Three Eyes by Gaslight
Who We Are
Usupers had more value in existing than we. They had magics they were prepared to use on behalf of their clients, while we chided them for their depredations. Is it any wonder why they chose the magi? With us gone, disease in herds began to grow, and the mortals took notice.
Most of us hid. Only the al-Amin, Salubri who embraced Islam, were open about their heritage; the Ashirra covenant of the Levant treasured them as members of the community. Others like Mokur, Saulot’ s childe and companion upon his return from the East, continued to preach Golconda. Too often, this led the Tremere right to us. Most never put up a fight unless it involved defending the mortal flock around them, and even then there was a decided tendency to surrender in exchange for communities remaining unharmed.
The Anarch Revolt and mortal upheavals were a welcome respite for us, even if it was traumatic for the rest of Kindred society. It turns out that not having very many elders, Embracing rarely while maintaining a deep sirechilde mentorship, and hiding within dispossessed mortal communities, tends to insulate a Clan against upstart neonates and downtrodden ancillae. Who knew? We survived, even thrived, in some isolated Cathar communities.
The Convention of Thorns ended our somewhat-blessed nights. Backed by the Camarilla, the Tremere resumed their hunt. In 1525, Mokur himself fell to Etrius’ fangs, and when word spread, those Salubri left in Europe knew it was time to leave. We took root in the far corners of the world, where the Camarilla could not or would not reach: crossing the bright Sahara to become the Nkulu Zao, being adopted by our long-lost cousins the Wu Zao, or joining the Ravnos in their eternal war against the Cathayan menace. And we took steps to stay ahead of the Camarilla, prepping our hiding spaces before they could sweep across the area. The results are writ across my face, childe.
Three Eyes by Gaslight
Our first flirtation with the Sabbat should be seen as our Anarch Revolt some four centuries too late. Emboldened by the Tremere becoming more involved with the Camarilla, we Salubri ancillae Embraced anew, bringing bright lights into the Clan. Globalization brought the Clan back into contact once again. Those lights flared when they became aware of the larger political situation, and demanded we help the enemies of our ancient foes. They defected en masse to the Sabbat, becoming the first Salubri antitribu.
Their tenure was an unhappy one, for several reasons. We were poorly suited to the Sabbat, at least as it was during the Victoria’ s reign. I was still in my homeland at the time, before Samiel’ s Precept shook me out of my quiescence, but I learned the results years later: Salubri lost to Wassail or torn apart by their packmates, trying in vain to cling to Humanity or stop their pack from ripping into some unfortunate group of mortals. And the Tremere of the Sabbat weren’ t terribly fond of the new Salubri. And so our neonates returned to us chastened, or they never returned at all.
Three Eyes in the Modern Nights
A dead Clan? Hardly. We have to hide our light under a bushel, as my sire was fond of saying, but we shine all the same. The Clan exists in the corners of the world, though I’ ll grant that“ thrive” is too strong a word. Where the Camarilla is weak, where humanity is strong: these are where we ensconce ourselves, cleaving to community and duty. For the most part, it’ s a solitary existence, defaulting to the deep sire-childe mentorship that has always defined our Clan. When we’ re separated, forced to run, we try to find or found communities based around our heritage. Why else would I come to Utah, to the lion’ s den? It is one of the largest Maori communities in the world.
We’ re hunted by the Camarilla, and our dedication to humanity keeps us separate from the Sabbat, except for a resurgent antitribu. Mortality shields us. Service defines us. Golconda will save us.
Who We Are
The answer to that question,“ Who are we?” depends on circumstance. In most cases, we’ re hunted and scorned, victims of a still-ongoing Tremere pogrom and propaganda campaign. Even when they’ re not actively hunting us— and truth be told, their attempts these nights are half-hearted at best— they oppose us ideologically, and keep us from surfacing openly in Camarilla cities, even if that was something we desired. We cling to Saulot’ s example: be a light for those Kindred seeking Golconda, even if we haven’ t found it. Safeguard those who wish to cling to Humanity. Keep the human herds safe, clean, and ready for reaping.
Look for suffering, and you’ ll find us there, Embracing a childe to act as our eyes and our hands in a community. We ensure they do not suffer overmuch, even as they remain easy targets for Kindred. We keep fangs from a permanent culling, from taking too much. We avoid most vampires of the Camarilla, unless they seek us for the right reasons— and those reasons are enough to suffer risk of exposure. We avoid too the Sabbat, for they are opposed to all we
LORE OF THE BLOODLINES 77