Acteius
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As per the Camarilla Addendum - 2.1.11.3 Camarilla Settings Bloodlines, playing an Acteius requires Top Approval everywhere.
Written by:
Ashley Perrman UK0204-2067
ashley.omentide@virgin.net
Contents |
Acteius
This ancient line is rarely seen by modern Kindred, but there remain persistent rumors that perhaps they are not as rare as some may think. Traditionally members of the bloodline have served to protect knowledge, libraries and seats of learning. It is not only their Disciplines that serve to make them excellent guards and to perceive danger, but also their deeply obsessive nature. The objects of their protection, termed their �Charge�, tend to be books, manuscripts, and libraries. To a member of this bloodline nothing is more important than this duty, which can take on almost sacred intensity. Because of their obsession with protecting knowledge other Kindred call them �Librarians�.
All members of the bloodline know the tale of their progenitor. It is a tale of great shame, a mark of failure, and one, which as a result drives the Acteius to never again witness or allow the destruction of knowledge. It has become their driving goal, their obsession, and in many ways also their nemesis. All Acteius seek a repository of knowledge to protect, most as a result accepting service to another Kindred as an inevitable consequence, which in turn can create a unique bond. Their obsession to protect their Charge is so strong that it can drive the Acteius to insanity and destruction, something they often strive to prevent happening through the bond of service. Both master and servant tend to know this, the master aware of just how useful and vigilant the Acteius will be, and how fragile she is if her Charge is in danger.
Most often the Acteius will end up in service to a Covenant, as a member of it, guarding an important repository of knowledge. Sometimes they remain outside of the Covenants and instead serve powerful Princes. All who accept the service of the Acteius know one thing, that service will be absolute and unwavering to the point of final death. Contrary to what some may think the Acteius can be very creative in finding ways to protect their Charge. They are masters at seeking out potential threats and ensuring such threats are dealt with. They have an ethos; Knowledge is Protection. As a result the Acteius will strive to fully understand what it is she is protecting. The Acteius will strive to watch far more than simply her Charge, may monitor the movements of others, the Danse Macabre, the politics of mortal society. No kindred should ever forget the ability of the Nosferatu to gather knowledge, the ethos and obsessed nature of the Acteius simply takes this a step further.
To an Acteius the duty to protect their Charge is as binding as a Bond of Blood. It has that power. Those who threaten, or plan to, rarely get to speak of the consequences. To do so is to invite swift death, and like members of their parent clan the Acteius are very good indeed at finding out whom or what might be a threat. There is a saying amongst those who know of the Bloodline, �Never threaten an Acteius or what it is looking after.� Some Princes have even gone as far as considering any kindred who does such a thing upon the Sacred grounds of Elysium as reason for their destruction, such is the risk of resulting violence if no action is taken immediately.
Fear of violence is fixed deep within the psyche of the Acteius, war, conflict, explosives and fire. These are great fears. Being faced with such fears tends to bring out the beast, and to progressively leave more and more mental scars. History has taught this to the Acteius many times. It is something that most will do all they can to prevent, not out of a sense of self preservation, but that it is a threat to all they stand for. Some say there is madness in the bloodline that the very thing they strive to protect is what has brought about their downfall. Maybe this is something for philosophers to debate, for the Acteius it is too close to reality, painful to properly contemplate but essential to understand if the madness is to be avoided. To the Acteius the risk of ever growing madness is called the Curse.
Information
Parent Clan: Nosferatu
Nickname: Librarians
Covenant: The Acteius have no particular leaning towards any Covenant. All Covenants keep records and knowledge so find members of this line very useful providing they can be kept reasonably sane. The precise nature of the role may vary from Covenant to Covenant. The Lancea Sanctum might expect one to guard and protect Holy texts; the Invictus may be more concerned with maintaining proper records. The Circle of the Crone may see them as guardians of sacred knowledge, and the Ordo Dracul as librarians perhaps and an object of study, how can a Kindred be both so powerful and so fragile? Even the Carthian Movement has counted the occasional Acteius within its ranks. To most the Acteius are simply too useful not to have around and too fragile to be left outside of the support and protection of Covenants.
