Among the Kindred
Brujah forgot about us. With little interest in anything requiring patience or effort, and no longer possessing a love of learning, the traitor Brujah ignored us. We continued to record, study, and research, quietly rescuing valuable texts before human or Kindred wars destroyed them in needless waste. We often created disasters when kine began to notice so much was missing from their vaults. Do you believe the great library of Alexandria burned down by accident?
While we have remained in the shadows, we were not insensible of the need for allies. However, we sought such allies from among the other supernatural creatures, wary of trusting to our own kind. Old fears and animosities were nothing more than racism and bigotry, and we have found like minds among strange bedfellows. One constant in all such preternatural scholars is a disappointment in the others of their kind who fail to place reason above violence and paranoia. It is from these groups and loose alliances that the western arm of the Tal’ Mahe’ Ra was born.
Did you not know that the Tal’ Mahe’ Ra had two arms? Well, it’ s of no consequence. As it once was, the Western Tal’ Mahe’ Ra was all we really required. However, everyone had to have a voice, and not every voice was to our liking. Times changed, new alliances were made, and the modern Tal’ Mahe’ Ra was born of such treaties. We have remained a part of it because it still serves a purpose. But its goals no longer truly suit us. It has become part of the all-consuming Jyhad and even expanded their war beyond the Kindred. We wonder sometimes if the Tal’ Mahe’ Ra may be the instrument that brings destruction to the entire world. But that is not our concern. So we do as we always have, and keep enough distance to remain apart.
In these modern nights, we do our best to walk the tightrope between knowing where our enemies lie and taking part in the politics of the Kindred. Our wisdom in avoiding the power struggles of the bloodthirsty has proved its importance time and time again. When the Anarchs began murdering their elders, we were far away. When the Camarilla rose to slaughter their rogue childer, we were forgotten. When the Sabbat nearly tore itself apart in civil war, we were ignored. As it has been, so it will always be. We will be waiting at the end, as we were at the start. We will close the book on the affairs of the Kindred when they have finally destroyed each other. Then we will see what a world we can make without them.
Hidden in the Folds of Time
Just as the Ventrue have interests beyond the Camarilla and the Lasombra look beyond the Sabbat, we are more than our association with the Tal’ Mahe’ Ra. It serves a purpose, that is true, but centuries of compromise with its other leaders have forced us to follow agendas outside its goals. In truth, the Tal’ Mahe’ Ra has always been something of a quandary for us. To be without the allies and protection it provides is to risk destruction and the loss of all we have collected. However, to be a part of the Tal’ Mahe’ Ra is to be a part of the Jyhad, which is the source of all destruction.
We have made it our business to be the acquaintances of many but the friends of none. There are many Kindred and mages who know of us, and have even called upon our assistance. But we always receive swift payment in one form or another. Those acquaintances we do have are among the oldest and most powerful, for childer are rarely of any use to us, and we know the elders can keep a secret. In fact, many do their best to hide what they know of us, in case their enemies make use of our services. In such a way, we have passed into legend amongst the young and ignorant.
Our assistance is available to all; we take no sides. But we make no pledges of allegiance or wait to call on favors. Our dealings with others are short term and paid in full. To do anything else is to be drawn into the Jyhad.
Among the Kindred
We do not play well with others, as I suspect you have come to conclude. The reasoning is simple; to be part of vampire society is to risk utter destruction. We saw the weakest among our own Clan turn upon us. But the young have always revolted against the elders, who have often kept them in slavery. The other Kindred seem at peace with this slaughter. The Tremere rose to destroy an entire Clan, and now get invited to Kindred gatherings as pillars of the community. The Lasombra and Tzimisce rose to power on a reputation of patricide. The Giovanni may have culled those who made them immortal, but the Nosferatu tremble in fear at the mere mention of their elders. Vampires are a sickness, and they will all turn on each other given time. It is up to us to protect ourselves and wait out the storm.
Having said that, we do find ourselves dealing with two other Clans more often than any others. The Giovanni may have been usurpers, but they are fellow academics. They have a similar ethos to us: that playing too much of a part in Kindred politics is a bad idea. We do not trust their intentions,
96 TRUE BRUJAH