The Seven
The Wu Zao
The al-Amin
Antitribu
are and all we do . The Independent Clans … well , it ’ s best to take them as individuals .
As you ’ ve discovered , we often make individual pacts with elders . Even they have favored kine they do not wish to lose to disease or injury , though , and that gives us bargaining power . Obeah allows us to contribute to the health and heartiness of humanity , and if the herds or domitors agree to give blood as payment , what of it ?
When disease threatens to run rampant over the mortal herds , we ensure the Kindred population does not suffer . The poor and the religious are our herds . From the teeming masses , those under the bridge as it were , we watch the other vampires within the cities . When we see one struggling under the weight of being a monster , we show him what it means to be a man . When we see a neonate or ancilla choosing to feast on rats and cats , we reach out to her , guide her to the paths of real Humanity .
Why do this , when we are hated and brought nothing but suffering ? Some would say we are made to suffer , that it strengthens our souls . Others would disagree .
The Seven
First thing ’ s first : there are more than seven Salubri , let me assure you — and no , I ’ m not counting antitribu in our number . Still , the Seven are by far the best-known representation of our Clan , and continue to succeed admirably in tainting the opinion of the Camarilla against us . They ’ re a mixed blessing to the rest of the Clan : they draw a great deal of attention , but they also define our perception amongst the Kindred , as many hold their crimes against us . Their faults are not perhaps in their souls , but in themselves .
I ’ ll pass on more of my what sire taught me besides Shakespeare : when the Tremere hunts began to gain legitimacy during the War of Princes , seven elders of the Clan decided to follow in Saulot ’ s footsteps , attempting to find enlightenment beyond the reach of the Usurpers . They followed the Silk Road to the East , ostensibly to find the Watchers and learn what secrets Saulot entrusted to them .
They returned as deranged bodhisattvas , caretakers of a false Golconda . Embracing one childe apiece , then guiding that childe along the first steps to the Red Suspire , they urged their childer to commit diablerie upon them to eternally shepherd Raphael ’ s Promise . The Seven believe they remain within the souls and blood of their diablerists , purifying rather than degrading . Besides acting as beacons for other seekers of Golconda or Tremere hunters , they frequently rip out the souls of mortals for their own inscrutable ends .
On the one hand , they attacked my sire , Matthias of Bath , and attempted to diablerize him when he confronted them sometime around the Enlightenment . On the other hand , the neonate who nearly overpowered my sire showed incredible power and puissance for her age , with radiant veins in her aura instead of the pulsating black of diablerie .
The Wu Zao
A ta moko is no tatau , but to answer your actual question , no , I don ’ t wear this face all the time . I learned the trick of hiding after a few years in Hong Kong . As I wandered about Victoria Harbour , I happened upon a sailor , easily charmed by tales of filming the Lord of the Rings . I ’ d just gotten to the topic of tasting blood when he blinked and walked away . Nobody else in the bar could see or hear me , save one , who shook his head sadly and addressed me as “ an unwise Scholar ”.
Perhaps the greatest share of our bloodline still exists in the East , he explained to me over a bit of native food ( much better than that tourist trash ). The Wu Zao divided their bloodline of old into Scholars and Thieves instead of Healers and Warriors , after two childer of Saulot . Secret keepers of Saulot ’ s wisdom , they watch the other creatures of the night , gently manipulating then against the Wan Kuei , the demon Kindred who hold Korea , China , and Japan . Rather than finding difficulty in interacting with humanity , they grow focused on the small details of their obsessions . They also interact as a community , forming cells and continuing their endless war of weariness against the Wan Kuei . “ Xao-lat ’ s wisdom is immortal , even if he was not ,” said my companion . “ We await his return at the turning of the Wheel , and we have kept his enemies weak and cowed for him .”
When I asked him if he was one of the elusive Watchers my sire spoke of , he just laughed .
The al-Amin
In nights past , the greatest of our number were found in the Levant , our ancient strongholds . We hunted Baali , tried to bring peace to the fractured lands of the Middle East , and resisted the Camarilla invaders for centuries . The Ashirra Clans considered our bloodline one of their own , never to be betrayed to the hated heathen Tremere .
Until the first of our World Wars , that is . As mortal powers carved up the lands , the Camarilla finally swept in , and we were swept out with them . Six centuries of service , vanished in a few nights of blood and sorcery . A dozen three-eyed vampires joined the rest of us in exile , the remnants of our last public figures .
Antitribu
I thought the Healers alone had survived the pogroms , or perhaps a few lone Watchers in torpor amongst the Wu Zao sect they built . The Sabbat have sheltered us by default ,
78 SALUBRI