Most Acteius tend to gravitate within the Covenants to important seats or places of knowledge, or into the direct service of high-ranking members. In return they are often granted a great deal of protection and few Covenants are likely to admit to others they have those of this line within their number. The Covenants tend to understand the inherent weakness of this line and to do all they can to ensure the potential for madness is not brought to the fore.
Due to the risk of madness and the ever presence closeness of the beast some have sought membership of the Ordo Dracul, but to date the best that has achieved is to delay the inevitable. Perhaps there is more, perhaps it is only part of the answer to the Curse. Unaligned Acteius tend to be highly coveted for their unique abilities and devotion to duty. It is not just Covenants who would welcome one of this line, some end up in the employ and protection of powerful Princes.
Appearance: The Acteius are no different physically than any other Nosferatu. They have the same horrible disfigurements and the same disturbing demeanor. They may be drawn from all walks of life and all cultures.
Haven: In most instances their haven is likely to be assigned. These tend not to be havens of their own, but those of others who seek to protect knowledge. Often these would be within important Covenant seats of learning. Those very few who are unaligned, and not in service to another, are likely to have havens near or within important places of learning, universities, major libraries etc. Proximity to what they are protecting is by far and away the most important consideration. Within the haven their only real concern is security, they may be very obsessive about security, not in a personal sense but in a desire to protect what they are looking after. Most find themselves in a good deal of comfort as well but this is simply because others have deposited their books, knowledge, tomes or whatever in such places.
Background: The Acteius rarely embrace. To do so would create a Childe and the responsibilities of teaching would interfere with other far more important duties. When they do embrace it is likely to be at the direct request of those they are working for, or because the madness is growing within them and creating a Childe is the only way to ensure the continued protection of their Charge. Traditionally any that are embraced are likely to have served as a ghoul for many years and most Acteius have such ghouls. To them ghouls are the perfect servants to help protect their Charge and some may even come to see losing a ghoul as a direct threat.
Most, if not all, Acteius end up in the service of another Kindred, anything else is simply too dangerous. They accept that serving another kindred is far better than risking the Masquerade by seeking to protect a mortal library. It is simply a matter of expediency to do so. In reality most when embraced are already in service to another Kindred, it is rare and dangerous for one to be created and then released to seek a Charge.
Acteius have a thirst for knowledge. They take one simple view, the more they know the better they will be at protecting their Charge. Similarly the more they know about what they are protecting the better. This can be almost self-delusional, she might even try to convince herself that if she memorizes the entire content it increases its safety. In a way it does, but this does not alleviate any potential threat. However, just like binding themselves by blood to their master, liege, mentor or whatever term they want to use, it does potentially serve to protect them from the growing threat of madness and being consumed by the beast. For many this becomes an important drive, part of protecting their Charge, for they in time come to know that if they go mad, as they surely will without a lot of help, then they will have failed.
Character Creation: Chosen and groomed for mental acumen, a thirst for knowledge and a willingness to serve, characters are likely to have been a ghoul for many years before the Embrace. Most will come from some sort of academic or scholastic background and have an almost obsessive thirst for knowledge. Ghouls will likely be chosen for the right abilities, good memory, self-control and devotion. They are likely to have high Mental and Physical traits, to be perceptive, aware and vigilant. Ghouls will in all probability have been deeply conditioned before the Embrace. Characters tend to be somewhat reclusive and/or to watch from the sidelines. Many also enjoy teaching others but of course are unlikely to have high social traits. Most have at least one loyal ghoul; retainers and herd are also useful if they can be obtained. They tend to be reclusive, often when seen in public their line is not revealed, it is easy enough to claim to be of the parent Clan. Favored abilities include eidetic memory, and skills like meditation and psychology are highly valued for obvious reasons. Their fear of fire would make it unlikely that an Acteius would use firearms, or learn skills that facilitate the use of explosives, incendiary devices and the like.
