locations as their havens.

Background: The clan tends to watch potential neonates before allowing an Assamite to sire progeny. Although necessity sometimes demands that a new Childe be sired quickly, the Assamites prefer making time for an apprenticeship. Optimally, the teach a new initiate ( or fida’i) for seven years, but this varies with need. The one thing that no Assamite sire neglects to instill in his childe is clan loyalty.

Character creation: Assamites do not embrace females or Westerners, and tend to select mathematicians, poets and scientist as often as they choose warriors and thieves. Their demeanors disguise tier true selves by necessity. Any Attributes may be primary, but skills are usually the primary abilities. Popular backgrounds include Mentor (The Sire) and generation (Often from Diablerie) virtually every Assamite follows the Blood road.

Clan Disciplines: Celerity Obfuscate, Quietus

Weaknesses: All Assamites must give a 20 percent blood tithe to their Sires, in accordance with clan law. In addition, the practices of the Assamites mean that any ritual or Auspex use which could detect a Diabolist will pinpoint an Assamite – even if the Assamite had never even so much as tasted another Vampire’s blood.

Organization: The Assamites follow a hierarchy that peaks with the Old Man of the Mountain, the master of the Clan. Assamites are incredibly loyal to one another, and the clan operates with a startling efficiency. If not for the Clans insistence on self reliance, one who wrongs a fida’i could well feel an Assamite elder’s anger.

Quote: Hush and be still, O my enemy. It is nothing less than fate which drives my hand, and you suffer no dishonor in falling to a superior foe.

[Tami]

(Revised Book)

The Cainite Princes of Europe call the Assamites diabolists, fanatics, assasins, and Saracens. Most properly, they are the Children of Haqim, the lords of the Levantine night. Although high-blooded scholars apocryphally regard the Assamite progeniture as a traitor who abandoned his brethren in time of need, Assamite lore speaks of Haqim as a noble warrior-judge who opposed the inhuman machinations of the Third Generation in the Second City. Haqim's descendants trace their roots back to ancient Persia, the founder's birthplace, and claim to be the Cainite power behind the Mesopotamian, Babylonian, and Assyrian empires. Haqim laid down a series of rules to his childer in those nights, commanding that they honor their their eldest, protect mortals from the schemes of other Cainites and judge (and punish) those found wanting. Since the collapse of those ancient kingdoms, the clan has become associated with all the tribal peoples of the Middle East and, through them, with Islam. By the reckoning of most European vampires, Clan Assamite is a monolithic army of paynim zealots.

In fact, it took many nights for Islam to be accepted as even remotely legitimate by the Children of Haqim. From Alamut, the clan's spiritual heart in the mountains of Anatolia, clan elders at first claimed that it violated their covenant with their progenitor. As the combination of zeal, wisdom and unity that was so evident in the early caliphate entranced more and more Assamites, a deep rift tore through the clan. Some renounced their lineage entirely during this time of strife and came to be called the Dispossessed. It took the threat of destruction at the hands of the infernal Baali for Haqim's divided brood to finally reunite. After a bloody and terrible nocturnal war some five centuries ago, the clan emerged far more unified, if only to safeguard its holdings. While a majority of the clan does indeed now feel protective (or possessive) of the Muslim herd, significant minorites call themselves Christians, Jews or Zoroastrians or followers of other more obscure faiths.

Beyond matters of faith, the clan is also broken up into three distinct castes--warriors, sorcerers, and viziers--and each follow Haqim's laws in its own way. Warriors are the most dominate caste, but they have only held this position since the Prophet's death. They remain Islam's fiercest adherents in the clan.

Assamite sorcerers claim to be the oldest practitioners of vampiric blood-magic. Many use kalif, an herbal hallucinogen grown through mystical means. The drug is ingested through the blood of mortals who have smoked leaves of the plant, and it offers the sorcerers a glimpse at enlightment and a means by which they focus their consciousness. This caste is responsible for much of the clan's tight-knit organization, as its members excel in mystical methods of communication across great distances.

