The Orchestra of the Black Hand
In the center of the British Empire , new entertainments and musical styles flooded into the capital . Music evolved , shifted , and birthed new movements , a concerto of sound reaching across the ages .
But my sire was born long before this era . Centuries before , hidden as a weapon by an organization few even knew the existence of : the Tal ’ Mahe ’ Ra .
The Orchestra of the Black Hand
I am told we were conceived as a weapon originally , although there are again several different stories . Sometime after the fall of Rome , there was a plan to create a small cadre of Toreador who might infiltrate the Camarilla . They were to sing and perform for the cream of vampire society and gently nudge them towards insanity . It was to be a slow descent , as each high ranking Kindred became more and more erratic . By the time anyone realized what had happened and moved to replace the insane leaders , the Camarilla would already be in tatters .
So the Tal ’ Mahe ’ Ra assembled some of their best Toreador singers , performers so talented that every Elysium would want them . Then the Sect found a Malkavian to teach them their powers . But it appears things did not go entirely to plan . Some say the Toreador learned too much , while others say it was not enough . Either way , anyone with any sense should have realized that adding a Malvavian to any plan was going to take things in an unexpected direction .
Years became decades , then centuries , and for all the training , controlled Embraces , and manipulation , the Tal ’ Mahe ’ Ra was never entirely happy with what we had become . By the Renaissance we were something new , but we were too different to do the job we were designed for . One arm of the Sect wanted us destroyed on principle , as a loose end . Other , more pragmatic voices insisted there must be a use for us somewhere . As you might imagine , we did not get a vote .
Broken Instruments
Left to our own devices , some of us quietly found ways to slip from Tal ’ Mahe ’ Ra control . We were careful not to reveal ourselves or betray our origins . Of all the Sects , the Tal ’ Mahe ’ Ra is the least forgiving with those who can ’ t keep quiet . Many of us made a living as traveling entertainers among the wealthy . Few Kindred thought of us as anything more than clever Toreador , and our itinerant nature kept too many from asking about our lineage .
Unfortunately , we couldn ’ t keep quiet for long . The music that is our constant companion needed to be free , and as the drawing rooms gave way to music halls and theaters we stepped
into the light . We knew the dangers , but we were like moths to a flame . We could offer our voices to hundreds , and we sang . It was beautiful and glorious . But as you might expect , people began to notice that we were different . Questions were raised , and Princes called upon us to explain ourselves .
Luckily , we keep our secrets well . The oldest Daughters remained among the Tal ’ Mahe ’ Ra , while only the youngest had been forgotten and slipped through the cracks . On the whole , these childer knew almost nothing of their origin , and those who did stayed quiet . The Tal ’ Mahe ’ Ra watched silently , ready to slaughter those of us who revealed too much . A sword of Damocles rested over our entire bloodline . But we remained discrete . We had no interest in politics , and that was enough for us to be left alone . We sang for Princes and they allowed us to stay , even entreated us to join Camarilla society .
So it eventually became time to make a deal . The Tal ’ Mahe ’ Ra didn ’ t want us , and the Camarilla did . We made a pact with our old masters that we would never share their secrets , and in turn they would allow us to exist . Sires would tell nothing to their childer of the Tal ’ Mahe ’ Ra , and myths would be allowed to grow in place of truth . Some of us stayed with the Tal ’ Mahe ’ Ra , including many of our original elders . Those of us who know of our origin know that if we share the tale , our eldest will be the first to pay the price . Some of us share the truth with those we trust . We are , after all , still Kindred , and anyone who trusts a Kindred to keep their word is a fool . But on the whole , we keep the secret ; the stakes are too high not to .
There is one thing about the tale that always makes me wonder . As much as we were part of a plan to destroy the Camarilla , the Tal ’ Mahe ’ Ra had another scheme to destroy the Sabbat . The Sword of Caine is no less dangerous or smaller a threat to their secrecy and agenda . So there must have been another failed experiment . I often wonder what might have happened to that , if it existed , and if some other bloodline out there is , in truth , our sisters .
Our Own Song
As the Victorian age gave way to the new era of technology and science of the modern age , we have remade ourselves anew . Seen one way , we are a forgotten remnant of a failed experiment ; in another light , a new butterfly freed from a cocoon . We can make our own choices at last , carve our own destiny . We are at last able to ask the important question – what do we want ?
The modern age has taken something from us , though . The music halls are mostly gone in an age of recorded music . Some of us can bring our powers to bear on recorded media , but even those who can still yearn for the thrill of performing
LORE OF THE BLOODLINES 21