Bloodline Disciplines: Nightmare, Obfuscate, Vigor & Auspex
Weakness: In addition to the normal Nosferatu clan weakness, the Acteius are difficult to be around. They have exactly the same weakness as their parent clan. The 10 again rule does not apply to any roll involving Presence or Manipulation in social situations. Any 1�s that come up are subtracted from the number of successes. This vulnerability does not apply to dice rolls using the intimidation skill or to the composure attribute.
In addition all Acteius are obsessed with learning and protecting knowledge and have a heightened fear of fire. Should they believe their Charge is in danger they suffer a �2 penalty to resist frenzy as the drive to protect comes raging forth. Acteius are always at an additional �1 penalty when confronted by fire or the serious threat of fire.
Additionally, all Acteius are at �1 to all tests when away from their library, due to their distracted nature.
Organization: Like their parent Clan there is little in the way of organization. Most members of this bloodline are far more concerned with duty than matters of family. Given their small numbers and inclination to remain where they are and dedicated to a task it is not uncommon for a member of the bloodline never to have even met another. Some in these modern days are in communication by other means, electronic mostly, discussions being mostly about how to avoid the terrifying fall into insanity. There may have been an organized bloodline structure in the past, but not now, it has mostly been lost. All that remains is that any who are embraced (a rare occurrence to start with) are taught the heritage as spoken by Sarah.
Concepts: Covenant Archivist, Teacher, Librarian, Security Expert, Advisor. Mentor, Theologian, Scholar, Scientist, Writer, Philosopher.
History
The proudest of the Acteius say that the progenitor of the bloodline was a seer in Egypt, one who had access to the Royal Court of Cleopatra. Of course there is no proof whatsoever and most modern Vampires dismiss this entirely. However the legend goes that the progenitor told Cleopatra that she and Antonius would defeat Rome in a great sea battle and that she would be Queen of the known world. It is said he was in charge of the Library of Alexandria, responsible in part for its upkeep and safety. On his advice Cleopatra went to war against Rome, and at the Battle of Actium the naval forces of Egypt were destroyed. Within a year Cleopatra was dead, so too Antonius. Within that year Augustus took his full and bloody revenge on Egypt and the Roman Empire was born.
It is said that the progenitor witnessed the Roman invasion of Egypt, and most importantly witnessed the destruction of the Library of Alexandria. That through the flames he came to see the torment of the destruction of knowledge, that he saw and felt the pain of fire. It is said that he told Cleopatra that she would win through his own pride and a desire to expand the library, and that instead he brought about its destruction. It is said that the visions drove him mad, that the very gods of Egypt gave him the sight to witness in full what he had brought about.
It is believed he fled into the desert and was not seen again for over 500 years and then he appeared in Jerusalem. The tale goes that he embraced a Childe in Jerusalem and taught his Childe all he knew, told her of his pride and shame. Told her of his guilt, the story of how he brought about not just the destruction of Egypt, but also the loss of the greatest library in the known world. He told her that she and others she must create should never allow knowledge to be destroyed or lost, that it is a sacred duty, one he failed and must pay the price for. He told her he was cursed by the gods of Egypt; cursed with the ability to see what he had done. It is said that he never gave his name, that out of shame he chose to remain nameless. Sarah spoke that when he had completed his task, taught her all he knew, that he gave her his blessing and she in turn promised that the line would forever do all in its power to protect knowledge. Sarah said that the next dawn, he walked into the sun.
This is what Sarah told her Childer, it is what they in turn told theirs. It is what is told to all of the bloodline. It is their truth. The very reason for what they do. It is their story of creation, whether it is true or not, they all believe it with a passion, it is the reason for existence. It is the story of the creation of the Acteius, a name for the bloodline chosen by Sarah as a reminder of the dangers of war.
Growth
Sarah went east into the desert. She was part of the growth of Arab culture and learning before the days of Mohammed. As empires in Europe fell apart, rose, and fell again, she remained in the east. Others of the bloodline traveled in Africa and Asia. The first maps of the known Arab world were created with her knowledge and vision, the sky mapped, the mathematics of navigation created, the growth of science nurtured and protected. As Europe sank into the dark ages, the knowledge within the Arab world grew. Slowly over time, under the banners of Mohammed parts of Europe were reclaimed, the learning and knowledge ever spreading, creating the need for more of the Bloodline in Kindred courts further and further a field.