Of all the castes, the viziers typically spend most time around Cainites of other clans, and the caste has cultivated contacts in Europe. When they are successful in their diplomatic endeavors, viziers often emerge as either sagacious advisors or objective third-parties in various Cainite negotiations.

Sobriquiet:

Children of Haqim; Saracens

Appearance:

The vast majority of Assamites are of Middle-Eastern descent. Although their dress tends to towards the more traditional, a great variety can be found between the three castes, especially those who depart the relative safety of the Levant for destinations in Europe proper. Rather than paling over time, Assamites are unique in that their visage darkens with age. A true elder can be marked by the ebon and somewhat lustrous shade of his skin.

Haven and Prey:

Assamites gravitate towards havens that conceal their nocturnal activities, particularly those they procure while visiting European domains. Security is always paramount, and all the but the most materialistic Assamites favor a well-concealed hovel over a dangerously conspicuous palace. When in foreign lands, Assamites feed with deliberate care, often upon the city's undesirables, lest they draw unwanted attention from mortal or vampiric authorities.

The Embrace:

The Children of Haqim prefer to select potential fida'i, apprentices, from the ranks of their own tribal followers and families, although outlanders (including Europeans) occasionally prove themselves worthy of Haqim's Blood. Beyond this warriors value faith, dedication, and above all, loyalty. Sorcerers tend to Embrace mortals whose experiences mirror the work of the undead blood-wizards themselves, such as Sufi mystics and Bedouin dervishes. Vizier fledglings typically share an overall sharpness of mind and keeness of ambition.

Character Creation:

Members of the warrior caste typically possess highly developed martial skills, favoring Physical Attributes and combat Abilities. In broad strokes, sorcerers tend toward Mental Attributes and Knowledges, and viziers toward an eclectic mix of Mental and Social Attributes and Abilities. Most Saracens have at least one dot in Mentor (their sire), as well as one or two dots in Generation, due to their practice of diablerizing those who have been judged unfit. The Roads of Heaven, of Kings, and of Humanity are all popular, though most traditional Assamites follow the secretive Road of Blood.

Warrior Disciplines:

Celerity, Obfuscate, Quietus

Warrior Weakness:

The warriors are marked by their tradition of ritual diablerie. Any supernatural ability to sense the dark taint of Amaranth confirms a warrior Assamite as a diablerist, even if the subject has never tasted the blood of another Cainite. (Some also suffer from a blood curse laid upon them by the Baali, and have Blood Madness Flaw.

Sorcerer Disciplines:

Assamite Sorcery (or Thaumaturgy, Assamite sorcerers can start with any path of Thaumaturgy as their primary path), Auspex, Quietus

Sorcerer Weakness:

Sorcerers have difficulty hiding their arcane nature. All mystical attempts to determine magic usage on and around the character are considered easier.

Vizier Disciplines:

Auspex, Celerity, Quietus

Vizier Weakness:

Viziers are exacting to a fault. Each character is considered to possess an obsession or compulsion derangement associated with his highest intellectual or creative Ability. While this derangement is active, the character's halo glows in such a way as to provide a careful observer with hints as to the vizier's true Nature, as well as the object of his obsession, upon any sucessful use Auspex:Soulsight.

Organization:

Thanks in part to the communication power of its sorcerer caste, the Assamites are organized much more intricately than many other clans. Overall, the ''Old Man of the Mountain'' (the eldest childe of Haqim not in torpor) leads the clan from the Black Throne at Alamut. That honor currently falls to the sorcerer Sha'hiri although he is said to be slipping into the Sleep of Ages. Each of the castes maintains its own distinct figurehead, and it is these three individuals--collectively called the du'at--who are most responsible for the night-to-night operations of the clan. The most powerful on the council is Caliph Jamal, the powerful sword and statesman at the head of the warrior caste. Viziers follow the dictates of Tegyrus, who once rode with Alexander the Great. The sorcerers have been led for many centuries by the mighty Amr-al-Ashrad.

Quote: You, who would have us stand by as you make a ruin of all we have come to hold sacred, shall know the judgment of Haqim.