In time Europe re-emerged from darkness, the Renaissance, a vast explosion of knowledge, of learning, of new ways to think. By then Sarah was gone, but the line was growing in response to need. The great Kindred courts of the known world saw the value of the line, and of course the dangers as well. They were cherished for their ability and devotion to service, protected for their vulnerability, awed for their power.
For the Acteius their way has always been a path littered with the fallen. War is forever the greatest fear. The numbers lost to war, or even to the fear of war, growing just as fast as the expansion of known civilization. So many fell as the Great Khan spread across the known world, this was the first major disaster for the bloodline. Before that during the Crusades, the sacking of Tyre, Jerusalem and Byzantium did some damage but it was small in comparison. Later, the expulsion of the Moors and Jews from Spain, the sack of Toledo did not help, but most accept that this did in time serve to bring about far greater glories.
The times when Europe plunged itself into war took a far heavier toll than small civil wars, but even those drove some to their destruction. If the fear of fire, of the loss of a single book which can be triggered by one individual and can drive an Acteius to frenzy, insanity, and even death, what then the fear of armies? But in those nights there were more decades of peace than years of war, the losses in those years were often localized and not great. The line continued to grow slowly, to seek the patronage of powerful Kindred and Covenants. The Renaissance truly was the high point, a time when the bloodline reached its peak. A time of the great Kindred courts of Europe, a time of learning, culture, peace and prosperity, a time when the Acteius thrived.
Decline
What then with the rise of Napoleon? The rise of technology and science. Explosives, firearms, cannon. This is the ultimate horror for any Acteius. Europe plunged itself into war and chaos. Armies crossed the continent. Austria, France, Spain, Portugal, Prussia, Poland, Russia, the land erupted into flame. No longer was there simply a fear of swords, of an accidental fire started by a candle, now there were cannon, explosives, guns, and the means to destroy cities in a matter of hours. No longer were havens safe, nothing was safe, a war that might a few centuries earlier have killed a few humans, left all else unharmed, now threatened all the Acteius stood for. The bloodline faced its greatest fear, magnified many times. Only in places distant from war did they survive, such was the shock of the realization of what humanity can become capable of. Some thought it could never get worse, how wrong could they be.
Twice in less than 50 years the globe descended into war. The first war was not so bad, that of course is merely relative in comparison to what was to come. It was far worse than anything that had ever come before, it left a mere handful of the Acteius unharmed in Europe and similar losses elsewhere. The machines of war, dreadnoughts, zeppelins, stood as visible reminders of the power of humanity to bring about destruction. To the fragile psyche of the Acteius it was too much to bear.
Briefly there was a recovery before once again the world plunged into war and this time the weapons were even more terrifying. Not one of the bloodline survived in Europe. Even those with Charges that were not directly hit were driven mad with fear. Simply hearing the tales of Dresden, Coventry, London, Warsaw, Leningrad, Moscow was enough to drive most Acteius over the edge, they did not need to be there, the knowledge of events drove them mad, to frenzy, to death. The air raid sirens, the sound of a bomber far overhead, they too were enough. For the Acteius fear is the mind-killer, and in those years fear is all they had. Then came Hiroshima. The news of Hiroshima was thought for some time to have eradicated the line completely, the realization that humanity was now capable of destroying not just cities, but the whole world, that humanity had mastered the power of the sun. It was too much to contemplate. Most went utterly mad, those that did not die needed to be disposed of, the damage to their minds too great.
In a few places, protected by powerful masters, and bound by blood, some survived. The precise numbers are not known, less than a dozen, maybe even half that number. With no internal structure none can be sure, and those who have been secreted away are unlikely to be spoken of. Where they were they stayed, hidden and protected. Almost certainly none returned to Europe, Europe did not get better, if anything it got worse. The world might have started to rebuild and recover but the fear remained, and for the Acteius fear is the killer. No Acteius could remain in or near a city, in a country even, which was the target of nuclear missiles. The Cold War was not a good time.
Recovery?
Only in the last three decades has there been any sign of recovery. How much of a recovery, it is difficult to say. The human weapons exist, there remain global flash points, and the great fear will not fade. Even now their position as a bloodline is in all probability precarious. It is not known how many remain, and many kindred will never have met one of this bloodline. Those few that do remain are protected from threat and assisted to resist the ever-growing danger of madness.
Well this is what some say. Others say the bloodline is a dangerous liability and a permanent threat to the Masquerade. Then there are the tales; maybe they are true, maybe not. It is said that in Harare, a Prince forced one of the bloodline into service, and when his mind broke made to embrace a ghoul before being cast into a pit of fire. The embraced ghoul was then blood-bound to that Prince, a cycle that has since been repeated. It is said that in Detroit one of the bloodline that had gone mad was sold in chains as a gift for diablerie. It is said that in Berlin and in Nanjing members of the bloodline were executed simply for what they were, and that in Cairo, for some unknown reason one was left chained in a courtyard for the sun.
There are rumors that in the past, one by the name of Arif wrote a great treatise on how to avoid the slide into insanity. He is gone now, was last heard of almost 400 years ago in Damascus. The treatise is lost. Simply facing the truth that knowledge has been lost is very painful for the Acteius, but some strive in what time they have to find it, each hoping to be successful before the curse of the bloodline catches up with them.
Society and Culture
The fulcrum on which the Acteius stand is their role, devotion to duty and the one they serve. They are likely to be protected by their master for very good reason, and in return they serve their task with devotion. This is not devotion to the master, but to the Charge. Those in service to a Covenant or Prince are likely to be well respected, if nothing else this serves to keep them safe from attack. The reality is also that they are immensely knowledgeable, and that is always a useful resource for others. Within covenants they may become teachers, mentors, advisors in addition to their primary role. Generally the Acteius take on the society and culture of the master, ward or whatever term they want to use. As a bloodline there is no specific culture since there are so few of them and rarely meet another.
The only internal bond they are likely to have is with a Ghoul or a Childe. This is bound into the tale of the progenitor and the story of Sarah. A ghoul is more often than not a trusted and fully indoctrinated servant. Any Childe will have been embraced for a specific reason and having been a ghoul for a long time likely to already know what is expected.
Those who are embraced are always told the story of Sarah and the progenitor. This is told from her perspective, and although the progenitor is accepted, Sarah is always considered to be the Mother of the bloodline, and her will is that which is followed. The progenitor is not reviled; he is simply seen as a tragic figure, a lesson to all of the consequences of pride and ambition. They tend to also be told the tale about Arif, and be given a cautionary warning about rumored events in Harare, Berlin, Cairo, Detroit and Nanjing.
Most understand the dangers they face in sliding into insanity, it is seen by the bloodline as a curse, a curse placed on the bloodline, on the progenitor by the Gods of Egypt. Most are, in one-way or another, seeking to understand and undo the Curse, or at the very least to control the beast within. To be free of the curse of madness is seen as the only real way to safety so many spend a great deal of time on this, looking for the Treatise of Arif, trying to understand the nature of the curse, or simply in trying to control the beast within.
Acteius are strong advocates of the Vinculum. They see it as a powerful tool and essential to their role. Naturally Ghouls will be subject to the Bond of Blood, so too would any Childe. It is not uncommon for Acteius to accept the Bond of Blood themselves from those whose property is their Charge. To an Acteius that bond may be protective and serve to help resist the emergence of the Beast and resulting madness, as such it serves to help protect the Charge. A wise Acteius balances this carefully, there are always risks in the Vinculum, and the tales of abuses committed on members of the bloodline simply serve to remind all of the risks.
Feeding
Acteius are unlikely to hunt; to do so would mean leaving their Charge. Instead they are more likely to have a Ghoul bring them food. Others Librarians may be provided for by their master, this is not uncommon. They have no particular feeding preferences, beyond a desire to feed safely and quietly. Those vessels brought into an Acteius haven rarely leave; if they did leave they might leave with knowledge that would endanger the Acteius.
